Curb Anxiety With a Simple Breathing Exercise
Many of us – perhaps, especially lately – have experienced heart palpitations, feelings of anxiety that make us sweat, tremble, and perhaps even harder to breathe. But it turns out that our instinct to breathe hard when we are stressed has an adverse effect.
In the recent issue of The Upgrade, we spoke with science journalist James Nestor, author of Breathing: The New Science of the Lost Art , about the physiological effects of different breathing patterns. And, he says, when it comes to anxiety, the way we naturally tend to breathe is actually detrimental to our state of mind and our sense of well-being:
People who are worried and people who traditionally have asthma breathe through their mouths and usually breathe too much. And if you breathe too much, you increase your heart rate. You are causing inflammation. You get into a really stressful state, which is not good. It only makes you anxious.
Instead, when you feel anxious, James says the trick is to aim to slow your breathing and breathe through your nose.
The great thing about breathing is that you can use it to stimulate a soothing and relaxed state of this parasympathetic side of your nervous system. And so I learned that one of the most beneficial breathing techniques they use for people with anxiety, asthma, depression, even people with chronic pneumonia and other problems is to inhale at a rate of about five to six seconds. Don’t worry about half a second or anything else. And exhale at the same rate. If you are breathing this way now, then you are allowing your body to work at its maximum efficiency. You increase the flow of oxygen to your brain. You increase circulation to your limbs and your heart rate will drop. And your blood pressure. I have found that my blood pressure can drop by 10-15 points right after a few minutes of this breathing.
James warns that the relaxed state can lead you in, it is probably best not to practice this in situations where you need to be very attentive, such as when driving or before an important meeting. But if you are in a safe place and really need to calm down, you can take this simple practice one step further.
If you want to relax even more, the longer you exhale, the more you will bring your nervous system into this relaxed state. So if you breathe in for about four or five, and now let’s breathe out for about 10. It seems very long, but just breathe out very calmly. As you do this, you can put your hand on your heart and you will feel your heart rate getting slower, slower and slower. Take another breath to count about four or five. Exhale for about 10.
It is important to note that breathing through the nose is key. It ‘s much better for your health than mouth breathing, according to James, because our intricate marine cavity is shaped in a way that helps filter and protect your airways from harmful particles such as allergens and, yes, viruses. Breathing through your nose also moisturizes the air you breathe in and increases the amount of oxygen entering your system.
James says that if you breathe frequently through your mouth, you can learn to breathe through your nose simply by covering the center of your lips (rather than the entire mouth) with a piece of medical tape at night.
So the next time you feel an onset of hyperventilation, remember: inhale through your nose for 4-5 seconds and exhale through your nose for 5-10 seconds.