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The Rich Roll Podcast

The New Science Of Breath: James Nestor On Why Most People Are Breathing Wrong

The Rich Roll Podcast

Rich Roll

Education, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.713.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2026

⏱️ 139 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

James Nestor is an acclaimed science journalist and author of the international bestseller "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art." This conversation explores why so many of us breathe dysfunctionally—and how it may be connected to chronic ailments. We discuss breathing biomechanics, CO2 tolerance, the link between sleep-disordered breathing and ADHD in children, and practical techniques to optimize how you breathe. James also walks us through his Stanford experiment, where breathing only through his mouth precipitated sleep apnea within ten days, which completely reversed in 48 hours with nasal breathing. This one is packed with actionable tools you can implement immediately. Enjoy! Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up Today’s Sponsors: Rivian: Electric vehicles that keep the world adventurous forever👉🏼https://www.rivian.com WHOOP: The all-new WHOOP 5.0 is here! Get your first month FREE👉🏼https://www.join.whoop.com/Roll AG1: Get their best offer ever – Welcome Kit, Omega 3's, D3+K2, Flavor Sampler, plus AGZ sleep supplement FREE ($126 in gifts)👉🏼https://www.drinkAG1.com/richroll BetterHelp: Get 10% OFF the first month👉🏼https://www.betterhelp.com/richroll Check out all of the amazing discounts from our Sponsors👉🏼https://www.richroll.com/sponsors  Find out more about Voicing Change Media at https://www.voicingchange.media and follow us @voicingchange

Transcript

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0:00.0

We're breathing all day long. Most of us, the vast majority of us, are doing it in a dysfunctional way.

0:07.0

New York Times best-selling author James Nestor is changing the way we breathe.

0:12.0

The definitive expert on breathing.

0:15.0

James Nestor examines how breathing techniques improve your health.

0:19.0

How you're getting the majority of your energies, not through food and drink, it's through your breathing.

0:23.6

It's a chronic problem.

0:24.6

And people don't realize that it's one of the main reasons.

0:28.6

They're so sick and they're not getting better.

0:30.6

Around 70 to 80% of kids with ADHD suffer from sleep disorder breathing.

0:35.6

You want to be in a balanced state where your body can

0:39.0

naturally do what it's supposed to be doing. These breathwork practices are so incredibly

0:43.9

powerful and it's extremely simple. This is why people think it's not going to work.

0:53.0

James, it's an absolute delight to have you here long overdue. I'm so excited to talk to you.

0:58.3

You have become quite the definitive expert on breathing, whether you like it or not. What are we doing wrong?

1:05.9

We're all walking around mouth breathers. On some level, it's sort of like, well, if that's our default, is it really

1:12.5

so bad? Like, what, why should we, you know, listen to what you have to say? Is there really anything

1:18.4

fundamentally wrong? What are the dangers of breathing the way that we always have? Like, I, you know,

1:23.2

for the most part, for the better part of my life, I never thought twice about how I was breathing.

1:29.3

So what is going on? Well, our default as a culture, at least in the States, is to eat a bunch of ultra-processed

1:34.3

crap food, but that doesn't mean it's good, right? How many people eat McDonald's? You know,

1:38.3

how many people are eating a bunch of cookies every day? But that will allow you to stay alive, but it won't allow you to stay

1:46.6

healthy. And the same thing is true about our breathing. We're breathing all day long. Most of us,

...

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