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

James Nestor is a science journalist and the
author of the international bestseller Breath: The New
Science of a Lost Art, with more than three million
copies sold in 44 languages.


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Timestamps:


[00:00:00] Start.


[00:01:37] Why I waited years to interview James
about Breath.


[00:02:35] Maurice Daubard: The mysterious 90-year-old who
preceded Wim Hof.


[00:05:01] Tummo breathing: Ancient Bon Buddhist heat generation.


[00:08:13] James’ personal breathwork practice and the Wim Hof
method (with warnings).


[00:09:25] How breathwork cured James’ chronic respiratory
issues.


[00:11:46] Sudarshan Kriya: The weekend workshop that changed
everything.


[00:16:56] My nine-minute breath hold experiment (hyperbaric
chamber edition).


[00:18:57] Post-book revelations and angry doctors’ offices.


[00:20:41] The ADHD-breathing connection: A controversial Venn
diagram.


[00:22:00] DIY breathing assessments for kids.


[00:25:55] Mouth tape: From hostage situations to sleep
optimization.


[00:28:48] James’ seven-year mouth taping commitment.


[00:31:14] CO2 levels: Your LEED-certified hotel is
suffocating you.


[00:36:50] Monitoring CO2 with the Aranet4 and building a
CO2 database.


[00:39:51] James’ travel kit: Red lights, granny packs, and a
Soviet-era PEMF device.


[00:51:59] In Weirdville, eyes sing The Body Electric.


[00:52:58] The supplements included in David’s granny packs.


[00:54:16] Natto vs. nattokinase.


[00:56:18] Athletes and breathing: The BOLT score explained.


[01:03:25] LeBron James’ alternate nostril breathing and
diaphragmatic dysfunction.


[01:04:47] Inspiratory muscle training and the back soreness
warning.


[01:08:47] The Relaxator: An adult breathing pacifier for focus.


[01:12:54] San Francisco Writers Grotto and the trustafarian
invasion.


[01:16:10] Writer’s block: A convenient excuse for hobbyists.


[01:19:04] Cutting the corporate cord: James’ visceral “I quit”
moment.


[01:23:25] The freediving story that launched a book deal.


[01:25:41] Deep‘s disappointing launch and publisher
betrayal.


[01:28:10] Breath: From 290,000 words to 85,000 in a house
in the woods.


[01:31:51] Finding the skeleton: The Stanford experiment as
through-line.


[01:35:44] Prayer and coherent breathing: The 5.5-second secret.


[01:38:44] James’ critique of breathwork culture and barriers to
entry.


[01:41:07] Sleep optimization: SnoreLab, side sleeping, and
incline bed therapy.


[01:44:56] Parting thoughts and where to find James and free
breathing protocols.


*


Show notes for this
episode: https://tim.blog/2025/09/30/james-nestor-breath/


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