The SHN #92: Travel Reflections, Breathwork, and Screen Time

Welcome Back to The Synergetic Health Newsletter! 

February 20th, 2025. Greetings again from Da Nang! A nomad life YouTuber recently made the comment “Life is easy in Da Nang”, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s a very chill lifestyle here with plenty of things to do— from beach walks to playing pickleball to a plethora of dining options to shopping in frantic markets to taking day trips to many nearby attractions. It’s also so cheap here that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

In today’s newsletter I reflect on my many months of slow travel to date, discuss breathwork strategies for managing stress and anxiety, share some phone apps to consider to help reduce screen time, and include the usual array of interesting health-related finds.

✈️ The Art of Enough: What Slow Travel Has Taught Me About Life

For the past ~18 months, I’ve been slow traveling the world, living out of a suitcase, and waking up each day with no agenda, no to-do list, and no real responsibilities. It’s a lifestyle that sounds dreamy to some, terrifying to others, and downright impossible to many. But for me, it’s been an experiment in what it means to truly live—not just exist, not just achieve, but to be. And what I’ve learned along the way has less to do with the places I’ve seen or the photos I’ve taken, and everything to do with the way I’ve come to see the world, myself, and the cultural programming I still was carrying.

The Myth of "Moving Forward"

One deep realization I’ve had while traveling is how deeply ingrained the Western obsession with “moving forward” really is. Back home, we’re taught that life is a ladder: climb higher, earn more, achieve more, acquire more. But most of the world isn’t living like that. In Southeast Asia, where I’ve spent the last seven months, I’ve watched people live lives that are simpler, slower, and more rooted in connection than competition. They’re not chasing the next promotion, the next paycheck, or the next shiny object. They’re just living—laughing with friends, sharing meals, and finding joy in the everyday.

It’s not that they don’t have struggles or aspirations. Of course they do. But there’s a sense of acceptance and surrender to life that feels radically different from the cutthroat, achievement-oriented mindset I grew up with. And it’s made me wonder: why are we so afraid to slow down? Why do we equate stillness with failure, and busyness with worth?

The Nervous System of the West

I’ve come to believe that much of this relentless drive is rooted in our nervous systems. In the West, we’re constantly in fight-or-flight mode, always chasing, always striving, always worried that we’re not doing enough. We’ve been conditioned to believe that to be idle is to waste time, and to waste time is to fail at life. But what if that’s just a story we’ve been told? What if the real waste is spending our lives chasing things that don’t actually make us happy?

When I first started traveling, I’ll admit, I struggled with this. Even without a job or a schedule, I found myself feeling guilty if I didn’t “accomplish” something each day—whether it was going to the gym, writing, or exploring a new place. But over time, I’ve learned to let go of that need to constantly do and instead embrace the freedom to just be.

Some days, that means sitting in a café for hours, reading my latest book and drinking a strong Vietnamese coffee. Other days, it means wandering aimlessly through a market, struggling through conversations with locals, or going for an exploratory drive on my motorbike— screaming into the wind.

And you know what? It’s in those moments of stillness that I’ve found the most joy. Not in ticking off bucket-list items or capturing the perfect Instagram shot, but in the quiet, mundane moments that remind me what it means to be alive.

The Gift of an Open Slate

One of the greatest gifts of this lifestyle is the complete freedom it offers. Every day is a blank slate, and while that can be uncomfortable at times—especially for someone who is used to structure—it’s also incredibly liberating. Without the distractions of work, social obligations, or the constant buzz of the news cycle, I’ve had the space to really examine my relationship with time, productivity, and what it means to live a meaningful life.

I’ve realized that so much of what we fill our time with—whether it’s work, social media, or endless to-do lists—is just a way of avoiding ourselves. We’re so afraid of stillness, of boredom, of being alone with our thoughts, that we’ll do anything to keep ourselves busy. But what if we stopped running? What if we allowed ourselves to just be, even for a moment? What might we discover about ourselves, about life, about what truly matters?

Cultivating Enoughness at Home

I know not everyone can—or wants to—drop everything and travel the world. But the lessons I’ve learned on the road don’t require a passport. They’re available to anyone, anywhere, if you’re willing to take a step back and question the stories you’ve been told about what it means to live a good life.

Start by being honest with yourself. Do you enjoy the way you’re spending your time? Are you chasing things because they truly matter to you, or because you think they should? Are you comfortable being still, or do you feel the need to constantly fill the silence? These are uncomfortable questions, but they’re worth asking. Because the truth is, and you all already know this, peace and happiness don’t come from external achievements. They come from within—from learning to be okay with who you are, where you are, and what you have.

Mundane Magic

Traveling has taught me that life isn’t about the big, shiny moments. It’s about the small, ordinary ones—like the sight of a family of four, laughing and balanced precariously on a single motorbike, a scene so ordinary here yet so extraordinary to my Western eyes. It’s in the bright, curious gaze of a child staring up at me, a tall foreigner, their wonder untainted by judgment or preconception. It’s in the care a woman takes as she arranges a flower offering for her gods, her hands moving with reverence and precision.

It’s in the nervous smile of a street vendor who can’t respond to my English but still tries to connect, or the way locals devour a bowl of noodles with such gusto, savoring every bite as if it’s their first and last. These moments aren’t grand or life-changing in the dramatic sense, but they’re deeply human.

They remind me that joy isn’t something you chase; it’s something you notice. It’s in the honest smiles that emerge from a loving heart, the over-the-top hospitality of a hotel worker, or the quiet pride of a café owner watching you squeeze into their way-too-tiny chairs. These are the moments that stay with you, not because they’re extraordinary, but because they’re ordinary—and that’s what makes them extraordinary.

So whether you’re on the road or at home, I encourage you to slow down. To question the narratives you’ve been given about success and productivity. To make space for stillness, for boredom, for wonder. Because the truth is, you already have enough. You are enough. And sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is simply be.

🌬️ Breathwork for Stress and Anxiety Reduction

A recent systematic review examined the effectiveness of voluntary regulated breathing practices for reducing stress and anxiety. The authors analyzed 58 studies from PubMed and ScienceDirect, identifying 72 interventions, of which 54 were effective.

Andy Galpin, PhD, is one of the best health and fitness researchers in the game— and he broke down some of the review’s findings.

Namely, he discusses how specific components that enhance the effectiveness of breathwork practices for managing stress and anxiety, such as avoiding fast-only breathing, ensuring sessions are longer than 5 minutes, incorporating human-guided training, conducting multiple sessions, and emphasizing long-term practice.

Galpin also points out that there are a few things to note that make effective practices go wrong— excessive standing, interruptions, involuntary diaphragm obstructions, and inadequate training for highly technical practices.

So what are the best practices when choosing a breathwork practice for the purpose of reducing stress and anxiety?

If you’re serious about incorporating regular breathwork into your day, I remain of the belief that Buteyko-style breathing is the most effective. I’ve written about it several times before. The easiest way to get started with a version of Buteyko breathing is, IMO, with the free Oxygen Advantage app.

Here are additional ways to get started:

The Breathing Technique That Saved My Life (Buteyko)

Box Breathing Tutorial

4-7-8 Breathing Technique

12-Minute Diaphragmatic Breathing Tutorial

Erwan LeCorre’s BreathHoldWork Mediation Course

📱 Apps For Reducing Screen Time

Outside of the built-in screen time tools, there are a host of third party apps that can help you limit your phone addiction.

1) Freedom
-Block distracting apps and websites
-Set schedules for blocking

2) Space
-Track phone usage
-Social encouragement and gamification features

3) Forest
-Gamified app that encourages focus time
-Plant virtual trees by staying off your phone

4) Flipd
-Lock your phone for set periods
-Can't be disabled even by restarting the phone

5) AppDetox (Android)
-Set custom rules for app usage
-Reminds you to put down your phone when you break rules

6) Stay on Task (Android)
-Randomly asks if you're still on task
-Helps redirect focus

7) OffScreen (iOS)
-Helps reduce screen time

8) StayOff
-Screen time control
-App blocker
-Phone usage tracker

9) One Sec
-Mindful approach to app usage
-Forces a pause before opening addictive apps

𝕏 Thread of the Week

📱 The Mere Presence of Your Phone Reduces Attention: This study examined how the mere presence of a smartphone affects attention, even when turned off. Researchers tested 42 college students (aged 20-34) using a concentration test under two conditions: with their smartphone present but turned off, or with it in another room. Results showed significantly lower attention performance and slower work speed when smartphones were present. So simply having a smartphone near you consumes cognitive resources, and removing it to another room can improve attention performance.

🍄 Controversy in Psychedelic Research: A controversial, unpublished Johns Hopkins study that gave psilocybin to religious leaders reveals potential concerning agendas within psychedelic research. Travis Kitchens, in his article “The Most Controversial Paper in the History of Psychedelic Research May Never See the Light of Day”, uncovers connections between researchers and religious institutions, including meetings at the Vatican promoting a "psychedelic reformation." The article examines how the study, led by Roland Griffiths before his death in 2023, was influenced by Perennialism - the belief that all religions share a common mystical core. Kitchens suggests that beneath the scientific veneer of psychedelic research lies a deeper agenda: using psychedelics as tools for religious unification and transformation, raising questions about the movement's true objectives.

🧠 The Mother of Mindfulness: I really, really enjoyed a recent conversation with Dr. Ellen Langer, known as the mother of mindfulness, on the Huberman Lab podcast. Dr. Langer is a social psychologist and the first woman to be tenured in psychology at Harvard University. Her research over four decades has focused on mindfulness, aging, decision-making, and the mind-body connection.

Langer's work has revolutionized our understanding of mindfulness without meditation, defining it as "the simple act of noticing new things". Her famous "Counterclockwise" study demonstrated that elderly men could improve their health by mentally transporting themselves to a younger age. She has also shown that mindfulness can reduce stress, boost creativity, and improve physical health. I’m looking forward to reading her book “The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health”, and I’ll be sure to share any golden nuggets I find!

🔗 One Hitters

🫀 You can combine low-intensity and high-intensity cardio sessions (Post)

💉 Determining the risks and benefits of each recommended vaccine (Article)

🏹 To test if you are hypothyroid, try bouncing a butter knife off your Achilles’ (Video)

🚽“Urinating in the middle of the night is typically an indication of blue light toxicity and/or potassium deficiency.” (Post)
-Limit artificial light at night, wear blue light blockers, use screen dimmers, etc
-Potassium rich foods: sweet potatoes, dried apricots, dates, avocados, watermelon, pomegranate, swiss chard

📚 Read my e-book, “Self-Development for Authentic Living” for free.

🔗 If you know anyone who loves learning about these types of topics, send them this link!

📰 To read all past newsletters, go here.