Deepen your breath, a good deep breath. Then let it out. You may feel a bit lighter than you think. Deep breathing is recommended by both mental health professionals and yogis. It has many incredible benefits for your mental health and your respiratory system.
It is estimated that we take eight million breaths each year. So why is it so difficult to get a deep, healthy one? What is a deep, full breath?
It is difficult to manage stress, but deep breathing may be an effective intervention that can help with many chronic conditions.
Deep breathing promotes body relaxation
Stress can cause your sympathetic nervous system to be stimulated. This causes stress-related symptoms like faster breathing, increased heart rate elevation, irritability and anxiety. This is part of the fight or flight response. Slowing down and deep breathing can counter the sympathetic nervous system.
Deep breathing is a softening of the abdomen. You use your diaphragm to engage in deep breathing. When you deep breathe, your stomach becomes soft and you take deep inhales with the intention to fill up your entire lung with air. You’re slowing down your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and relaxing the muscles. When you take a deep breath in, it triggers the vagus nervous systems in the body. StatPearls notes that the vagus nerve runs from your brain stem to your abdomen. It is a major component of the parasympathetic system, which is responsible in part for the body’s “rest-and-digest” activities. You can calm down by activating your parasympathetic nerve system. You will feel better and your ability to reason rationally returns.
Deep breathing, like meditation and exercise, is most effective if it’s a daily habit. It can be helpful in the moment. Patients with anxiety lower their blood pressure and heart rates by deep breathing for just one minute. You’ll reap the greatest benefits if you do it regularly. This will make your body more aware of what you’re doing and will allow it to be more responsive.
Are you ready to take a deep, slow breath and get in? Deep breathing has been shown to have benefits for many health conditions. These are just a few examples.
1. Lower blood pressure
Deep breathing can help lower blood pressure by up to 30 points for people with anxiety. If they talk to them about anxiety-provoking things, their blood pressure will rise again.
Consistency and consistent practice are key to achieving lasting health benefits, such as those for blood pressure.
In July 2019, Complementary Therapy Medicine published a review that examined 17 studies that involved 1,165 participants. It found that slow breathing exercises resulted in small drops in blood pressure. These authors concluded that breathing exercises could be an effective first treatment for those with low-risk hypertension and prehypertension, particularly those who are reluctant to use medication.
2. Patients with COPD and Asthma can have a better quality of life.
The non-pharmaceutical approach to helping people suffering from lung diseases such as COPD and asthma is breathing exercises. According to a Cochrane review, breathing exercises can be helpful for people suffering from mild to moderate asthma. There isn’t any evidence to suggest that breathing exercises can improve your health. Asthma symptoms The American Lung Association notes that diaphragmic breathing, which is slower and deeper breathing that engages your diaphragm, is frequently taught in COPD rehabilitation programs. It helps make the lungs more efficient, improves oxygen levels, and aids in breathing. People with COPD can improve their breathing and quality of living by practicing diaphragmatic breathing. This is especially true when combined with other interventions such as Breathing through the mouth According to a systematic review published in August 2019, in the Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.The American Lung Association warns that deep breathing can be difficult. The group recommends that you start slowly and not try deep breathing immediately if you feel breathless.
3. Help manage symptoms of anxiety and depression
Dr. Bell says chronic stress has become a more common problem since the COVID-19 Pandemic. He says that stress can cause a disruption in the normal breathing rhythm and lead to anxiety and other mental disorders.
Mindful breathing exercises can help people rebalance their breathing system. This can result in improvements in how they feel and think. He says that the more stressed we are, the more difficult it is to think clearly. A small study was published in June 2017, and it is here Frontiers in Psychology Participants attended 20 sessions of belly breathing (another name for diaphragmatic breath) over eight weeks. This resulted in significantly lower stress hormone cortisol levels and higher sustained attention rates than those in the control group. Cortisol and other stress hormones can be overexposed, which can lead to a number of health problems. Depression and anxiety Mayo Clinic.
4. To help with headaches, reduce tension
Deep breathing and calming the sympathetic response can help to relax and reduce muscle tension. This may be helpful for a headache in several ways. It can reduce tension in your neck, shoulders, and back which could help with headaches. If you are more relaxed, it will be easier to relax, which will help you feel better.”
Deep breathing won’t work in the middle or worst of a headache. However, it can be helpful to practice regularly, even if you feel the headache coming on, and when combined with acute and preventative medication.
5. You can get some relief from Irritable Bowel syndrome (IBS).
Deep breathing can have digestive benefits, according to Megan Elizabeth Riehl. She is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor and a health psychologist. She says that the physiological movements of diaphragms can relieve tension in the digestive tract, which can help with GERD ( reflux disease), symptoms, constipation and urgency.
Deep breaths may be helpful because tension can affect good digestion.
In April 2020, a small study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that IBS patients who received training in progressive muscle relaxation (and diaphragmatic breathing) experienced significant improvements in their IBS symptoms, depression, as well as their quality of life.
6. Reduce the severity and number of hot flashes
Cortisol levels high According to an April 2017 study, hot flashes are a symptom of menopause and have been linked to one of the stress-related hormones called “fight or flight.” Maturitas. Some evidence suggests that slow, deep breathing, at 6-8 breaths per minute, may reduce hot flashes.
Hot flashes may also be a side effect to some treatment. Deep breathing exercises are recommended by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to reduce hot flashes.