Do this 80% Stress Reduction Technique & Why it Matters

fat-release fertility Mar 01, 2024

I can cut down about 80% of your unnecessary stress with one technique & I have data to prove it.

If you have an Oura Ring, prepare to be amazed.

If you do not have an Oura Ring (yet!), no worries, I'll still amaze you.

First, the data.

Take a look at these two stress graphs.

These two photos are from the same person, one month a part. On the right, mid-January. On the left, mid-February. Both are recorded on a typical work day.

No other changes were made except one: slowing your breathing down to 5-6 times per minute, i.e. 5 counts in, 6 counts out, etc., as soon as you noticed any of the following:

body tension
overwhelm
pull to rush
negative thought "black holes"
negative memory/recent event loops

That's it. No daily meditation needed. No daily long walks. No supplement.

Just the ability to notice when any of the above arises in your body (including brain), and refocusing your attention on your breath until the tension or loops ease up.

Second, the results:

At least 7 fold increase in restorative time (focus, calm, chill, etc)
More than 4 fold decrease in stress (worrying, ruminating, etc)

Third, why bother? Stress gives me my edge to succeed.

No. It doesn't.

This is what UNnecessary stress gives you, on the biological level:

shorter life span
shorter health span
earlier greying or whitening of hair
greater risk for developing chronic conditions
propensity to develop addictions
higher daily dose of negative emotions, from anger to anxiety to depression

This is what gives you an edge:

deep focus capacity
calm efficient problem solving
open, unusual, and creative thinking
and enough energy to support it all and consistently show up because you're undistracted by inner drama or turmoil
overall high level of positive supportive emotions like joy, curiosity, and confidence
eustress!

Beneficial stress is called "eustress", and it produces some of the most desirable parts of life. Here are some examples:

exercise to improve strength, endurance, and vitality
hot and cold shower/bath exposure
enjoying a sauna or steam bath
voluntary fasting
solving complex & challenging problems
dieting for body re-composition, (i.e. fat or weight loss/gain)
asking your boss for a raise
telling the truth or not lying
setting and maintaining personal/professional boundaries
improving our relationships via communication or vulnerability
setting a goal that's at least a little crazy and epic

Fourth, but... do I need it?

Yes, probably.

Let me tell you something absolutely crazy about those graphs from earlier...

It turns out, when experiencing all this stres, this amazing test subject didn't notice!

On a typical day like the one on the left, she just felt "normal".

On deeper examination, it turns out the more accurate word was numb.

I see this in myself. I see this in my clients. I'm sure you see it in yourself too.

Our body is incredibly adaptive and constantly modulates everything from sound to light sensitivity, so that we have enough bandwidth to focus. If our body didn't do this, we'd never get anything done - thank you body!!

But I highly recommend you don't ever become numb to stress.

I recommend this weird sounding thing instead: decrease your stress tolerance.

Enjoy the realm of "Engaged" instead.

That's the home of focus, creativity, and sustained energy.

And yes, that's were most of us find joy and fun too!

And all that engaged & relaxed energy state, rather than the emergency "fight or flight" energy state, will even change the expression of your genes.

Epigenetics is the study of how our behaviour and environment changes our genetic expression.

So let's say you have cancer in your family DNA. If your DNA was a book, cancer would be one chapter.

Well, epigenetics research demonstrates that you can help your genes "skip" that cancer chapter, and not "express" it.

How epic is that?!

It turns out, most of us have all kinds of terrifying chapters in our DNA book. BUT, we also have lots of glorious and healthy chapters in our DNA book.

Oh and by the way, too much stress (not eustress) tells our genes to read the terrifying chapters.

Like, "READ NOW!", as soon as possible.

As if... we're about to die any minute and the long term must be sacrificed for our short term survival.

This correlation is all over the medical literature, from chronic disease prevalence to shorter life expectancy... and every day we understand the mechanisms better and better.

I'd like to expand upon one mechanism of action particularly close to my heart; that is, how stress worsens our health through slow malnutrition.

But first, maybe you're ready to use that breathing technique already! Maybe even ready to test it out with an Oura Ring.

The Oura Ring is a state of the art sleep tracking device that's actually the size of a ring on your finger. Through your heart rate and heart rate variability, it tracks your personal stress level throughout the day.

And as you can see by the graphs shared, it's a very friendly and intuitive interface. And most importantly, it doesn't lie to you.

Numb or not, it will show you what level of stress you've been tolerating.

I have no affiliation with Oura, they are just an awesome company providing an awesome service.

Here is their website.

I've had my ring for well over 3 years and I still use it daily. Not only do I use it for sleep tracking, but I also use it to

see my approximate deep sleep and REM time
see how many times I "woke up" at night without awareness of waking up
test different techniques and supplements for sleep quality improvement
track my daily HRV (heart rate variability), a measure of overall health and resilience.
nice bonus: track and monitor my blood oxygen levels at night
for ladies, track my cycle (it tracks temperature)

All I need to do is wear it daily (in airplane mode, always!). Now that's a good deal.

Have fun when people asking you about it! Most people still don't believe me that this tiny ring is a sleep tracking device! Enjoy it, you are living in the future.

Fifth, what all that numbed stress really costs you...

Here's one of the many reasons (aka mechanisms) why unnecessary stress leads to so many terrible outcomes listed earlier: stress is nutritionally demanding.

Think of it like inflation.

When you are mostly calm, well regulated, and feeling good in the day, the "cost" for your body to breathe, walk, think, digest, and all other normal body functions is the same price as houses, food, and petrol was over a 100 years ago... mere dollars and cents.

The currency your body uses is macronutrients ( carbs, fat, and protein ) & micronutrients ( minerals & vitamins ). The functional equivalent of dollars and cents.

The standard global diet today is already very low in high quality "currency", and now consider this...

When you are constantly experiencing unnecessary stress and feeling,

reactive (OR numbed out),
overwhelmed with your schedule & responsibilities,
and mostly feeling depressed or pissed off all day,

then the daily maintenance costs for your body are inflated to today's cost of houses, food, and petrol. That is, over 30x more costly.

Here's a concrete example, $20 american dollars in 1913 has the purchasing power of $650 today.

This is the equivalent biologically inflated cost of stress in your life.

And no cell in your body is exempt.

And now remember the fact that most diets are already quite "poor" in high quality currency. So your body draws out precious stored nutrients, from anywhere it can, like your bones. (Cavities or weak bones, anyone?)

Or, it just shuts off important - but not essential - functions like your sex drive, general good mood, or (as a female) your monthly menstrual cycle.

The top priority is survival, always.

Now let me ask you this: if you had the choice to pay 30x LESS for everything in your life, would you do it?

I hope you said "OFCOURSE!", because you're smart and you know that if you do that then you can spend more on the things that matter most to you.

And that breathing technique in the beginning is one way I found works in deflating these daily biological prices.

Here it is again, as a reminder:

The Slow Breath

Breathe 5-6 times per minute, i.e. 5 second counts in, 6 counts out, or 5 counts in and 5 counts out, (any combo works as long as the exhale is equal to or longer than the exhale), etc., as soon as you noticed any of the following:

body tension
overwhelm
pull to rush
negative thought "black holes" (seemingly inescapable)
negative memory/recent event loops

That's it. No daily meditation needed. No daily long walks. No supplement. You don't even need to buy yourself a pet!

You only require the ability to notice when any of the above arises in your body, and refocusing your attention on your breath until the tension or loops ease up.

Curious Comparison: Most of us breathe more than 15 times per minute. So we're slowing you down at least by 1/3!

I found that practising this most of the time makes it very automatic, very quickly. Which is the best, because then we don't even need willpower to do it! To develop automaticity, practice the slow breath as much as possible, including when

driving
chatting
reading
working
playing
creating
gently exercising

Just as long as you don't do it when you wake up, because in order to wake up our body needs to give us a shot of cortisol. This increases our heart rate and helps blood reach our brain as we get out of bed, ready to start our day fresh & ready to go.

Isn't that just amazing? Even cortisol, THE most infamous stress hormone, is good in some contexts. We couldn't even get up in the morning without it! And that's just like eustress, a subset of the "stress" category. There is almost always some good to be found wherever you look.

Finally, thank you for reading.

It's been a joy getting your email replies to these Nutrition Letters!

I'm so glad it's helping & valuable to your life.

As you saw on those Stress Graphs, the results of the Slow Breath speak for themselves.

And I know you'll get awesome results if you practice.

Let me know how it goes!!

My private functional nutrition practice is currently accepting new clients.

Here are the conditions I help resolve, at isabellathor.com