Breathing Protocols to Reboot Your Health, Fix Your Sleep, and Boost Performance — James Nestor

Nestor emphasized that this pattern of breathing coherence is accessible without spiritual practice—anyone can adopt a slow inhalation and exhalation of five to six seconds to tap into this biological optimum. Rather than mystical or esoteric, coherent breathing is fundamentally a biological function that modern science has begun to quantify, highlighting breathing's power to optimize bodily efficiency and mental clarity.

Ancient Breath Practices

Delving deeper into the breathwork world, Nestor shared the story of Maurice Dubar, an almost forgotten breathwork pioneer from the French Alps, who predates popular figures like Wim Hof. Dubar overcame severe respiratory illness in his youth through yoga-inspired breath exercises introduced by a missionary. Instead of submitting to surgery, he rehabilitated lung function and ultimately achieved feats that seemed superhuman, such as spending prolonged periods in ice water or cycling above 5,000 meters altitude.

Dubar's practice was linked to an ancient Tibetan technique called Tumo—traditionally a meditation and breathwork practice used by Himalayan monks to generate and conserve internal body heat. Nestor distinguished between the traditional slow breath reduction version of Tumo and its modern, more intense hyperventilative variant popularized by Wim Hof, humorously dubbed "Tumo Light." He conveyed his personal experimentation with both, acknowledging how they enable conscious temperature regulation and resilience, yet noted that the older, slow-breath variant remains sparsely documented and closely guarded among dedicated practitioners.

Personal Journey into Breathwork

James candidly recounted his own respiratory challenges despite a healthy lifestyle, plagued by chronic infections and compromised lung capacity linked to prematurity. After exhaustive medical interventions proved insufficient, a friend suggested he try breathwork. Initially skeptical, Nestor engaged with practices such as Sudarshan Kriya, which involves controlled cycles of purposeful breathing. The physiological changes he experienced—profuse sweating, lowered heart rate, and profound shifts in mental state—convinced him of breathwork's transformative potential.

Breathwork for Nestor was not simply a wellness trend but a critical intervention for health restoration. He noted that these practices deeply influenced the capability to fight and prevent respiratory ailments, improve oxygenation, and foster resilient immune responses, showing that breath—often overlooked—is a powerful lever for health optimization even for those with chronic conditions.

Sleep Disordered Breathing and ADHD in Children

A striking part of the conversation focused on a largely unrecognized intersection between childhood breathing disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD. Citing research and clinical observations, Nestor revealed that the overwhelming majority of children labeled with ADHD also suffer from sleep disordered breathing—snoring, mouth breathing, or apnea—which disrupts brain oxygenation during critical developmental windows.

He found it alarming that despite mounting evidence, medical practices rarely assess breathing or sleep quality before medicating children for ADHD with pharmaceuticals. Nestor argued that this diagnostic oversight is both a medical failure and a missed opportunity for non-pharmacological solutions. Improving nasal breathing and sleep quality could alleviate or completely resolve many cognitive and behavioral symptoms commonly attributed to ADHD, underscoring a need for broader awareness and better diagnostic protocols in pediatric care.

Nasal Breathing, and Mouth Taping

Nestor stressed that the foundation for correcting sleep and breathing-related health problems is the simple but often challenging transition to obligate nasal breathing, especially during sleep. He encouraged parents and adults to notice daytime and nocturnal mouth breathing as a key symptom of dysfunction. A popular tool to aid this transition is the use of gentle mouth taping during sleep, which has shown dramatic improvements in snoring, airway function, and overall sleep quality.

He described the existence of specialized products like "Myotape," designed to gently encourage lips closure without discomfort or claustrophobia, thereby encouraging habitual nasal breathing. While not universally effective, many have reported improvements in bedwetting, ADHD-like behaviors, and respiratory function after adopting nasal breathing, marking a simple, accessible intervention with profound systemic effects.

Carbon Dioxide Concerns

Moving beyond breath mechanics, Nestor introduced a less-discussed but critical environmental factor affecting breathing and health: carbon dioxide (CO2) buildup in indoor spaces. By carrying advanced CO2 monitors worldwide, he documented startling levels of CO2 in airplanes, hotels, and office buildings—often reaching triple or quadruple the outdoor atmospheric concentrations. Studies dating back decades have linked elevated indoor CO2 to headaches, impaired cognition, reduced test performance, and chronic fatigue.

Nestor lamented the widespread industry practice of recirculating indoor air without sufficient fresh air exchange to save on heating and cooling costs, particularly in "green-certified" hotels. This common practice severely degrades air quality and thus impacts both acute alertness and chronic health. For travelers and workers, he recommended proactive measures like requesting rooms with operable windows and using CO2 monitors to gauge environments, highlighting how even subtle modifications could significantly enhance respiratory efficiency and cognitive performance.

Breathwork's Role in Athletic Performance

The podcast shifted toward the niche but growing realm of breathwork in athletics. Contrary to popular assumptions that elite athletes inherently possess optimal breathing, Nestor pointed out that many still struggle with dysfunctional patterns such as shallow chest breathing and inadequate diaphragmatic engagement. Retraining athletes to breathe more efficiently—slow, deep, diaphragmatic, and nasal—is yielding impressive gains in endurance, heart rate control, and recovery speed.

One particularly interesting metric highlighted was the Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT), which measures carbon dioxide tolerance by timing breath holds after a normal exhale. Athletes using breath training have reportedly seen their BOLT score double or even triple within weeks, signifying improved breathing efficiency and resilience. The adoption of proper breathing biomechanics—rib cage expansion and posture realignment—further supports athletic excellence and longevity.

Tools and Devices for Breath Muscle Training

Nestor also discussed accessible technologies aimed at strengthening respiratory muscles, such as inspiratory muscle trainers that create resistance during breathing. These devices help individuals develop increased diaphragmatic strength and endurance, akin to weight training for other muscles. However, he cautiously advised beginners to start with low intensity to avoid excessive soreness and improper technique, noting that posture and body alignment during use significantly influence outcomes and potential discomfort.

He recommended smaller and portable devices like the "Relaxator," a compact trainer that induces slow breathing through mild resistance, particularly helpful for focus-intensive work sessions. Such devices not only train muscles but also counteract "email apnea," a modern phenomenon where people unconsciously hold their breath under stress, contributing to headaches and elevated blood pressure.

Sleep Optimization Beyond Breathwork

Breathing was naturally linked to sleep optimization strategies. Nestor prompted listeners to quantify their sleep disruptions using apps like SnoreLab or SnoreClock to detect abnormalities such as mouth breathing, snoring, or breath holding through night recordings. Positional therapy was another practical tip: side sleeping often opens the back of the lungs better than supine position, and simple hacks like taping a light object to the back of a shirt can encourage side sleeping unconsciously.

Additional tactics such as incline bed therapy (raising the head of the bed) can mitigate apnea symptoms and improve oxygenation. Overall, while psychological stress plays a role in poor sleep, Nestor urged prioritizing physiological restoration by addressing breathing and positional factors first, providing a foundational platform for deeper interventions.

The Cultural Shift and Accessibility of Breathwork

Toward the end, Nestor offered a broader cultural perspective on breathwork's rise. He cautioned against the commercialization and mystification of breathwork, where retreats, classes, fashion, and accessories sometimes overshadow the foundational biological principle: simply restoring normal breathing function. He sees much of the current breathwork trend as overcomplicated, potentially alienating newcomers who could otherwise benefit immensely from basic corrective practices.

His advice to the public is to master the essentials—restoring nasal breathing, reducing over-breathing, and cultivating slow, steady breaths—before chasing advanced or intense breathwork protocols. Nestor's approach is grounded in accessible science and practical techniques that anyone can apply to reboot health, improve sleep, and boost performance naturally.