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Condition: New
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780241289129
Publisher: Penguin Life (Penguin Books Ltd)
Age Range: Adult (18+)
Overview:
Breath: The New Science Of A Lost Art is journalist James Nestor's bestselling investigation into the most overlooked act of daily life: breathing. Blending immersive reporting, ancient practice and modern pulmonology, Nestor reveals how the way we inhale and exhale shapes sleep, stress, immunity and athletic performance. This paperback edition from Penguin Life is a lively, evidence-based guide for anyone wanting to understand and improve their own breath, and has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon among readers seeking practical, science-backed wellbeing advice.
About the Book:
Humans breathe roughly 25,000 times a day, yet Nestor argues that as a species we have largely forgotten how to do it well, with consequences for snoring, allergies, asthma, anxiety and long-term health. To find answers, he travels from a Parisian dental laboratory to Brazilian tribal villages, from freediving competitions to the caves of Sudarshan Kriya practitioners, tracing how ancient techniques like Pranayama and Tummo anticipated cutting-edge findings in biochemistry and physiology. Along the way he submits himself to extraordinary self-experiments, including plugging his nose for ten days to breathe only through his mouth, in order to document the physical toll of poor breathing habits. The narrative moves briskly between history, science and memoir, highlighting the benefits of nasal breathing, slower deeper breaths, and simple exercises to improve sleep and reduce stress. Nestor is careful to ground every claim in interviews with pulmonologists, biochemists and researchers, giving the book real scientific credibility while keeping the tone accessible and often wry. For anyone who has struggled with poor sleep, chronic stress, snoring or simply wants to optimise their everyday wellbeing, Breath offers a genuinely eye-opening reframe of a function most of us never think about, paired with concrete tools to put the science into action.
- Bestselling, widely acclaimed non-fiction from journalist James Nestor.
- Combines ancient breathing traditions with rigorous modern science.
- Offers practical exercises to improve sleep, stress and athletic performance.
- Accessible, engaging narrative style suitable for general adult readers.
- Ideal gift for anyone interested in health, wellbeing or self-improvement.
About the Author:
James Nestor is a journalist whose work has appeared in Outside, Scientific American, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Atlantic and The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine. Known for immersive, first-person investigative writing, he spent years researching the science and history of breathing before writing Breath, which became an international bestseller. Nestor's reporting combines rigorous research with vivid, on-the-ground storytelling, making complex physiology and biochemistry approachable for general readers curious about health and human performance.
Why You'll Love This Book:
Breath turns an everyday, unconscious act into a genuine revelation, offering clear, practical guidance that readers can apply immediately. It's a compelling, well-researched read for anyone wanting better sleep, lower stress and improved overall wellbeing.
Please Note: Cover design may vary slightly from the image shown; this is the current UK paperback edition with ISBN 9780241289129.
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