You may have noticed that whenever you were tensed or feeling jittery, somebody around you told you to relax and take a deep breath. Sometimes we did that, literally. However, sometimes, we took them as words of comfort from our loved ones. We may not realise that the phrase ‘take a deep breath’ has such importance, especially in the nerve-wracking times that we’re living in. Feeling stressed or burnt out? Not sure what to do? Don’t worry visit buydiazepamuk to select from multiple sleeping aids available online.
Take a deep breath. Literally
Whenever we feel weighed down with the pressure of life and its complexities and get told, ‘take a deep breath, it will all be okay’, these words are more than just words of support and comfort. Science shows that if you take slow deep breaths, it can induce a relaxing effect in the body, thus helping you calm down.
We tend to take breathing for granted because it’s something we do all the time involuntarily. However, we realise its true importance only when we feel short of it.
So, what is breathing and why is it important?
Simply put, breathing is the process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. It is an involuntary, unconscious process; therefore, we’re not actively noticing that, oh, we’re breathing. In some situations, particularly stressful or fearful ones, the course of our breathing changes. We take shallow and erratic breaths in moments of physical and psychological stress. It is mainly because of the fight-or-flight response, also known as the sympathetic nervous system response, designed to help us in difficult situations.
It was researched at Columbia University that slow and deep breathing reduced stress in people who had PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), along with people who dealt with daily life stress. In addition, deep breathing exercises helped them with lowering their rapid heart rate and decreasing their blood pressure. Moreover, if deep breathing was practised with yoga or meditation, the results showed a significant decrease in cortisol, which is the stress hormone in the body, also associated with ageing.
Benefits of breathing exercises that you should know
Breathing exercises can heal us in a lot of ways. It positively impacts our physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health. It also helps us to relieve stress and relax and overcome our sleeping problems. The amazing thing about breathing exercises is that you can practically do them anywhere, and they are straightforward. There’s no need for equipment or any specific gear.
Following are some of the benefits of breathing exercises;
Breathing exercises help reduce stress and anxiety
Deep breathing has been proven useful in reducing stress and anxiety and relaxing your mind and body. As breathing involves the intake of oxygen, it calms our minds.
Better sleep
As breathing helps reduce stress and anxiety, it helps our body to relax and gives us a good night’s sleep. It helps to produce more melatonin in our body, which is a hormone required for us to fall asleep.
Improved brain functions
Breathing exercises enhance our cognitive functions and improve our concentration and focus. In return, our memory and decision-making power are also enhanced.
Improved heart health
Practising deep breaths help reduce hypertension and maintain blood pressure levels. In addition, breathing exercises can also reduce the chances of heart-related problems. Hence, breathing exercises prove to be very useful for our cardiovascular system’s health.
Beneficial for Lungs
Breathing can help with chronic lung diseases like Asthma, Emphysema, Bronchitis, etc.,
Natural Detoxification
Taking deep breaths can help remove toxic gases in your body.
Immunity Booster
Breathing exercises help with boosting immunity and improve the defence mechanism of our body.
Anti-ageing Effects
Since deep breathing is associated with lowering cortisol levels, therefore, it reduces ageing, gives glow to the skin, helps reduce your stress levels and improves your overall health.
Improved Digestion
Breathing exercises help with improved functioning of our digestive system, decreasing inflammation. It also reduces constipation, flatulence, bloating, indigestion, etc.
Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety
Disrupted breathing can bring about changes in your mental health. Mindful breathing exercises can help us think clearly. In addition, due to decreased cortisol levels, the hormone associated with stress, you can manage your symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Conclusion
Insomnia is a problem that a lot of people suffer from. It can get very challenging at times.
Slow, focused, deep breathing can help ease anxiety, thus allowing you to sleep better. In addition, deep breathing reduces stress levels, increases melatonin production, and calms the nervous system, helping you sleep like a baby.
There are a couple of different breathing techniques for helping with sleep, like 4-7-8 breathing, Diaphragmatic breathing, Buteyko breathing, box breathing, and alternate nostril breathing. All of these can massively aid your sleeping routine, thus helping you get quality sleep.