Martin McPhilimey MSc MRes - Scientific Consultant

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Martin McPhilimey MSc MRes - Scientific Consultant

Chronic stress is a global health crisis affecting individual and collective performance. Day after day.

🧠 Build Regulation, Resilience & Recovery
🫁 Breath Science • Nervous System • Sleep
🎓 Founder
👇 Coaching & Training Enquries
🧘‍♂️ http://martinmcphilimey.com With coaching, you can turn stress into success for high performance with the enthusiasm, motivation and energy to take action towards your goals. Imagine the level of performance you could reach by waking up each morning feeling calm, alert and ready to tackle your day. Reclaim confidence in your capacity for action by learning the methods helping stressed-out busy professionals, anxious leaders and burnt out go-getters stand out from the crowd by regaining control of their focus, energy and productivity.

03/12/2025

A study by Walsh et al. (2025), published in Physiological Reports, suggests that breath holding during sprints increases cardiac demand, overriding the dive response, whilst muscle oxygenation and lactate remain unchanged with free breathing.

Post-exercise HR was lower, and BP was elevated during the breath-hold trial, indicating delayed parasympathetic rebound.

Denaturation rates were similar across muscles. However, anticipation of exercise causes significantly elevated ventilation and CO2 production before breath holding, suggesting psychological factors are in play.

Practical takeaways.

- swimmers can use short-duration breath holds to reduce drag, but avoid them in prolonged or low intensity sessions

- Active recovery, such as light exercise, should be performed following apnea events to help stabilise the heart and blood pressure.

- build progression into breath-hold length to avoid anticipation

- In multi-bout sessions (e.g., swim sets), alternate breath-hold and free-breathing reps to mitigate residuals; for competition, simulate race-specific holds (e.g., 50 m freestyle) in dry-land ergometry to build confidence without aquatic risks.

01/12/2025

Happy 2nd anniversary to my wife, .gypsea .

A little story about how we met and our journey so far:

A friend recommended that Delphine listen to my podcast. By chance, she tuned into an episode where I spoke openly about my past relationship, what I’d learned, and what I wanted moving forward. She messaged to say she’d never heard a man express himself so honestly.

Naturally, I checked her photos and asked if she wanted to catch up.

Weeks later, we went for a coastal walk, talked for 2 hrs straight and grabbed my favourite chocolate peanut smoothie from Yelo Cafe. From there, we became good friends. Both freshly single, neither of us rushed into anything. Despite my attempts to hit on her, she politely friend-zoned me. I accepted it… But deep down, I knew there was more.

My housemates kept trying to set us up—inviting her over, getting her to my birthday, dropping hints nonstop. By Christmas, the dynamic shifted.

A few months later, she told me she planned to leave Australia to do conservation work in Bali. We agreed to keep seeing each other, but go our own ways when she left. I told myself that if she asked, I’d consider joining—but I didn’t want to interfere with her vision.

Our relationship kept deepening. One day at the beach, she asked if I’d ever consider coming with her. I told her yes—if our visions aligned. I already had a vision board, so I checked it… and everything matched. The life I wanted, the woman I was looking for, the values that mattered—all aligned with us.

So I said yes.

I quit my safe career, told the Australian government I was leaving during a pandemic, and off we went—travelling through Asia, Europe and the UK. Our relationship grew deeper; my business flourished; the vision unfolded.

Fast-forward to today: 2 years married, an 18-month-old daughter, and living 5 mins from the most beautiful beaches in Western Australia. We’re living our dream—supporting each other, embracing love and challenge, holding space for each other’s ideals and flaws.

I never thought I’d get married, but with Delphine, I knew there was no one else I wanted to spend my life with.

Here’s to the rest.

I ❤️ you, Delphine.

25/11/2025

Last week at the Journal Club, we reviewed a narrative review exploring how our modern environment impacts sleep. It was a substantial, densely written paper, but it offered outstanding insights and practical tools for improving sleep, well-being, and overall health by auditing and adjusting our surroundings.

I’ve already integrated these findings into our community discussions and shared them with practitioners studying at the school. This has enabled them not only to assess their own sleep environments but also to conduct similar audits with clients who need support.

I want to extend my appreciation to the authors for bringing this research together and making it accessible through open access. This allows practitioners like myself to transform science into actionable strategies, ultimately supporting a more informed, evidence-based approach to health, well-being, and performance.

Which environmental change do you feel would make the most significant difference to your sleep?

Comment below with the one you think would have the most impact, and let’s discuss why.

24/11/2025

BECOME A CONFIDENT BREATH SCIENCE PRACTITIONER 🧠💨 
The next Breath Science Certification group training begins at the end of January, with live sessions available for Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada.

This 7–9 month professional training is designed to help you:

🧘 Learn a unique skillset that puts you ahead of the curve as the coaching landscape changes to people wishing for better wellness in our fast-paced society. 
🔬 Build deep scientific knowledge in breathing, sleep & nervous system regulation and human behaviour. 
💭 Make informed decisions with clients based on physiology (not guesswork) 
💼 Add high-value services and stand out with evidence-based expertise 
📈 Level up your confidence, credibility and client results

⏳ Early bird offer ends this week.

Want session times, curriculum and investment options? 
👇 Comment “GROUP” below and I’ll send you the info pack

23/11/2025

If I am to be entirely candid, I have long viewed the role of nasal nitric oxide in exercise as somewhat overstated; yet this study piques my curiosity, prompting further investigation into its benefits and a review of recent literature on nitric oxide’s physiological contributions.

The exercise duration and intensity in the study do not align with the typical advantages of nasal breathing during exercise, which often enhance ventilatory efficiency. With exhaustive efforts limited to just 30 seconds, the energy systems (anaerobic/ PC) engaged are insufficient to reveal meaningful differences between nasal and oral breathing IMO. That said, this paper’s focus lies not in performance per se, but in vascular function and nitric oxide’s influence thereon.

I have scrutinised the methodology for potential flaws and find little beyond the acknowledged limitations to suggest that the observed vascular changes stem from factors other than nasal breathing itself. I would welcome additional research measuring direct nitric oxide levels over a longer duration—perhaps six minutes at 70–85% of VO₂ max—to allow physiological steady-state and subsequent recovery assessment. Such designs would better illuminate implications for endurance sports and general health.

Am I wholly convinced that nitric oxide is the definitive factor in nasal versus oral breathing? No; the scientist’s duty is to remain sceptical until robust evidence prevails. We pursue truth, not trends that bolster branding, products, or personal acclaim.

For more candid, honest, and current science, consider joining the . Our next certification cohort’s early-bird pricing ends this month—comment GROUP below for details, and I shall provide further information.

17/11/2025

Here’s a message for anyone who battles imposter syndrome:

Your imperfection is the thing that makes you powerful.

One of the most memorable moments in a keynote I delivered wasn’t the polished science or the structured narrative.

It was the moment I lost my words, paused, breathed, and gathered myself again.

What felt embarrassing to me was experienced as courage, honesty, and strength by everyone watching.

People don’t connect with perfection.

They connect with the human being in front of them —
the person who is like them, or the person they aspire to become.

Perfection slows you down.

It kills momentum.

It steals your growth.

If your goal is confidence, mastery, and rapid transformation, you must become “willing to look the fool in the land of strangers.”

And guess what?

Social media is that land.

Post the imperfect post.

Share the thing you made on the fly.

Let go of the need for everything to be polished.

Because the moment you stop giving a f*** about getting it “right,” you finally start becoming who you’re meant to be.

That’s the path from imposter to master. 🥋

Inspired from a mentoring call today with someone struggling with imposter syndrome!

Who is with me? Comment your thoughts below.

16/11/2025

IMMERSE. RESET. ASCEND.
Bali • 17–22 February 2026

This is more than a retreat — it’s a recalibration for people who operate at a high level and need a space where their body, mind, and performance can finally align.

Over 5 nights at The Seed Bali, you’ll step into an eco-luxury sanctuary crafted for deep recovery and elite performance.

Guided by respiratory & sleep scientist Dr. Martin McPhilimey and elite breathwork educator Johnny Oduya, you’ll learn how to master your breath, your physiology, and your inner world.

Expect:
🔥 Evidence-based breathwork to conquer stress
🌊 Cold plunges, saunas, jungle gym sessions
🌴 Oceanfront sanctuary & recovery tools used by high performers
🧠 Mental clarity, resilience, and a reset you’ll feel long after you return home
👥 A curated group of like-minded, driven individuals

If you’ve been craving a full-system reset — this is your moment.

Limited spots available.
Comment ‘Immersion’ and we’ll send you all the details.

13/11/2025

The Breath Science Certification is for those who want more than techniques — they want mastery.

Most breathwork trainings teach you what to do.

Very few teach you how to think.

The Breath Science Certification is my flagship, postgraduate-level training designed to raise the professional standard in the breathwork, wellness, and coaching space. It provides you with the depth, confidence, and clarity to truly understand why the body responds the way it does — and how to work with it safely and effectively.

Inside the training, you learn to:

Master functional breathing and nervous system regulation

Understand the science behind stress, anxiety, and emotional patterns

Coach with precision using physiology, psychology, and behavioural frameworks

Build absolute confidence in your decision-making with clients

Move beyond “one-off sessions” into long-term transformational coaching

Stand out as a trusted, evidence-based practitioner in an industry that needs higher standards

This isn’t another facilitation course.

It’s a rigorous, 6.5-month education followed by assessment, case studies, and competency testing — designed for those who want to be the most skilled, knowledgeable, and reliable practitioner in the room.

You also gain access to our global professional network of coaches and facilitators, who meet weekly for educational, practical, and reflective sessions.

If you’re ready to elevate your practice and become truly grounded in science and application…

Comment “CERTIFICATION” below, and our team will send you the complete information pack. Please ensure you follow the message so it can be delivered.

11/11/2025

High-ventilation breathwork can profoundly shift state — altering interoceptive predictions, chemistry, and the sense of self.

In that moment, perception and memory are fluid.
The brain reappraises past experiences through a new physiological lens — what once felt threatening may now feel safe, or even liberating.

But here’s the catch:
This reappraisal is a state-dependent illusion unless it’s later confirmed through action.

In predictive coding terms, the session temporarily reduces the precision of high-level priors, loosening rigid beliefs so that new interpretations can emerge.

Yet for those interpretations to stabilise into new beliefs, the brain needs new sensory evidence that matches them in the real world.

That’s why integration matters.

If you feel free during breathwork but return to avoidance in daily life, your nervous system re-weights the old model: “That safety wasn’t real.”

To truly rewire, you must act differently after the session — speak, move, or choose in alignment with the new appraisal.

That’s how momentary insight becomes embodied change.

So, tell me, do you act upon insights from breathwork, or is it just an egoic pursuit for information like that, or a continuation of reading self-development books without any change?

Address

Yokine, WA

Website

http://schoolofbreathscience.com/, http://www.martinmcphilimey.com/

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