Deep breathing is a tried and true way to lessen stress and anxiety. It can also improve attention span and lower pain levels.
Our breath isn’t just a part of our body’s stress response - it’s actually key to it. Our nervous system is split into 2 parts. The sympathetic nervous system controls our fight-or-flight response and the parasympathetic nervous system controls our rest and relax response. The two can’t actually be turned on at the same time so when we work to activate one, the other will be suppressed.
Breathing deeply also moves more carbon dioxide into our blood, quieting down parts of the brain, like the amygdala, that handle anxiety response and helping to synchronize our heartbeat and breathing. Deep breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system through slower, longer breaths from the stomach that counter the short, rapid breaths defaulted to when we are stressed or anxious.
Now that we know the biology behind why deep breathing works to calm the body and mind - next week we will share some techniques to up your deep breathing skills.
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