Exhaling the Modern: A Prescription for the Oxidized Soul

The homogenization of the world leads to a phenomenon where opportunities and possibilities become nearly equal, even for those dwelling on opposite sides of the globe. Yet, simultaneously, modern people have come to harbor shared afflictions that transcend borders and cultures. In globalization, it is not merely people, goods, and information that are exported; the anguish accompanying these social fluctuations has also been exported, spreading with accelerating speed. While human troubles are manifold, is not the most symbolic symptom, shared universally by all, the “quality of sleep”?

If, amidst the daily clamor, you drag a fatigue heavy as lead, yet find your eyes wide open the moment the curtain of night falls—transforming your bed, which should be a sanctuary of rest, into a place of agony—this is not merely a personal malady. It is the figure of a larger, structural distortion, one that might be called a modern pathology, screaming through your physical vessel. As everyone knows, the quality of sleep is a radical element that determines the very quality of life. in a sense, to survive the modern era, the key lies not in acquiring skills, but in how one elevates the quality of this slumber.

Heretofore, methods such as meditation and mindfulness have been treasured as means to bring about the relaxation of mind and body. The attempt to intentionally create silence within a frantic daily life has, admittedly, gained a certain degree of citizenship. However, if this sanctuary called sleep is not sublimated into something truly high-quality, let alone your daytime performance, even the intuition and creativity that should spring from your inner fountain will become turbid and run dry. While one may surmount this with physical stamina in youth, it accumulates as a debt, inevitably inviting the bankruptcy of health with the passage of years. Furthermore, as health varies by person and by the individual’s specific moment in time, an attitude of facing oneself with constant sincerity is essential. Therefore, obtaining high-quality sleep sustainably, regardless of age, is the most critical foundation directly linked to the stability of the spirit and the depth of introspection.

Here, there is a question upon which I wish to pause and deepen our speculation. Modern science has placed its hand upon the realm of gene decoding, exposing the blueprint of life—once an enigma—under the light of day. Now that knowing one’s roots and constitution has become convenient and easy, many people are beginning to mistake this enumeration of genetic information for a “book of prophetic fate.” “I possess a gene that makes me prone to anxiety,” or “I have a constitution prone to gaining weight”—there are various claims, but are we not blaming the source of our suffering on immutable genetics, settling for a resignation that resembles understanding? This movement will likely rise in the context of self-affirmation, but I sense a considerable danger in this trend.

Certainly, understanding the gene as a map is vital. However, the truth is more dynamic, cruel, and simultaneously full of hope. Even if you possess a map of exquisite precision and beauty, if the earth upon which you stand is besets by a tempest, and the path beneath your feet is buried in muddy torrents, that map will serve not a single fragment of use. In fact, more than the genes which are the map itself, what we must thoroughly confront is the weather that covers the vast earth of the body. If we were to express the true nature of this inclement weather in two words, they would be nothing other than “oxidation” and “inflammation.”

For those living in the modern age, the problems of oxidation and inflammation have become shadows that haunt everyone, almost without exception, albeit in varying degrees. The unexplained lethargy you feel, the decay of the skin, the sense of irritation, insomnia, or the vague anxiety toward the future—even symptoms that plague multitudes under the names of modern diseases like depression or ADHD. When we look at these calmly, we must ask again, dispassionately: are they truly due to congenital factors, or are they screams because the vessel known as the body is “rusting” (oxidizing) and “burning” (inflamed) to its limit?

Regrettably, modern medicine and social convention have a pernicious tendency to immediately fixate these symptoms with the label of a disease name. However, what if environmental factors—such as an extremely degraded diet, an unnatural social environment, relentless dopamine poisoning from information, and the interlocking sugar poisoning (such as blood sugar spikes)—are scorching our cells? It begins to appear that we may simply be made to believe, or represent to ourselves, that a state where our way of being is distorted by the environment—unable to display its original function—is our own “nature.” Indeed, it even seems fashionable in the modern era for everyone to confess to being ADHD, but is that truly the case? I sense the possibility that because people globally harbor similar homogeneous problems, similar symptoms manifest, and they are easily tied to disease names like ADHD to explain them.

In other words, even if one gives a name to such symptoms, your life does not actually change. Rather, there is a risk of the reverse effect: wasting one’s life on a mistaken assumption, even though the true cause lies elsewhere. If you shift your perspective and consider that this inner rust is making a creaking sound within your body, how would you face it? Why, in the first place, do we rust to this extent? I believe this is the question that should be asked first.

Naturally, the undeniable providence of aging exists. However, in the modern age, countless factors—diet, environmental pollution, social pressure, isolation, excessive movement, or time so overcrowded it prevents introspection—overwhelmingly form the soil that causes the body to rust. Therefore, to correct this chaos, let us return to the basics and begin by identifying the “true culprit” that is often overlooked. That is the paradoxical problem of carbon dioxide retention.

It may seem surprising, but respiration, an activity so fundamental to life, is causing dysfunction in modern people. Conversely, perhaps because breathing is so obvious, it does not garner much attention. Certainly, in meditation and mindfulness, there was a movement to focus on this breath, but as everyone is aware, applying that to daily life in general is practically difficult.

Before debating modern diseases symbolized by depression or ADHD, thinking about breathing seems more realistic for everyone. This is because no one, without exception, can escape the modern lifestyle of staring at smartphone or computer screens, drowning in a flood of information, and living as if chased by something—though degrees may differ. Moreover, this trend accelerates year by year. As a result, the respiration of modern man has become too shallow and too rapid.

That breathing becomes shallow creates a fatal defect beyond simply failing to take in the oxygen that supports human life: it means one cannot “exhale completely.” This signifies a state where carbon dioxide, the exhaust gas generated within the body, cannot be discarded outward and remains stagnant within. To grasp the image, imagine a scene where a wood stove continues to burn in a sealed room with no ventilation. Naturally, the room fills with exhaust gas, falls into a state of oxygen deficiency, and eventually, the fire undergoes incomplete combustion and begins to emit soot. This is the true identity of the oxidation occurring within your body.

Therefore, as long as you harbor the poison of carbon dioxide, no matter how expensive the supplements you ingest, no matter how beautiful the genetic map you possess, your cells cannot blossom into their potential. Rather, such treatment without understanding may even create a vicious cycle that further damages the cells. Thus, a negative infinite loop is formed, and everyone suffers from similar malaise, continuing to damage daily performance—or in other words, your unique possibility. And above all, this internal rust steals away your sleep.

Interestingly, within our genes, there are “night watchmen” inherited from ancient times. These are MTNR1A, the switch of sedation that invites the brain to rest, and MTNR1B, the switch that fine-tunes the biological clock in accordance with sunrise and sunset. As the names imply, these two genes function in combination; originally, they were entities that guarded our night—that is, our sleep—with perfect harmony. When the sun went down, they closed the gates, and prepared for the arrival of morning in alignment with the movement of the stars. In this way, for tens of thousands of years, they were skillfully controlled in human history.

However, modern society mercilessly deranges this biological clock. And in a state where carbon dioxide is stagnant and the body is fouled, or where the fire of inflammation is burning, these two genes fall completely silent and cease to function. In a body like a fire scene filled with smoke, there is no way one can leisurely prepare for sleep. And because the switches do not toggle effectively, the symptom of insomnia appears. This is because these two watchmen are the receptors for the most critical component involved in sleep: the sleep hormone called melatonin.

Melatonin is often discussed from the perspective of sleep, but it is not as simple as merely ingesting melatonin supplements. This is because the metabolic pathway within the body to generate melatonin is, in fact, an extremely arduous adventure.

First, the raw material for melatonin is tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids, but tryptophan has two metabolic pathways. One is the path toward serotonin, known as the substance of happiness, and this serotonin is converted into melatonin.

Simply put, one might think it sufficient to ensure the function of Tryptophan -> Serotonin -> Melatonin, but this is truly difficult within the body. In the first place, in metabolism, the Tryptophan -> Serotonin -> Melatonin pathway uses only 5% of the total tryptophan metabolism; 95% is used for a different pathway (the kynurenine pathway). Moreover, if there is inflammation in the body at this time, more than 95% is diverted to the kynurenine pathway, resulting in the problem that it is not used for the serotonin or melatonin pathways. In other words, the universal problems for modern people—inflammation and oxidation—become the cause of significantly damaging the quality of “Serotonin = Happiness” and “Melatonin = Sleep.” It is self-evident that if happiness and sleep are missing, the quality of life declines.

Furthermore, the deteriorated lifestyle of the modern era attempts to further close this already narrow path. Originally, while harboring this 5% fate, humans maintained equilibrium by living in rhythm with nature. However, rhythms have collapsed due to the conveniences of civilization since the modern era, and we now hold bodies that are unprecedentedly maladapted to the night. Artificial light that does not fade after sunset and information beyond the dimension of excess continue to awaken the brain; the sympathetic nervous system remains constantly aroused, and the body stiffens, making hypertonia chronic. If you have the opportunity, you should observe your HRV (Heart Rate Variability) on a daily basis. You will understand exactly where you become hyper-tense and where you loosen, and you will be astonished by the violent fluctuations of modern man.

Thus, the insomnia of many modern people stems from the fact that a living environment where physiological fire alarms never cease ringing has been highly established, prior to mere mental troubles. And the “fuel” essential for these watchmen to work is also rapidly disappearing from the modern dining table. That is magnesium. I understand from experience that the appropriate intake of magnesium changes life.

In essence: breathing is shallow, metabolism is stagnant, and fuel is insufficient. Amidst this triple affliction, you are desperately trying to maintain sanity; this is the true nature of modern pathology. No matter how much you strive with mental theory, as long as these physiological shackles are not removed, escaping by individual power will be extremely difficult. Before blaming yourself—thinking your character is gloomy or your will is weak—you should accept as a major premise the possibility that the very bodily functions controlling that will are out of tune, rusted, inflamed, and not in their original form. Without such consideration, what is solved by attaching a disease name or a disorder name, and being prescribed medication accordingly?

Then, to sever this despairing chain of oxidation and inflammation, what must we do? Here, the thinking of the Japan of the past becomes useful.