Calm Yourself Through Breathing
When we are anxious or stressed, our breathing often becomes faster and shallower. But the connection works in the other direction too: deliberately changing the way we breathe can help us feel calmer.
Controlled breathing has been studied as a simple way to reduce stress and anxiety. Research suggests that slow breathing can influence the nervous system and help reduce feelings of stress.
Try Slow Breathing
There are many breathing techniques, but you don't need anything complicated.
Try this:
Breathe in gently through your nose for about 4 seconds.
Breathe out slowly through your mouth for about 6 seconds.
Continue for five minutes, without forcing the breath.
The exact numbers aren't important. The basic idea is to slow your breathing and relax, with a comfortable exhalation that is somewhat longer than the inhalation.
Just Five Minutes May Help
In one randomized Stanford study, people practiced several different breathing exercises for just five minutes a day for a month. The breathing exercises improved mood and reduced anxiety, with particularly good results from cyclic sighing, a technique that emphasizes longer exhalations.
You don't need to master a particular technique. Regularly taking a few minutes to slow your breathing may be more important than finding the perfect method.
When to Use It
Slow breathing can be useful when you are tense or worried, before a stressful event, when you're having trouble settling down before sleep, or simply when you want a few quiet minutes during the day.
It requires no equipment, costs nothing, and can be done almost anywhere.
Bottom Line
When you notice yourself becoming tense, pay attention to your breathing.
Slow it down, breathe comfortably, and give yourself five minutes.
Sometimes one of the simplest ways to calm the mind is to start with the breath.
Learn More
A Stanford randomized study comparing several five-minute breathing exercises with mindfulness meditation. The researchers found that brief daily breathing exercises improved mood and reduced physiological arousal.
A review of 58 studies examining breathing practices for reducing stress and anxiety and what characteristics appear to make them most effective.