## Metadata - Author: [[James Nestor]] - Full Title: Breath - Category: #books ## Highlights - Homo sapiens first emerged on the African savanna around 300,000 years ago. We were among a coterie of other human species: Homo heidelbergensis, a robust creature who built shelters and hunted big game in what is now Europe; Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals), with their massive noses and stunted limbs, who learned to make clothes and flourish in frigid environments; and Homo naledi, a throwback to early ancestors, with tiny brains, flared hips, and spindly arms that hung down from squat bodies. What a sight it might have been, these ragtag species all gathered around a blazing campfire at night, a Star Wars cantina of early humanity, sipping river water from palm cups, picking grubs from each other’s hair, comparing the ridges of their brows, and scampering off behind boulders to have interspecies sex in the glow of starlight. - The nose is crucial because it clears air, heats it, and moistens it for easier absorption. Most of us know this. But what so many people never consider is the nose’s unexpected role in problems like erectile dysfunction. Or how it can trigger a cavalcade of hormones and chemicals that lower blood pressure and ease digestion. How it responds to the stages of a woman’s menstrual cycle. How it regulates our heart rate, opens the vessels in our toes, and stores memories. How the density of your nasal hairs helps determine whether you’ll suffer from asthma. - The interior of the nose, it turned out, is blanketed with erectile tissue, the same flesh that covers the penis, clitoris, and nipples. Noses get erections. Within seconds, they too can engorge with blood and become large and stiff. This happens because the nose is more intimately connected to the genitals than any other organ; when one gets aroused, the other responds - The right nostril is a gas pedal. When you’re inhaling primarily through this channel, circulation speeds up, your body gets hotter, and cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate all increase. This happens because breathing through the right side of the nose activates the sympathetic nervous system, the “fight or flight” mechanism that puts the body in a more elevated state of alertness and readiness - The left nostril is more deeply connected to the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-relax side that lowers blood pressure, cools the body, and reduces anxiety