Why You Can't Relax, Sleep Or Focus! - Do This 5 Minute Habit To Feel ALIVE Again | Brian Mckenzie
Here are the top 10 key takeaways from Dr. Rangan Chatterjee's conversation with human performance specialist Brian McKenzie about breathing, stress management, and finding joy in everyday life.
1. Breathing is central to your overall health
Breathing affects much more than just your lung capacity – it's connected to your metabolic health, cognitive function, and hormonal balance. This fundamental process sits at the center of your wellbeing, yet many people don't pay attention to it or know how to use breathing to change their internal state.
Brian McKenzie emphasizes that being aware of your breath is the first step toward better health. Simply noticing how you breathe allows you to let it happen naturally while still maintaining awareness. This awareness gives you the ability to regulate your nervous system when needed, helping you stay balanced in stressful situations.
2. Your stress response creates a choice point
When you encounter a stressor (like someone cutting you off in traffic), your body automatically reacts with physiological changes. Everyone experiences this initial stress response, regardless of how calm they normally are. The important difference lies in what happens next – how you choose to respond after that initial reaction.
This is where conscious intervention through breathing techniques becomes powerful. Taking several breaths in these moments creates space between stimulus and response, allowing you to bring yourself down from an emotional reaction. You then gain the opportunity to see reality more clearly rather than getting caught in a stress spiral that can lead to chronic stress patterns.
3. The five-gear breathing system matches breathing to activity
McKenzie developed a five-gear breathing system that matches different breathing patterns to different levels of physical exertion. Gear one is nasal breathing (in and out through the nose) with each breath cycle lasting at least four seconds. This should be your default for about 80% of daily activities, including walking and light movement.
As intensity increases, you progress through higher gears. Gear two involves slightly faster nasal breathing. Gear three is transitional (in through nose, out through mouth). Gear four is relaxed mouth breathing suitable for moderate-high intensity. Gear five is "power mouth breathing" used during high-intensity activities like sprinting or heavy lifting.
Many people incorrectly breathe in higher gears even during low-intensity activities, which affects their metabolism and stress levels negatively.
4. Nasal breathing improves fat metabolism
When you breathe through your nose during low to moderate activities, you become more aerobic, which means you're primarily burning fat for fuel. Think of your aerobic system like your checking account – a readily available, sustainable energy source. In contrast, mouth breathing activates anaerobic pathways that burn primarily carbohydrates.
McKenzie describes mouth breathing as using your "savings account" – you're on limited time when relying on carbohydrates as fuel. This is why maintaining nasal breathing at lower intensities has significant metabolic benefits, helping with fat burning and energy efficiency.
5. A balanced approach to breathing is essential
While nasal breathing is beneficial, McKenzie cautions against taking it to an extreme. After James Nestor's book "Breath" and the rising popularity of breath work, many people began exclusively nasal breathing even during high-intensity exercise. This can actually limit oxygen delivery and utilization in the muscles when inappropriate for the activity level.
The ideal approach is a balanced one that matches breathing method to activity level. For low-intensity activities like walking, nasal breathing is perfect. However, during high-intensity training, mouth breathing becomes necessary to move enough air volume to support the body's oxygen needs. Elite athletes naturally open their mouths during peak performance to ensure adequate oxygen intake.
6. Daily walking with nasal breathing resets the nervous system
One of the most practical recommendations from the conversation is to walk for at least 45 minutes daily with your mouth closed (nasal breathing). This simple practice helps reset your nervous system, improves metabolic function, and builds awareness of your internal state.
McKenzie suggests that this daily walk serves multiple purposes. Beyond the physical benefits, it creates a consistent baseline that helps you gauge your stress and energy levels. If your usual walk suddenly feels harder or you can't maintain nasal breathing as easily, it signals that your stress levels may be elevated or your recovery is incomplete. This self-awareness allows you to adjust your activities accordingly.
7. The ability to nap indicates a healthy nervous system
McKenzie makes an interesting observation: a healthy, well-functioning nervous system allows you to take a nap after periods of stress or activity. He compares this to animals in nature, noting how a lion will lie down and nap after a hunt, whether successful or not. This ability to downregulate after exertion is a sign of robust recovery capacity.
Many high-performing professionals lose this ability as they continuously activate their sympathetic nervous system through overwork, constant digital connection, and insufficient recovery time. McKenzie shares his own experience of being able to nap easily during his Navy days but losing that ability as he took on more responsibilities and said yes to too many commitments. The inability to nap or relax midday often indicates a dysregulated nervous system that stays stuck in "on" mode.
8. Evening routines are essential for adults, not just children
Adults need bedtime routines just as much as children do, though many forget this basic principle. Dr. Chatterjee points out that parents carefully create calming environments for their children before bed – dimming lights, speaking softly, perhaps reading a story – yet fail to apply the same logic to their own sleep routines.
Many adults continue working on screens right until bedtime, then wonder why they struggle to fall asleep. Creating boundaries around work and technology in the evening (for example, stopping work at 7 PM) allows the nervous system to downregulate naturally. This preparation period is physiologically necessary for quality sleep, regardless of age.
9. Saying "no" creates freedom and authenticity
One of McKenzie's most powerful pieces of advice is learning to say no to things you don't truly want to do. This extends beyond obvious impositions to include "shiny" opportunities that seem exciting but don't align with your core values or desired lifestyle.
By setting clear boundaries and declining activities that don't serve your authentic self, you create space for what truly matters. This selectivity naturally surrounds you with people and activities that align with your values. McKenzie suggests reframing daily tasks from "have to" to "get to" – appreciating the privilege of having dishes to wash or traffic to sit in – while still being selective about the optional commitments you accept.
10. Presence transforms ordinary experiences into joyful ones
The conversation reveals how being fully present can transform mundane activities into sources of joy. McKenzie describes finding genuine pleasure in simple acts like washing dishes by being fully engaged in the process rather than rushing through it or resenting it as a chore.
This shift from seeing daily tasks as burdens to viewing them as opportunities for mindfulness represents a profound change in perspective. Both speakers agree that the quality of our lives largely depends on the stories we tell ourselves about our experiences. By choosing to be present and find meaning in ordinary moments, we cultivate a sense of gratitude and satisfaction that transcends circumstances.
The same principle applies to deliberate activities like walking or cooking, which become opportunities for creativity and presence rather than just items to check off a list. This mindset shift doesn't require dramatic life changes – just a willingness to engage fully with what's already in front of you.