How Breathing Can Reduce Stress and Quiet the Mind: A Guide to Deep Breathing Techniques and the Autonomic Nervous System - a podcast by Discussions with successful health experts such as Ben Greenfield, Terry Wa

Breathing is an automatic process that we all do without thinking about it. On average, we take 20,000 breaths per day. Breathing is such an essential process in life that people die within minutes if it stops. Your respiratory system and the body cells utilize the oxygen you breath in and, in return, create waste in the form of carbon dioxide that you breath out.

Although breathing takes a subconscious effort, did you know that you can pay more attention to how you breath and significantly impact your stress level? You indeed have the power to change your breathing to relax your brain deliberately. Breath control dramatically helps to manage stress by promoting brain relaxation.

Breathing and stress

You probably have realized that your breathing patterns change whenever you are stressed or anxious. The breathing tends to be irregular and shallow. Your chest activity can also expand and contract so much, making it hard to get adequate air in, disrupting the balance of gases in the body. Ideally, shallow over-breathing can prolong feelings of anxiety by making the physical symptoms of stress worse. It is, therefore, essential to control your breathing to help improve some of these symptoms.

How Breathing Can Quite the Mind

Have you heard people advise you to take a deep breath whenever you are stressed? It is not just a myth. Deep breathing is a practice that enables more air to flow into your body and significantly helps calm your nerves, reducing stress and anxiety. The process also helps improve your attention span and lower pain levels.

Ideally, breathing is a vital part of your body’s stress response. Purposeful deep breathing helps calm your body down when stressed or anxious. You could be wondering how exactly deep breathing works to relieve stress. Don’t worry! Here is a quick review;

You probably have heard of the autonomic nervous system from biology classes, which control involuntary actions like heart rate and digestion in your body. The autonomic nervous system is split into two parts;

1. The sympathetic nervous system controls your fight-or-flight response.
2. The parasympathetic nervous system controls your rest-relax response.

Though the two nervous systems are always active, deep breathing significantly helps calm your sympathetic nervous system, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. Shifting your breathing to a modulated, slow, relaxed pattern helps to turn the volume down on the sympathetic nervous system.

Therefore, whenever you are under stress, consider taking a deep breath by involving slower, longer breaths from your stomach to help trigger a relaxation response in the brain. You need to always focus on your breath when stressed to help counter the short, rapid breaths that your body defaults to when stressed or anxious. Practice taking deep breaths by focusing on breathing from your stomach each time you inhale. Ensure each inhalation and exhalation involves longer breaths. After some time, you will start to notice your body feeling more relaxed.

You may consult Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office at Elizabeth city, NC to learn more on how breathing can quite the mind.

 

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