#829: James Nestor — Breathing Protocols to Reboot Your Health, Fix Your Sleep, and Boost Performance

James Nestor is a science journalist and the author of the international bestseller Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, with more than three million copies sold in 44 languages. This episode is brought to you by: Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://HelixSleep.com/Tim (27% off all mattress orders) Momentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://livemomentous.com/Tim (Code TIM for up to 35% off.) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D plus 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase.) Timestamps: [00:00:00] Start. [00:01:37] Why I waited years to interview James about Breath. [00:02:35] Maurice Daubard: The mysterious 90-year-old who preceded Wim Hof. [00:05:01] Tummo breathing: Ancient Bon Buddhist heat generation. [00:08:13] James’ personal breathwork practice and the Wim Hof method (with warnings). [00:09:25] How breathwork cured James’ chronic respiratory issues. [00:11:46] Sudarshan Kriya: The weekend workshop that changed everything. [00:16:56] My nine-minute breath hold experiment (hyperbaric chamber edition). [00:18:57] Post-book revelations and angry doctors’ offices. [00:20:41] The ADHD-breathing connection: A controversial Venn diagram. [00:22:00] DIY breathing assessments for kids. [00:25:55] Mouth tape: From hostage situations to sleep optimization. [00:28:48] James’ seven-year mouth taping commitment. [00:31:14] CO2 levels: Your LEED-certified hotel is suffocating you. [00:36:50] Monitoring CO2 with the Aranet4 and building a CO2 database. [00:39:51] James’ travel kit: Red lights, granny packs, and a Soviet-era PEMF device. [00:51:59] In Weirdville, eyes sing The Body Electric. [00:52:58] The supplements included in David’s granny packs. [00:54:16] Natto vs. nattokinase. [00:56:18] Athletes and breathing: The BOLT score explained. [01:03:25] LeBron James’ alternate nostril breathing and diaphragmatic dysfunction. [01:04:47] Inspiratory muscle training and the back soreness warning. [01:08:47] The Relaxator: An adult breathing pacifier for focus. [01:12:54] San Francisco Writers Grotto and the trustafarian invasion. [01:16:10] Writer’s block: A convenient excuse for hobbyists. [01:19:04] Cutting the corporate cord: James’ visceral “I quit” moment. [01:23:25] The freediving story that launched a book deal. [01:25:41] Deep‘s disappointing launch and publisher betrayal. [01:28:10] Breath: From 290,000 words to 85,000 in a house in the woods. [01:31:51] Finding the skeleton: The Stanford experiment as through-line. [01:35:44] Prayer and coherent breathing: The 5.5-second secret. [01:38:44] James’ critique of breathwork culture and barriers to entry. [01:41:07] Sleep optimization: SnoreLab, side sleeping, and incline bed therapy. [01:44:56] Parting thoughts and where to find James and free breathing protocols. * Show notes for this episode: https://tim.blog/2025/09/30/james-nestor-breath/ For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.