How Breathing Shapes Sleep, Stress, Performance, & Longevity | Patrick McKeown

Patrick McKeown's book on breathing techniques for performance, health and stress.

Kelly and Juliet Starrett's book containing vital signs including breathing and the BOLT test.

App by Kelly Starrett for daily mobility work with short routines.

A small breath-hold exercise to decongest the nose so people can transition to nasal breathing.

Measure breath-hold time after a normal exhale until first urge to breathe; aim for above 25 seconds as a marker of functional breathing.

Incorporate breath holds while walking, jogging, or training to build CO2 tolerance, induce hypoxia/hypercapnia, and improve performance.

Breathe slower but fuller breaths using the diaphragm to improve alveolar ventilation rather than fast shallow breaths.

Element electrolyte drink mix in iced tea lemonade flavor with real black tea, polyphenols, L-theanine and caffeine for hydration and a performance bump.

Breathe in and out through the nose during wakefulness, light to moderate exercise, and sleep to improve CO2 tolerance, diaphragm recruitment, and airway function.

NSF-certified-for-sport protein powder used in morning smoothies; strawberry flavor; provides 40g protein per two scoops.

During a panic attack, cup hands over nose and mouth to rebreathe CO2, then soften to slow nasal breathing (in 2-3, out 2-3) to restore CO2 and reduce air hunger.

Maintain proper tongue posture with three-quarters of the tongue elevated against the palate (not pushing on teeth) to open airway and support facial development.

Elasticated tape that surrounds the lips (without covering the mouth) to encourage lip closure and nasal breathing during sleep or wakefulness.

Take a soft breath in through nose and relaxed, slow, gentle exhale to stimulate vagus nerve, slow heart rate, and signal safety to the brain.

To fall asleep faster, soften breathing to ~30% less air with comfortable air hunger, mouth closed, breathing nasally.

Use a guided audio (incorporating hypnosis/NLP) when waking at 3am or struggling to fall asleep — hand the rumination problem over to the recording.

10 minutes of low-intensity nasal breathing followed by progressive breath holds during exercise (10, 20, 30+ paces) to prepare athletes physiologically and mentally for competition.

After poor sleep before an important event, do normal morning routine, eat breakfast, then lie down for a 20-minute reset to recover mental state.

Consult a functional or airway dentist for children with overcrowded teeth, narrow jaws, or airway issues — they use appliances to expand jaws rather than extract teeth.

Free app with children's section containing breathing exercises taught by McKeown's daughter for parents to use with kids.

Tape child's mouth (with Myotape or paper tape) during distracted activities like TV or screens to retrain lip-seal behavior.

Patrick McKeown's clinical/lay book on breathing with 700+ clinical paper references covering sleep and many conditions.

Bill Perkins' book on life and finances; McKeown read it in two days at the airport and recommends it.

Eckhart Tolle's book — McKeown's all-time favorite, which he has read repeatedly for bringing stillness to the mind.