is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor worth reading

It's worth reading if you're curious about how breathing affects your health — the reviewer calls it "an engaging exploration of respiratory science" with solid research and practical techniques. Just go in knowing that Nestor sometimes overstates his claims and presents correlations as causations, so not every dramatic health transformation he describes is equally backed by evidence.

what is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor actually about

It's about how modern humans have largely forgotten how to breathe correctly, and what that costs us in terms of health. Nestor covers everything from how mouth breathing versus nose breathing affects facial development in children, to ancient practices like pranayama and Tibetan breathing exercises, to the work of researchers like Konstantin Buteyko, whose method has gained scientific support for treating asthma and anxiety.

does Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor actually give you techniques you can use

Yes — the book includes specific, actionable practices ranging from simple nose breathing exercises to more intensive methods like the Wim Hof method, with Nestor explaining the physiological rationale behind each one. The reviewer notes that tips range from "immediately applicable" (like taping your mouth during sleep) to more advanced practices that may need supervision.

is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor too pseudoscientific

It's a mixed bag — the core premise about breathing's importance has solid scientific backing drawn from anthropology, medicine, evolutionary biology, and sports science, but the reviewer flags that Nestor "occasionally ventures into breathless enthusiasm" and cherry-picks studies to support his thesis. Readers with serious health conditions are advised to approach the more dramatic claims with skepticism and medical consultation.

is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor similar to The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

They overlap in subject matter but take different angles — the reviewer notes that The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown focuses primarily on athletic performance, whereas Nestor casts a much wider net, exploring how breathing affects facial structure, longevity, sleep, anxiety, and more. Breath is also more journalistic and narrative-driven, with Nestor subjecting himself to experiments like breathing exclusively through his mouth for weeks under medical monitoring.

is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor hard to read for someone without a science background

No — the reviewer specifically says Nestor "presents complex physiological concepts clearly enough for general readers" while still providing enough detail for those who want deeper understanding. The pacing mixes personal narrative, historical exploration, and scientific explanation, which keeps things from feeling too dense.

does Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor oversell breathing as a cure-all

The reviewer thinks it does at times, describing an "evangelical tone about breathing as a panacea" and noting that Nestor occasionally suggests breathing changes can address conditions that typically require comprehensive medical treatment. It's one of the book's main weaknesses, though the reviewer still finds the overall argument — that breathing deserves more attention in health discussions — convincing.

BOOKS

James Nestor

About This Author

Published

February 16, 2026

Read Time

3 min read

$18.00 on Amazon

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Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Review: A Rigorously Researched Popular Science Revelation

James Nestor's Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is a popular science book published by Riverhead Books on May 26, 2020, that draws on ten years of research to examine the history, science, and culture of breathing — and makes a compelling case that most of us have been doing it wrong, with serious consequences for our health.

LuvemBooks Verdict

Best for

Curious adult readers who have ever struggled with snoring, sleep apnea, or asthma — or who simply want to understand what modern science and ancient tradition say about something they do 25,000 times a day — and who enjoy popular science journalism that blends personal narrative, global reporting, and wide-ranging research.

Worth it if

Worth reading if you want a sweeping, accessible entry point into the science and history of breathing that draws on both peer-reviewed pulmonology and millennia of medical tradition, delivered with the pace and storytelling craft of a veteran journalist.

Skip if

Skip it if you require a strictly hierarchical, clinically rigorous evidence base — Nestor moves freely between peer-reviewed studies, self-experimentation, and historical speculation, and readers who demand methodological precision may find the blended registers frustrating.

What readers & critics say

Kirkus Reviews called it "a welcome, invigorating user's manual for the respiratory system," while Publishers Weekly described it as "a fascinating treatise" on breathing; according to Wikipedia's coverage of the book's reception, Stuart Miller of The Boston Globe wrote that Nestor succeeded at "explaining both the basics" and the more complicated aspects of breathing properly. Bookmarks Reviews characterised the book as "brisk and detailed, a well-written read that is always entertaining" in its melding of the personal, historical, and scientific.

“A welcome, invigorating user's manual for the respiratory system.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“A fascinating treatise on breathing.”

— Wikipedia (citing Publishers Weekly)

“Brisk and detailed, a well-written read that is always entertaining, as he melds the personal, the historical, and the scientific.”

— Bookmarks Reviews

“Nestor succeeded at explaining both the basics and the more complicated aspects of breathing properly.”

— Wikipedia (citing Stuart Miller, The Boston Globe)

Sources: Wikipedia – Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, Kirkus Reviews, Bookmarks Reviews

Trending Now

Cultural Resurgence

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor is Trending

Breath-Themed Content on Netflix Is Putting James Nestor's Book Back in the Conversation

A cluster of breath-and-diving-related content circulating on Netflix right now — including the documentary 'The Deepest Breath' — is nudging readers back toward James Nestor's Breath. It's a natural pairing for anyone who just watched something about the science and limits of human breathing.

If you've recently gone down a Netflix rabbit hole involving free-diving or breath-holding documentaries like 'The Deepest Breath,' you're not alone — and that renewed interest in what the human body can do with a single breath is bringing James Nestor's book back into the spotlight. Nestor's Breath covers similar territory from a science and history angle, making it a natural next step after watching athletes push their lungs to the limit on screen.

The timing makes sense. When a documentary captures your imagination, books that dig deeper into the same subject tend to see a bump in readership. 'The Deepest Breath' is still available on Netflix, and conversations around it are picking up again in mid-June 2026. Nestor's book — which argues that most of us breathe badly and that fixing it can change your health — fits neatly into that curiosity.

If you're the kind of reader who likes a documentary to have a companion book, this is a strong pick. Breath is accessible, research-backed, and covers everything from ancient breathing practices to modern sleep science. It's been a word-of-mouth hit since 2020, and moments like this are exactly why it keeps finding new readers.

Updated Jun 17, 2026

In This Review

What Works & What Doesn't
What the Book Is and What It Argues
Scope, Reach, and Cultural Significance
Strengths: Breadth of Research and Accessibility
Genuine Limitations and Critical Pushback
Who This Book Is For

What Works & What Doesn't

What Works

Draws on ten years of research across ancient texts, modern pulmonology, biochemistry, and human physiology, delivering exceptional breadth for a popular science book
Debuted at number seven on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and spent 18 weeks on it in year one, reflecting massive and sustained reader interest
Won the American Society of Journalists and Authors Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 and was a finalist for the Royal Society Science Book Prize of 2021
Praised by Kirkus Reviews as 'a welcome, invigorating user's manual for the respiratory system' and by Publishers Weekly as 'a fascinating treatise,' affirming its accessibility and depth
Translated into more than 35 languages and sold over two million copies worldwide, demonstrating cross-cultural relevance

What Doesn't

Moves fluidly between peer-reviewed science, self-experimentation, and historical narrative — readers seeking strict methodological hierarchy may find the blended approach unsatisfying
Some critics, including journalist Sam Kean, expressed skepticism about specific claims regarding the benefits of ancient breathing practices, suggesting certain sections invite more scrutiny than others

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is one of the rare popular science books to transform a subject so fundamental it is almost invisible — the act of breathing — into a genuinely urgent read, backed by a decade of reporting and a global bestseller track record that speaks for itself.

What the Book Is and What It Argues

At its core, Breath is a historical, scientific, and personal examination of how humans breathe, with particular focus on the gulf between nasal breathing and mouth breathing. Nestor's central argument is that the human species has, over millennia, drifted away from nasal breathing toward chronic mouth breathing — a shift he traces in part to the increased consumption of processed foods — and that this drift has contributed to a measurable rise in snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, and allergies. He draws on thousands of years of medical texts alongside cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology. The scope is deliberately wide: Nestor's reporting takes him from ancient burial sites and secret Soviet facilities to New Jersey choir schools and the streets of São Paulo, and he incorporates his own first-person self-experimentation throughout. He also worked with scientists at Stanford University whose research supports the health benefits of returning to nasal breathing.

Scope, Reach, and Cultural Significance

The book's reception confirmed that Nestor had found a subject with enormous popular resonance. Breath debuted at number seven on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for the week ending May 30, 2020, and spent 18 weeks on that list in its first year of publication. It went on to become a bestseller in Germany, Spain, Croatia, Italy, and the UK, and has sold over two million copies worldwide as of April 2023, with translations into more than 35 languages by 2022. It won the American Society of Journalists and Authors award for Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 and was a finalist for the Royal Society Science Book Prize of 2021. Nestor promoted the book on The Joe Rogan Experience and CBS This Morning, helping to bring its findings to an unusually broad audience.

Strengths: Breadth of Research and Accessibility

The book's most consistently praised quality is its ability to hold together an enormous range of source material without losing the general reader. Kirkus Reviews called it "a welcome, invigorating user's manual for the respiratory system," while Publishers Weekly described it as "a fascinating treatise" on breathing. Writing in The Boston Globe, Stuart Miller noted that Nestor succeeded at "explaining both the basics" and the "more complicated aspects of breathing properly." The book draws on ancient breathing traditions — including Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo — alongside modern pulmonary research, and Nestor weaves these threads together with reporting from practitioners he calls "pulmonauts" as well as credentialed scientists. Writing in The Spectator, psychiatrist Kate Womersley characterized Breath as a "playful and optimistic" book for its blend of science, self-experimentation, and ancient technique. Among the book's concrete takeaways is what Nestor calls "the perfect breath": inhaling through the nose for 5.5 seconds and exhaling for 5.5 seconds, yielding 5.5 breaths per minute — a practice he presents as free and universally accessible.

Genuine Limitations and Critical Pushback

Not every aspect of the book landed without scrutiny. Some critics expressed skepticism toward specific claims, particularly regarding the benefits of ancient breathing exercises. Journalist Sam Kean, as reported by Wikipedia's coverage of the book's reception, raised "similar skepticism" about those sections. This points to a real limitation of the book's structure: Nestor moves freely between peer-reviewed science, historical speculation, and self-experimentation, and readers with a strong appetite for methodological rigor may find the transitions between those registers uneven. The book is written as popular science journalism, not as a clinical or academic review — an important distinction for readers who want carefully weighted evidence hierarchies rather than a synthesized narrative of varied sources.

Who This Book Is For

Breath is designed for a broad adult readership — the publisher notes a recommended reading age of 18 and up — and its success across more than 35 language markets confirms that its subject matter transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries. Readers drawn to popular science titles that blend personal narrative with wide-ranging research will find it well-suited to their tastes. Those already familiar with breathwork traditions may encounter familiar concepts, but Nestor's framing through modern science and global reporting gives even well-trodden ideas fresh context. For anyone who has dealt with snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, or simply wondered about the mechanics of something they do 25,000 times a day, Breath offers a substantive, well-sourced starting point.

Sources & Further Reading

The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.

1
James Nestor — author profile
James Nestor, Wikipedia
2
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
3
BREATH | Kirkus Reviews
kirkusreviews.com
4
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art | Improve Your Breath Now — MRJAMESNESTOR
mrjamesnestor.com
5
A Summary of “Breath” – a book by J. Nestor - Eyal Shifroni
eyalshifroni.com
6
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art James Nestor
bookshelfdiscovery.com
7
All Book Marks reviews for Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Book Marks
bookmarks.reviews
8
Book Review: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor – Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)
writeoutloudblog.com
9
Review: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor - This Chick Reads
thischickreads.com
10
Summary of 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art' by James Nestor
newbookrecommendation.com
11
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®
barnesandnoble.com

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Another first-person experiment in retraining the body through breath and cold — gives Nestor's science a practical, protocol-driven companion with measurable outcomes.

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Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program places breath at its clinical center — a research-backed, deeper dive for readers who want the mind-body science Nestor gestures toward.

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Attia's longevity medicine framework shares Nestor's 'modern life broke the body' thesis — broader scope, more clinical depth, same evidence-first, self-experiment spirit.

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Pollan's investigation into how industrial modernity hijacked eating mirrors Nestor's argument about breathing — same 'we forgot something obvious' structure, equally readable.

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Maté maps how chronic stress and suppressed emotion manifest as physical illness — the stress-physiology thread Nestor raises about dysfunctional breathing, developed much further.

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If Nestor's evangelical tone about breathing-as-cure-all felt overreaching, Moss offers the same investigative energy with tighter sourcing and a concrete industry villain to focus on.

In The News

Author News

James Nestor: Why Breathing Wrong Is Making Us Sicker Than Ever

April 9, 2026

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Share This Review

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Review: A Rigorously Researched Popular Science Revelation

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor is Trending

Breath-Themed Content on Netflix Is Putting James Nestor's Book Back in the Conversation

In This Review

What Works & What Doesn't

What Works

What Doesn't

What the Book Is and What It Argues

Scope, Reach, and Cultural Significance

Strengths: Breadth of Research and Accessibility

Genuine Limitations and Critical Pushback

Who This Book Is For

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