It’s the last day of finals. You’re already tired, beat down, and exhausted thanks to the relentless studying you performed the night before – unfortunately, you still have hundreds of flashcards to memorize before your exam in just a few hours. Your first reaction is probably to fight through the fatigue and hastily memorize as many of the terms as possible over the next few hours (knowing full well that as soon as the test is done, you’ll forget just about everything you memorized), otherwise known as “cramming”. While research has shown that cramming isn’t an effective method of knowle ..read more

Can’t seem to get rid of a nagging headache? In the midst of a nasty migraine? Don’t reach for the ibuprofen quite yet… A recent study examined 30 migraine-prone individuals who struggled with chronic headaches and measured the effectiveness of a new, natural intervention to relieve headaches. The researchers began by asking patients to rate their headache symptoms on a scale of 0 to 10, with zero being experiencing no symptoms or pain, and ten being experiencing intense and debilitating pain. The mean score, to begin with, was a second 7-out-of-10, or, in other words, a pretty painful headach ..read more

Note: The following article should not be taken as medical advice. It is purely for informational and educational purposes. We are not medical professionals or doctors. Talk to a doctor before engaging in breathwork. See our Medical Disclaimer or Terms and Conditions for more details. I know what you’re probably thinking: “Is an article about how to breathe safely really necessary? What could possibly be harmful about breathing?” It might seem like overkill, but the truth is, there are certain inherent risks that come with ANY activity that changes your physical or mental state. With cert ..read more

Are you sick of hearing about mindfulness, yet? Over the past several years, business icons, celebrities, athletes, influencers, and bloggers of all varieties have been hailing mindfulness as the cure-all for just about any mental anomaly — from anxiety and depression to drug dependency and pain alleviation. Mindfulness is being used by Fortune 500 companies, government organizations, and even schools across the world in an attempt to increase focus, creativity, and productivity. But what if too much mindfulness could actually make you more anxious, more depressed, and less creative? Despite a ..read more

I recently received a great question from someone on the One Deep Breath App that I wanted to write about: What are your favorite books about breathwork? While One Deep Breath is a great resource for learning not just how to perform certain breathing patterns and techniques, but also the science behind why they’re so effective for combatting stress, anxiety, and sleep disorders, we’ll be the first to admit that One Deep Breath is not the only breathwork resource out there that’s worth looking into. No matter where you are on your breathwork journey or what you’re trying to improve in yo ..read more

What comes to mind when you think of the biological drivers behind better health? Cholesterol? A healthy gut microbiome? Less Cortisol (stress)? Testosterone? Serotonin production? In a world of thousands upon thousands of health and wellness influencers, it’s not hard to get caught up on these admittedly important hormones, chemicals, and neurotransmitters. But what if I were to tell you that there’s one simple, overlooked little molecule that’s capable of boosting your immune system, improving libido, and increasing physical performance? In fact, this very molecule is being tested in clinica ..read more

On a biological level, stress is supposed to be outside of our control. The sympathetic nervous system, our body’s fight-or-flight mode, is part of the autonomic nervous system. It’s automatic. Involuntary. Self-regulating. And for the most part, this sentiment is true. We can’t necessarily choose how our body reacts to bad drivers, impromptu public speaking, and pandemic-fueled chaos. But we can choose how we breathe. And by altering the breath, we can do the (supposedly) impossible – we can override our default fight-or-flight response and stay calm and relaxed when we need it most. Breathin ..read more

Trust me, the irony of this article isn’t lost on me. Despite making an app called One Deep Breath, here I am writing a piece about the dangers of deep breathing. I know it’s a horrendous marketing move, but I think it’s an important one to make because the truth is, one of the biggest myths out there is that “deep” breathing is automatically better for you. Heck, that’s why we named our app One Deep Breath – because we fell in love with the idea that when life gets stressful or overwhelming, we could all use a “deep” breath (also, in my defense, “One Slow Breath Through the Nose while Engagin ..read more

Orthodontists and dentists chalk up our high rates of crooked teeth, misaligned jaws, and deviated septums to “bad genetics”, but when we take a look at the research, this simply doesn’t add up. 90% of children have some sort of nasal or oral deformity that gets in the way of proper breathing.  Meanwhile, anthropological studies find practically no evidence of misaligned teeth or blocked airways in ancient, pre-agrarian times.[b][f] Despite having no braces, retainers, or invasive surgeries, it seems likely that humans somehow managed to have straight teeth, healthy jaws, and open airways ..read more