Deep breathing to combat stress?

Caution : You must consult your doctor for your health. This page presents only a personal and alternative point of view which should not be considered as an attempt to prescribe medicine.

It's no longer a secret ! When you are stressed, you have a hard time breathing well, chest breathing also called stress breathing sets in.

It consists of breathing through the top of the lungs with the ribs of the rib cage rising.

The breath becomes shorter and faster.

It is precisely in this case that we must learn to breathe deeply to better manage stress.

Breathing, when deep and slow, has a relaxing effect.

Discover here the benefits of deep breathing and some exercises to effectively manage your stress.

How is deep breathing a stress reliever?

Breathing is qualified as deep when it is done with the diaphragm, the abdomen and through the nose.

It is conscious breathing.

Here are some of its benefits.

• It eliminates toxins from the body.
• It increases oxygen in the blood.
• It regulates emotions.
• It reduces stress and anxiety.
• It aids digestion.
• It strengthens the immune system.

It should also be noted that it helps improve the quality of sleep.

Abdominal breathing: a natural anti-stress

The baby's breathing is naturally abdominal and deep.

As we grow up in an increasingly stressful environment, our breathing gradually changes and becomes chest breathing.

It is therefore necessary to relearn how to do abdominal breathing, to breathe lower, more deeply, in the belly.

The technique is as follows.

• Sit in a seat that allows you to have your back straight and the soles of your feet firmly on the ground.
• In order to better follow the breathing movements, you should put one hand on your chest and another on your stomach.
• Inhale slowly through your nose, inflating the stomach while making sure that the hand on the chest remains still.With each breath, the belly fills with air as it swells.
• Exhale through your nose as slowly as possible, emptying the air in your stomach. With each exhale, the belly contracts very slightly.

Repeat the process several times as needed.

At first this way of breathing may seem a bit difficult to do, especially if you are naturally stressed.

You will need to persevere in the daily practice to benefit from its relaxing benefits in the long term.

It helps send a large amount of oxygen to the lungs and release toxins from the body.

The brain is also well oxygenated, thus causing neuromuscular relaxation.

Cardiac coherence: an emotional regulation technique?

The goal of this cardiac coherence technique is to control his breathing and the fluctuation of his heartbeat to regulate his stress and balance his emotions.

It slows down the heart rate which increases spontaneously when you are stressed.

The technique is as follows:

1. make yourself comfortable in a quiet place, sit down, with your back straight;
2. start by establishing abdominal breathing as described above;
3. breathe in through your nose for 5 seconds;
4. breathe out through your nose, counting 5 seconds;
5. and repeat the inhale and exhale 6 times in one minute.

Cardiac coherence has short, medium and long term effects on the body.

In the short term, it calms and increases the amplitude of heart variability.

In the medium term, it helps rebalance the level of cortisol in the body.

Cortisol being the stress hormone.

It also plays a favorable role on dopamine and serotonin which are hormones of happiness.

In the long term, cardiac coherence decreases high blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

It can be done at three key times of the day.

In the morning when you get up, at this time the cortisol level is important.

Do another session four hours after the first to facilitate digestion and better manage the stress of the day.

The last session can be done in the middle or late afternoon to ensure a relaxing evening.

NOTE: despite the popularity of this technique, I am not at all a fan and I explain why in this article on the cardiac coherence.

Dr Andrew Weil's 4-7-8 technique

Andrew Weil is an alternative medicine specialist.

The goal of his technique is to exercise your brain to make you fall asleep more easily.

The technique is as follows:

1. make yourself comfortable in your bed;
2. close your eyelids and relax your shoulders;
3. relax your muscles and take breaths in and out calmly;
4. now put the tip of your tongue on your palate just behind your front teeth;
5. maintain this posture and the position of your tongue throughout the exercise;
6. exhale and breathe in deeply for a count of four;
7. hold your breath for a count of 7;
8. and breathe out through your mouth for a count of 8.

It is recommended to repeat this breathing exercise 3 times.

For a perfect mastery of the technique, it will be useful to train daily to benefit from its benefits.

NOTE: this technique is particularly recommended by Tony Robins, one of the most famous American coaches. However, I do not recommend this technique because I am against the practice of full lung retention especially for a stressed person.

So take a deep breath for a more relaxing life with less stress.

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