BRAIN FOG - How I Cured My Brainfog by Holding My Breath | The Buteyko Method

Summary

In this video, Neil Tranter shares a simple breath-holding technique to alleviate brain fog, a condition that can impair focus and cognitive function. Having experienced significant improvement in his own recovery from burnout and long COVID, Neil guides viewers through the 'many small breath holds' exercise, which is part of the Buteyko Method. This method aims to calm the nervous system and improve blood and oxygen supply to the brain, potentially leading to clearer thinking and reduced mental fatigue. The video also hints at other breathing exercises that may offer long-term solutions for brain fog.

Takeaways

• 🧘 Neil Tranter shares a breath-holding technique to alleviate brain fog, which he found helpful in his recovery from burnout and long COVID.
• 🌫️ Brain fog symptoms include a dull mind, difficulty remembering words, focusing, and experiencing mental fatigue.
• 💡 The 'many small breath holds' exercise is part of the 'Potato Method' and can reduce brain fog symptoms by calming the nervous system and improving blood supply to the brain.
• 🌱 Neil's personal journey with brain fog included trying various therapies, diets, and supplements, but it was breath-holding exercises that provided relief.
• 📚 Breath-holding exercises can increase CO2 levels in the blood, which paradoxically improves oxygen transfer to the brain cells, aiding in mental clarity.
• 👍 The video encourages viewers to give a thumbs up if they find the content helpful and to subscribe for more.
• 🚫 A cautionary note is given for pregnant individuals and those with serious health conditions to consult a professional before attempting the exercises.
• 🔄 The exercise involves taking normal breaths, holding the nose for a few seconds, and then releasing to breathe normally, all while keeping the mouth closed.
• ⏱️ The guided exercise is meant to last for about 3-4 minutes to start experiencing the benefits.
• 🧘‍♂️ Neil has trained as a 'Potato' instructor to share the benefits of these breathing exercises, which have various health advantages.
• 🔗 The video description includes chapter links for easy navigation and mentions another video with a different breathing exercise for long-term brain fog healing.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is a simple breath holding technique to clear brain fog, which the speaker claims has helped in their recovery from burnout and long COVID.

Who is the speaker in the video?

The speaker in the video is Neil Tranter, who aims to teach skills to feel calmer and clearer.

What are some symptoms of brain fog mentioned in the video?

Some symptoms of brain fog mentioned include a dullness of the mind, difficulty remembering words, struggling to focus, and experiencing mental fatigue.

What did Neil try to alleviate his brain fog before discovering the breathing exercises?

Neil tried various therapies, a ketogenic diet, working with a functional therapist, and different supplements to alleviate his brain fog.

What is the name of the breathing exercise Neil found helpful for reducing brain fog?

The breathing exercise Neil found helpful is called the 'many small breath holds' exercise, which is part of the 'Potato Method'.

How has Neil's condition improved after using the breathing exercises?

Neil's brain fog has improved significantly, to about 80% better than before, allowing him to function on a higher level most of the time.

Why can holding the breath for short periods help reduce brain fog?

Holding the breath for short periods gently raises levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, which improves blood supply to the brain and the transfer of oxygen to brain cells, leading to clearer thinking.

What is the 'Potato Method' and how is it related to the breathing exercises?

The 'Potato Method' is a set of breathing exercises that Neil discovered on YouTube, which includes the 'many small breath holds' exercise and is aimed at reducing brain fog.

What precautions are advised before starting the breath holding exercise?

The video advises against doing the breath holds if pregnant or if experiencing any serious health condition, and suggests consulting a practitioner before attempting the exercises.

How long should one hold their breath during the exercise?

During the exercise, one should hold their breath for about three to five seconds before releasing and returning to normal breathing.

What is the long-term benefit of practicing the breath holding technique?

The long-term benefit of practicing the breath holding technique is that it can help permanently change the body's response and reduce brain fog over time.

Outlines

00:00

🧘‍♂️ Breath Holding Technique for Brain Fog Relief

Neil Tranter introduces a simple breath holding technique to combat brain fog, a condition that can cause difficulty in focusing and cognitive fatigue. He shares his personal experience with burnout and long COVID, which exacerbated his brain fog symptoms. Despite trying various therapies and diets, it was a set of breathing exercises discovered on YouTube that brought significant improvement. The video promises to guide viewers through the exercise and offers additional resources for further techniques to potentially cure brain fog.

05:00

🌬️ The Many Small Breath Holds Exercise Explained

This paragraph delves into the specifics of the 'many small breath holds' exercise, part of the 'potato method', which Neil found particularly effective. The exercise is believed to alleviate brain fog by calming the nervous system, thereby increasing blood supply to the brain, and by gently elevating carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which enhances oxygen delivery to brain cells. The paragraph provides a cautionary note for pregnant women and individuals with serious health conditions, advising them to consult a professional before attempting the exercise. It then outlines the steps for the exercise, emphasizing the importance of keeping the mouth closed and breathing quietly through the nose.

10:01

💆‍♂️ Guided Exercise for Improved Cognitive Clarity

Neil guides the viewer through the breath holding technique, emphasizing the importance of performing the exercise to experience its benefits. He provides detailed instructions for the practice, including the duration of the breath holds and the normal breathing periods in between. The exercise is designed to be calming and is meant to be done in a comfortable, upright posture. The paragraph also touches on the physiological effects of the exercise, such as the buildup of carbon dioxide and its role in improving nervous system function and brain circulation. The guidance is aimed at helping viewers achieve a state of relaxation and potentially increased mental clarity.

Keywords

💡Breath holding technique

A breath holding technique is a method of intentionally holding one's breath for a period of time to achieve a specific effect. In the context of this video, it is used as a tool to clear brain fog, which is a state of mental confusion or lack of focus. The script describes how the presenter discovered the benefits of breath holding for alleviating symptoms of brain fog, such as improved mental clarity and reduced tinnitus volume.

💡Brain fog

Brain fog is a term used to describe a feeling of mental cloudiness or lack of mental clarity. It can manifest as difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, or a sense of mental fatigue. In the video, the presenter shares his personal experience with brain fog, which became a significant issue during his recovery from burnout and long COVID, and how the breath holding technique helped him.

💡Burnout

Burnout refers to a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion. It often occurs in individuals who are overworked or under significant stress for prolonged periods. The script mentions the presenter's experience with burnout, which contributed to his brain fog symptoms and highlights the importance of managing stress to prevent such conditions.

💡Long COVID

Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is a condition where individuals continue to experience symptoms or develop new ones after recovering from the acute phase of COVID-19. The script indicates that the presenter's brain fog was exacerbated by long COVID, emphasizing the lasting impact of the virus on cognitive function.

💡Cognitive fatigue

Cognitive fatigue is a state of mental exhaustion that can impair one's ability to think clearly, concentrate, and remember. It is often associated with prolonged mental effort or stress. In the video, cognitive fatigue is one of the symptoms of brain fog that the presenter aims to address through the breath holding technique.

💡Potato method

The Potato method is a set of breathing exercises that the presenter discovered and found beneficial for his brain fog symptoms. The script describes the 'many small breath holds exercise' as part of this method, which involves holding the breath for short periods to improve blood supply to the brain and reduce brain fog.

💡Nervous system

The nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells that transmit signals between different parts of the body. It plays a crucial role in regulating bodily functions, including the response to stress. The script explains that the breath holding technique helps calm the nervous system, leading to increased blood supply to the brain and reduced brain fog.

💡Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a gas that is a natural byproduct of the body's metabolism. It is transported in the blood and exhaled during respiration. The script mentions that the breath holding technique gently raises levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, which can improve blood supply to the brain and oxygen transfer to brain cells, contributing to mental clarity.

💡Bateco breathing exercises

Bateco breathing exercises are a type of breathing technique that involves holding the breath for short periods to increase carbon dioxide levels in the blood. The script suggests that these exercises can be used to permanently cure brain fog for some people by improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain.

💡Nasal breathing

Nasal breathing is the process of inhaling and exhaling through the nose. It is emphasized in the script as the correct method for performing the breath holding technique, as it helps maintain the effectiveness of the exercise by ensuring proper oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are maintained.

💡Buteyko method

The Buteyko method is a breathing technique that involves reducing the frequency and depth of breaths to increase the body's oxygenation efficiency. The script does not explicitly mention the Buteyko method, but the breath holding technique described is similar in that it involves breath holds to improve respiratory function and overall health.

Highlights

Neil Tranter shares a simple breath holding technique to clear brain fog.

The technique has helped in recovery from burnout and long COVID.

People struggling with focus, mental fog, or cognitive fatigue are the target audience.

Breath holding exercises can reduce symptoms of brain fog.

Neil's personal journey with brain fog includes burnout and long COVID experiences.

Various therapies and diets were tried without success for Neil's brain fog.

Breathing exercises found on YouTube improved Neil's symptoms.

The 'Many Small Breath Holds' exercise is part of the Buteyko Method.

Neil's brain fog improved significantly after two years of Buteyko exercises.

Neil trained as a Buteyko instructor to share the benefits of these exercises.

Bateco breathing exercises can help clear brain fog by calming the nervous system and improving blood supply to the brain.

Holding breath briefly raises CO2 levels, improving oxygen transfer to brain cells.

A guided exercise is provided for viewers to experience the technique.

Pregnant individuals and those with serious health conditions should consult a professional before trying the exercises.

The exercise involves normal breathing, brief nose holds, and maintaining a closed mouth.

The technique can be used on-demand throughout the day for both immediate relief and long-term benefits.

Other breath holding techniques like the Buteyko Breath Light exercise can support long-term healing from brain fog.

Transcripts

in this video I'm going to share a

simple breath holding technique to clear

brain fog it's helped me enormously in

my recovery from burnout and long covid

so if you're struggling to focus if

you're feeling foggy if you have

cognitive fatigue then stay tuned and

I'm going to show you how to go from

foggy

to clarity

[Music]

hi I'm Neil tranter and my mission is to

teach you the skills to feel calmer and

clearer no matter what life throws at

you

so if you're experiencing brain fog then

you know that it can be really quite

unpleasant some people notice a sort of

dullness of their mind for other people

they struggle to remember their words

they find it really difficult to focus

for other people it's like a kind of

mental fatigue

so in this video I'm going to share some

of what I've learned on my brain fog

Journey how holding your breath in a

particular way can reduce the symptoms

of brain fog and then I'm going to guide

you through a breath holding exercise so

that you can experience it for yourself

and what's really exciting is there are

actually a whole group of breathing

exercises that can be used to

permanently cure brain fog for some

people anyway so stay tuned to the end

of this video and I'll give you some

more information about those and a link

to another video with a different

breathing exercise in it

I put some chapter links in the

description below so that you can skip

around if you want to

[Music]

so four years ago I burnt out really

badly working in my it job during the

day I was teaching meditation in the

evenings and I was generally burning the

candle at both ends I started to

experience these symptoms of brain fog

when I was working so I'd be halfway

through an email or writing a meditation

script and then suddenly my mind would

start to become really dull I'd start to

slow down and I found that the more I

try to push on and keep going the worse

the brain fog got until eventually I'd

have a migraine and I just have to stop

working for a couple of days I

completely

then at the beginning of the pandemic I

got covered and that turned into long

covered and that made things even worse

so I would wake up in the morning and it

would literally take me an hour before

my mind could function at all

I tried everything I could think of to

get rid of the brain fog I had different

kinds of therapies talking therapy I did

a ketogenic diet I worked with a

functional therapist and I tried loads

of different supplements and for me none

of these things got rid of the brain fog

I'm not saying that they might not help

you but for me these things didn't help

and in some cases they actually made

things worse

is beginning to give up all hope and

then one day I was searching on YouTube

and it was actually something to do with

unblocking my nose because I'd always

had a congested nose

and I stumbled upon this group of

breathing exercises

I tried a couple of them and during one

of them that involved making small

breath holds I suddenly noticed that my

symptoms started to clear my mind became

clearer the volume on my tinnitus

started to lower

my vision started to move from what had

been quite fuzzy into more like high

definition

and although it didn't completely get

rid of my brain fog it was enough to

make me think hang on I'm on to

something here the breathing exercise is

called the many small breath holds

exercise and it's part of the potato

method

fast forward two years to now and my

brain fog is much better I'd say 80

better than where it was before I still

have days when I'm foggy but for the

rest of the time I can actually function

on a higher level than before I started

using the potato breathing exercises

I've now actually trained as a potato

instructor because I'm really passionate

about sharing these breathing exercises

with others as they have all kinds of

benefits

so let's talk a little bit about why

bateco breathing exercises can help to

clear brain fog

[Music]

the many small breath holds exercise

actually helps to reduce brain fog in

two different ways

firstly it helps to calm the nervous

system

so when we down regulate the nervous

system we actually have more blood

supply to the brain

if you think of the opposite when we're

really stressed what happens is that the

body diverts blood away from the brain

down into our limbs to our heart so that

we can fight so that we can run away and

that's really helpful if there's an

angry bear

but if we need to think clearly what

happens is there's a lot less blood

supply to our brain to the to the

neocortex the thinking part of the brain

and that means that we become less clear

less able to focus and less

equipped to do cognitive tasks the

second benefit of holding our breath for

short periods of time is that it gently

raises levels of carbon dioxide in the

blood

and without needing to go too much into

this science when we have elevated

levels of CO2 what happens is that at

this actually improves our blood supply

to the brain and it also improves the

transfer of oxygen from that blood to

the cells in our brain

so paradoxically by breathing less we

actually transfer more oxygen to our

brains

and this obviously has the benefits of

helping us feel clearer and less foggy

if you're finding this video helpful

then please consider giving it a thumbs

up and if you want more content from me

then please consider subscribing to my

channel and you can also leave a comment

and let me know what kind of content

you're looking for

so let's move on to the guided exercise

now so that you can experience the many

small breath holds technique for

yourself

[Music]

although this technique is suitable for

most people if you are pregnant please

don't do any breath holds and if you are

experiencing any serious health

condition then talk to a potato

practitioner before doing any of the

exercises

but for everyone else let's get into it

okay so for you to get some benefit from

this exercise you do need to do it

rather than just know about it so I'm

going to guide you through it now it'll

take three to four minutes

and hopefully that should give you a

feel for how it works

okay so before we start I'm just going

to give you the basic instructions of

how this works

so what we'll be doing is we'll be

taking a normal breath in and out

through the nose we'll be holding the

nose for about three to five seconds

then we let go of the nose and we

breathe normally in and out through the

nose for about 10 to 15 seconds

all the way through you'll have your

mouth closed

obviously I've got my mouth open because

I'm talking but normally for the whole

exercise you keep your mouth closed and

that's really important

otherwise it doesn't work

okay so let's get ready then it's good

to do this in an upright comfortable

posture so just getting yourself set up

in that kind of sitting position

and then when you're ready I'd like you

to take a normal quiet in and out breath

through the nose

hold your nose for five four three two

one let go of the nose and just

breathing normally through your nose

with your mouth closed

so in between the breath holds we're

just breathing normally no deep

breathing nothing like that just

breathing quietly and softly

and then when you're ready we'll do it

again so taking a normal quiet breath in

and out through the nose

holding your nose for five four three

two one letting go of the nose and just

breathing normally through your nose

with your mouth closed

note that the the breath that we take

before the breath hold is a normal small

quiet breath it's not a big breath

and then when you're ready taking a

normal breath in and out through the

nose holding the nose for five four

three two one letting go of the nose

and just breathing normally

especially can staying with the exercise

until the end because you do need to do

it for a few minutes before you start to

feel the benefits

and then when you're ready taking a

normal breath in and out through the

nose holding the nose for five four

three two one Let It Go of the nose

just breathing normally softly and

quietly through your nose with your

mouth closed

so that in your shoulders soften down

letting your belly relax letting your

legs relax

maybe having a little bit of a smile on

your face

but keeping the lips closed

and then when you're ready we'll do it

again to taking a normal gentle in and

out breath through the nose holding the

nose for five four three two one letting

go of the nose

and then we'll go again so taking a

normal quiet in-breath out breath

holding your nose for five four three

two one letting go of the nose

and so slowly what's happening is carbon

dioxide is beginning to build up

in the body

this helps to calm the nervous system it

helps to improve the circulation of

blood to the brain

oxygen delivery to the brain

and then when you're ready we'll take a

normal breath in and out through the

nose holding the nose for five four

three two one letting go of the nose

just breathing quietly in and out

through your nose

mouth closed

and just letting your body be relaxed in

between the breath holds

and then when you're ready taking a

normal breath in and out through the

nose holding the nose for five four

three two one letting go of the nose

foreign

s

[Music]

so when you're ready taking a normal

breath in and out through the nose

holding the nose for five four three two

one letting go of the nose

breathing gently in and out through the

nose

mouth closed

noticing any subtle effects in the body

any feelings of warmth of calm

maybe a little bit more clarity so

you're just looking for a little bit at

the moment it's not going to be a

massive difference

any difference is a positive sign

and then when you're ready there's two

more taking a normal breath in and out

through your nose holding the nose for

five four three two one

let it go over the nose

this breathing normally in and out

through your nose for the next 10

seconds

letting your body relax in between the

holes

okay final round

taking your normal breath in and out

through the nose holding for five four

three two one letting go of the nose

and just letting your body settle down

as you get the hang of this you can hold

your breath for slightly different

amounts of time three to five seconds it

is a good place to start you don't want

to hold your breath for so long that you

feel out of breath or it disrupts your

breathing because then it has the

opposite effect

foreign so just to summarize then by

using these small breath holds we can

calm the nervous system down we can

gently Elevate levels of carbon dioxide

in the blood and both of these together

can help to improve blood flow to the

brain and oxygen delivery to the cells

in the brain both of these things are

really great for healing brain fog

you can use this technique on demand

throughout the day you can do it for you

know five minutes at a time and you can

do that up to once an hour as well so

it's something that you can use

regularly in the short term it will help

just to provide relief but the more and

more frequently you do it it'll also

start to permanently change your body

and help to reduce brain fog and earlier

in the video I mentioned some of the

other breath holding techniques that you

can use to support long-term healing

from brain fog and the most important of

these is the bateco breed light exercise

I've made a video about that and you can

find out all about it here