Sigh it out
Just one breath is all it takes to change the way you think
This is one of my favorite breathing exercises, because it's so quick and easy. It takes about ten seconds, and it can immediately change your mood.
Take a big, deep breath. Doesn't matter if it's through your mouth or your nose, just breathe in as much as you can. Fill your chest completely, all the way down into your belly. Then hold it for about two seconds, and let it go in a big, long whoosh. Breathe out through your mouth, and completely empty your lungs. Don't puff it all out quickly, take your time. Four or five seconds is generally about right. And that's it. You can repeat it a couple of times if you want, but it's often not necessary.
“That’s the wonderful thing about it. There are no side effects. It’s cheap. And everyone has had the experience of taking a single deep breath—you take one, and you feel it; it’s relaxing.”
- Jeanie Park, MD1
That one deep, mindful breath can be sufficient to interrupt an instinctive stress response and give you time to think before reacting. By taking in extra oxygen and clearing out excess carbon dioxide, you're reducing the levels of noradrenaline, which gives you a chance to switch from a stress-driven mode to a conscious mode. In addition, by disrupting the one set of oscillations in the brain we can directly control—our breathing—we’re affecting the signal processing in the brain in areas that are important for both emotion and cognition.
For example:
if you find yourself getting angry with someone and need to calm down
when you're frustrated and need to step back
when you're nervous and need strength
when you're upset or sad and need to regain control
when you're trying to make a decision and need clarity
when something is over and you need to switch gears
Just one breath is all it takes.
I'm not a doctor, dietitian, nutritionist, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, meditation trainer, yoga teacher, or anything else. My academic background is in anthropology, and I've taken some neuroscience courses, but otherwise I'm self-educated. Nothing in this blog constitutes professional advice.
Take A Deep Breath, American Physiological Society, 2021