What if we could improve our sense of calm and well-being, slow our heart rate and lower blood pressure, all by paying attention to a few of the 20,000 daily breaths we take?
Recent research suggests breathing techniques can even be more effective than meditation at improving these vital signs, lowering anxiety and increasing relaxation.
Cyclic Sighing to wind down
In cyclic sighing, breathe in through your nose as much air as you can hold. When finished, take in more air through your nose, even a small amount. After that, slowly let out all the air in your lungs before starting the process again. Repeat for 5 minutes (use a timer so you’re not distracted by wondering how much time is left or how much has passed).
Square off with stress using Box Breathing
Box breathing, also known as “4,4,4,4” breathing, may feel more accessible to those in high-stress situations. Used by the military and other groups for stress management, box breathing has also been shown to positively impact nervous system function and regulation.
To perform this technique, inhale through your nose for a count of 4, pause with lungs full, exhale for a count of 4, and then count to 4 once more before inhaling again. Set a timer for 5 minutes to know when to check in with yourself. Do another round if needed, or move on to cyclic sighing if you feel calm enough to try it.
If all else fails…
Even a type of breathing known as cyclic hyperventilation with retention, which sounds like a bad thing, had a slight edge over meditation during recent research in relaxing “fight-or-flight” nervous system activation.
This technique involves a deep inhale, preferably through the nose, followed by exhaling passively, letting air “fall out” of your mouth before beginning again. As with all the techniques, setting a 5-minute timer at the beginning is a great way to take that aspect off your mind.
Nasal breathing > mouth breathing for brain gain
Try to inhale through your nose whenever possible, especially during relaxation and anxiety reduction exercises. Breathing through your nose has unique advantages for your brain.
Because specific brain centers are stimulated by air entering your nose, it’s an important tool for emotional distinction as well as memory recognition tasks. Even in brain processes having nothing to do with smell, visual and spatial tasks were uniquely linked in studies to air inhaled through the nose.
References
Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., Holl, G., Zeitzer, J. M., Spiegel, D., & Huberman, A. D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
Perl, O., Ravia, A., Rubinson, M., Eisen, A., Soroka, T., Mor, N., Secundo, L., & Sobel, N. (2019). Human non-olfactory cognition phase-locked with inhalation. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(5), 501-512. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0556-z
Zelano, C., Jiang, H., Zhou, G., Arora, N., Schuele, S., Rosenow, J., & Gottfried, J. A. (2016). Nasal respiration entrains human limbic oscillations and modulates cognitive function. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(49), 12448-12467. https://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/49/12448?fbclid=IwAR3ntZcmw4q6wL4mpS8y0sY1a3IPn8PeMVhFir7faXD_ENzsELo09n2Bmq4