The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast #338 How to Use Your Breath to Sleep Better, Stress Less and Live Longer | James Nestor
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Mar 11, 2026 
James Nestor, award-winning science journalist and author of Breath, explores how modern habits warped our breathing and what that means for sleep, stress and long-term health. He shares stories from a plugged-nose experiment, why nasal breathing and nitric oxide matter, practical diaphragm and palate training, non-surgical fixes for blockages, and simple habits to start improving breathing today.
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Adopt Tongue Up Posture And Chew Real Food
- Train oral posture: keep the tongue resting on the upper palate, teeth lightly together, and breathe through the nose during the day and night.
- Combine that with chewing real foods to widen the upper palate and reduce 'adenoid face'.
Stanford 10 Day Nose Plug Experiment
- Nestor plugged his nose for 10 days in a Stanford experiment and then switched back to nasal breathing, collecting physiological data.
- Mouth breathing rapidly caused worse sleep, increased snoring and rising blood pressure within days.
Nasal Breathing Generates Protective Nitric Oxide
- Nasal breathing produces far more nitric oxide than mouth breathing, which filters and disinfects inhaled air.
- Nitric oxide from sinuses helps kill pathogens and improves lung function; humming boosts nitric oxide release further.
