Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art -- Take 2

I got through Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art quickly.  It was fascinating reading.  It's funny to think that this thing we're doing so many times a day we are doing so totally wrong.  But it appears that we are.

***SPOILER ALERT***  The gist of the instructions are to breath through your nose, five full inhales and exhales per minute (5.5 seconds in, 5.5 seconds out), and when you breath out, make sure to get a full exhale.  All that air that hides out in the bottom of your lungs and doesn't usually get exhaled?  Make sure to exhale it.

There are lots of other breathing secrets too, that are contrary to the above general instructions: sometimes you breath faster, sometimes take shallow breaths, sometimes mix it up.

There was interesting science in two areas in particular, I thought.  First, was the science behind the carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange that occurs in your blood while you are breathing.  It is actually the carbon dioxide that causes the hemoglobin in your blood to release the oxygen molecules that your blood cells are carrying around your body.  Carbon dioxide also causes your blood vessels to dilate, improving blood flow to high-CO2 areas.  So, somewhat surprisingly, the more CO2 you have in your blood, the more body can maximize delivery and and efficiently process oxygen molecules.  So that's neat.

The other thing I didn't know anything about was how important the act of chewing is to controlling your breathing (especially limiting obstructions to the airways), and underscoring that, how much chewing helps promote the growth and development of bones in your face.

I did find that James Nestor took a few liberties with the science, leaping from a scientific study or theory to his own agenda, without thoroughly connecting the two ideas together.  Regardless, 5,000 years' and dozens of cultures' breathing traditions probably aren't wrong, are they?