Reducing Stress with the Power of Your Breath
In my previous blog, I discussed strategies that can be used to help manage anxious thoughts. However, anxiety and stress also manifest themselves in physical symptoms including a racing or pounding heart, a churning stomach, physical tension, shortness of breath, and sweaty palms.
In this blog I’ll outline how your breath can be a simple and powerful way to ease the feelings of stress and anxiety and offer a couple of easy exercises that you can use so that you can quickly regain a sense of calm and control.
Fight or flight?
Often, we feel anxious – perhaps noticing a racing heart or churning stomach - even before we become aware of any anxious thoughts we’re having. These sensations are triggered when our brain’s threat detection system identifies a potential threat or uncertainty. This system was designed to help us survive thousands of years ago and enables our ‘fight or flight’ response to kick in immediately and automatically when a threat or uncertainty is detected.
There’s a part of the body’s autonomic nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which gets fired up when a threat is detected. The SNS prepares the body for fight or flight by increasing the heart rate so that blood is pumped more quickly around the body, shortening the breath, and tensing the muscles. Energy is diverted from non-critical processes such as digestion, whilst glucose is released by the liver to fuel a burst of energy. The pupils dilate to sharpen vision and hearing becomes more acute.
There’s another part of the autonomic nervous system called the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), also known as the ‘rest and digest’ response, which is designed to return the body to normal after the threat is over. This system slows down the heartbeat, stimulates digestion, allows blood to flow to non-vital organs again, and relaxes the muscles.
No more running from the bear
Whilst our threat-detection system served well to help humans survive the life-endangering threats that our primitive ancestors faced, in modern times, the fight-or-flight response is often triggered by the slightest perceived or even imagined threat or uncertainty, such as an email from your boss, a disturbing news story, a critical remark on social media. With these types of events happening frequently throughout our days, we can be left feeling in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight arousal. It’s like having the foot constantly revving the accelerator.
Applying the brake
So, how can you apply the brake and bring the body back into a rest and digest state? Using the breath is a really simple way to activate the PNS. When you inhale, the diaphragm goes down, making more space for the heart, allowing it to pump faster. As you exhale, the diaphragm goes back up, the heart gets smaller and pumps more slowly. By lengthening your exhale compared to your inhale, you will stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, applying the brake and helping to regain a sense of calm.
4-7 breathing
A really simple breathing technique that you can use if you’re feeling stressed is to inhale to the count of 4, and then exhale to the count of 7. Allow the exhale to be slow and steady – try not to force it. You can repeat several times until you feel calmer.
4-7-8 breathing
A variation on this technique is to inhale to the count of 4, hold the breath to a count of 7, and then exhale to the count of 8. Holding the breath helps to increase the physical relaxation experienced as you exhale.
Chest vs belly breathing
Have you ever paid much attention to how you breathe? Human’s natural and relaxed form of breathing is diaphragmatic – or belly – breathing (watch a new-born breathing). Chest breathing is designed to be used in situations of exertion, such as exercising, to bring in the extra oxygen needed by the muscles. It is shallow, often irregular, and rapid. Chest breathing is also activated as part of the fight-or-flight response.
However, if the body is continually in a state of stress, chest breathing can become the norm, and may lead to chronic hyperventilation. Feelings of light-headedness, heart palpitations, numbness, tingling, shortness of breath, as well as physical tension may be experienced. Imbalances in oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body can further fuel the body’s stress response.
With belly breathing, air is drawn deeply into the lungs and the respiratory system can function properly. Belly breathing involves the use of the primary inspiratory muscles – muscles designed for the purpose of breathing, whereas chest breathing involves the use of secondary muscles that are only meant to be used for short periods of breathing.
Belly breathing can therefore help to normalise the heart rate, reduce muscle tension, and ease other stress-related symptoms.
Take a moment now to check how you are breathing.
Close your eyes and place one hand on your chest and one on your belly (at your waistline).
Without changing your breathing, allow yourself to breathe naturally through your nose for a few breaths.
Notice the breathing. Which hand rises the most as you inhale? If it’s the hand on your chest, then you are chest breathing. If it’s the hand on your belly, then you are breathing diaphragmatically.
Belly breathing practice
To practice diaphragmatic breathing:
Sit comfortably with your shoulders, head and neck relaxed, feet flat on the floor.
Place one hand on the chest, the other on your belly.
Breathe in through the nose for 2-5 seconds. Notice the air moving through your nostrils and into your abdomen so that your belly expands against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
Purse your lips slightly and press gently on your stomach as you exhale slowly for 2-5 seconds (however long you inhaled for), allowing the stomach muscles to fall inward.
Repeat several times and practice regularly.
Life force
In yoga, breathwork has been used and understood for thousands of years as a way to expand life. Today, the benefits of breathwork and establishing regular patterns of breathing are becoming more widely accepted in western culture for their benefits in reversing some of the negative effects of modern life.
Here I have outlined 2 simple exercises that you can use to help counteract feelings of stress and anxiety. Regular practice of these will help you to develop better breathing habits, leading to general feelings of relaxation, as well as enabling you to draw on them in times of stress.
If you’d like to know more about how I help clients cope better with stress and anxiety, click here to arrange a call.
