Fast & Easy Stress Relief Technique To Do Anywhere
Breathing exercises, meditation, journaling and other ways to reduce stress are fantastic, but when the stressful moment is happening it’s difficult to do that. Here’s a fast and easy stress relief technique that you can do as your stress arises.
This stress kill switch is a simple breathing exercise called the “physiological sigh” or “cyclic sigh”, and it can be done anywhere unnoticed.
This is a normal human response that when used with intention can stop physiological stress. The brain thinks it’s no longer stressed and calms your heart and body down. The best part? No one will know you’re calming yourself!
The “physiological sigh” is simply a double breath in, and a long extended exhale.
This breathing technique relieves stress by using the diaphragm to leave less space for the heart. This makes the heart pump blood faster, causing the brain to believe that everything is okay now. You’re not be chased by a predator so you can de-stress.
This stress management technique will eliminate stress in seconds!
The physiological sigh was discovered in the 1930s, first noticed in babies. (Maybe you’ve noticed babies taking a double inhale when crying too. This is how they calm down.)
One of the pivotal modern studies on the physiological sigh is by Dr. Jack Feldman, a professor of neurobiology at UCLA. His team worked on understanding the brain mechanisms and circuits behind the physiological sigh, with their study publish in 2016.
The double breath in with an extended exhale causes your diaphragm to move up, compacting the space for your heart. The smaller heart makes blood flow faster. This signals the sinoatrial node in the heart that it’s slowing down. A message is then sent to your brainstem telling it that your heart is indeed slower, crisis averted. In response, the brain sends its own signal to the heart to slow down.
Your whole body is now in agreement, no more stress reaction!
Want more info than my simplified explanation? Here is an in depth discussion on the physiological sigh and how to use it by Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist and tenured associate professor in the department of neurobiology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Practice the physiological sigh also known as cyclic breathing (double breath slow release) until it’s not obvious.
You can use this 5 minute guided breathing video for practice, but in real time you only need one or two physiological sighs to be effective for stress relief.
