Is this book for you?
Breath
Read it if…
- You often wake up tired, snore or breathe through your mouth at night.
- You feel tense or anxious and want a simple way to calm down.
- You want better health without a new diet or gym plan.
- You enjoy science told through real stories and experiments.
- You liked Why We Sleep and want another everyday habit to fix.
Watch the summary
What the book is about
We breathe around 25,000 times a day, and most of us never give it a second thought. James Nestor argues that modern humans have quietly lost the knack of breathing well, and that this affects our sleep, stress, teeth, posture and long-term health.
To find out what went wrong and how to fix it, he signs up for a Stanford study, digs into ancient skulls, visits breathing teachers and freedivers, and tests old practices from yoga and beyond. The result is part adventure, part science and part practical guide you can use straight away.
What’s inside
The Stanford experiment Nestor spends ten days with his nose plugged and ten with his mouth taped. Mouth breathing quickly worsened his snoring, sleep apnoea and blood pressure.
Breathe through your nose Your nose filters, warms and moistens air. Nestor explains why it does so much more for your body than your mouth can.
Breathe slowly A calm rhythm of about 5.5 seconds in and 5.5 seconds out keeps turning up in both labs and old traditions.
Breathe less Many of us take in more air than we need. Breathing a little less can help your body use oxygen better.
Chew more Softer modern food means less chewing, which has left many of us with narrower jaws, crooked teeth and smaller airways.
Old practices, new science Nestor tries techniques such as Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and Tummo, and looks at what researchers now say about them.
Who wrote it
James Nestor is a science journalist who has written for Scientific American, Outside, The New York Times and others. His first book, Deep, about freediving, was a PEN American Center Best Sports Book finalist and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
Breath won Best General Nonfiction Book from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Nestor also works with the Global Classroom, a project with the World Health Organization supported by UNICEF, which teaches children around the world to breathe better.
What readers are saying
What they love: Readers say the advice is easy to try the same day, and many notice small changes in how calm they feel within days. They enjoy Nestor’s storytelling, which turns complex science into an easy, often funny read. Plenty say they will never breathe the same way again.
What well-known names said: Dr Rangan Chatterjee called it “a fascinating book, full of dazzling revelations”. Wim Hof said “I highly recommend this book”, and Chris Evans said if you read one book this year, make it this one. The Evening Standard placed it alongside Why We Sleep as a book that could change how you live.
Quick facts
- Author
- James Nestor
- Publisher
- Penguin Life
- Length
- 304 pages
- Published
- 8 July 2021 (updated paperback). First published 2020.
- Formats
- Paperback, ebook and audiobook, read by the author
- Recognition
- Multi-million-copy international bestseller. Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.
- Reading time
- Around 6 to 7 hours
- Difficulty
- Easy. Story-led, no science background needed.
Our verdict
If you wake up tired, feel wound up during the day or have never thought about how you breathe, this book will change how you do it. James Nestor's simple rules, breathe through your nose, slowly and less, come from a 20-day Stanford experiment he put his own body through. It suits anyone who likes practical health advice told as a story. The audiobook is read by Nestor himself and runs just over seven hours.
WillYouRead.com is independent and not affiliated with the author or publisher. This page is not medical advice. If you have breathing, sleep or health concerns, please speak to your GP.
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