Breath before opening, Part 2…

It’s important that I say “thank you” for the positive responses I received from my email “Breathe before Opening.” (If you missed it, you can see it HERE.)

I wanted to follow up on how it’s been going, as the results are eye opening!

For those of you who don't know, my background is actually in finance. I have a BS in Environmental and Business Economics and an MBA with a finance specialization.

You might say that I’m a very data driven guy.

A data point that I’ve been monitoring is my heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a measure of…well…the variability of your heart rate.

One would think that our heart rate beats at a perfectly regular pace, but it does not. As it turns out, there are different amounts of time between heartbeats (measured in milliseconds).

Low HRV numbers generally indicate stress, the potential for illness, and fatigue. Higher numbers are associated with strong cardiovascular fitness, effective stress management, and overall good health.

As it turns out, the Friday, December 19th incident that led to the “Breathe before Opening” warnings on my laptops was a seminal moment in my personal health journey 

And I have data to prove it.

Take a look at the above photos. On the left you can see my HRV before December 19th, and on the right you can see my HRV after December 19th.

It doesn’t take a finance person to see the difference. On average, my HRV has been double since that evening.

What does that mean? For me, it means I am better able to deal with, and recover from, stressful situations.

As someone who has a history of anxiety, this has been a massive shift in who I am, how I feel, and in a very real way, how long I will live.

What’s the secret?

I have been breathing slowly (using my Apple watch to track it) for one minute two to three times a day.

That’s it!

Making a massive shift in my health takes a total of three minutes per day.

And it’s free!

Try to work just one one-minute breathing session into your day.

Just one minute.

It will make a difference!

Coach Dylan