Stress is one of the common states in most of us. In today’s life, you have to constantly face difficulties, pressures and challenges that make us easily fall into a state of fatigue, deadlock and depression. If you don’t want to constantly use sedatives, the best way is to equip yourself with breathing techniques that help reduce stress safely and effectively.
With the great pressures from modern life, dense academic programs and family and social relationships today, it is completely difficult to avoid periods of feeling stressed and tired. Stress is considered one of the normal and sometimes positive reactions. A little stress and pressure will also help you become more focused, increase work efficiency and make more efforts to achieve what you want.
However, if stress persists for a long time and manifests itself at a severe level, it will affect the health and quality of life of each person. The symptoms of stress, if not handled well, will gradually make you physically and mentally exhausted, the body’s activities will also be greatly reduced. In addition, prolonged stress can also increase the risk of some dangerous mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, etc.
The meaning of deep breathing
According to experts, deep breathing is the best way to help you stay calm, reduce stress and fatigue. This can be easily explained because when we know how to breathe well, it helps the brain receive a message and adjust the body back to a relaxed, calm state.
Next, the brain will begin to transmit this message to all organs in the body. Symptoms that occur when we feel stress, tension, pressure such as rapid breathing, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, etc. will all be controlled and significantly relieved when you start breathing evenly. However, not all breathing methods help you feel comfortable and relaxed. The technique with which you breathe will also affect the entire functioning of your body.
Breathing is considered as a tool that plays a great role in controlling emotions, reducing stress effectively and safely. Just knowing how to apply a few simple breathing exercises can make a big difference in health. Therefore, if you have mastered the right breathing methods, try to maintain it and make it a habit of yourself.
Why is it important to breathe properly?
In fact, although everyone knows that breathing is very important for everyone’s health, most of us pay little attention to learning about breathing techniques. Also because this is a natural activity, many people are often quite indifferent and think that the body will know how to adjust itself. However, if you do not know how to breathe properly, it will sometimes create some negative effects on your health and important internal activities.
According to experts, breathing is the process that helps the body replenish oxygen to nourish the organs. In addition, it also holds the function of eliminating toxic substances through the process of inhalation and exhalation. According to research from scientists, there are more than half a million alveoli in the lungs that will be expanded thanks to the process of breathing.
Thanks to our breathing activity, the oxygen content is moved from the bronchioles to the bronchi that are keeping the gas exchange function. The amount of oxygen supplied will be diffused into the blood to create the necessary energy source to move to other organs to serve the vital activities of the cells inside the body.
That’s why, when you know and apply the right breathing techniques, your body will be purified and purified. In addition, when the oxygen content is well tolerated, it will stimulate the process of converting black blood into red blood to feed the body. At the same time, the toxic gas content accumulated inside the body will also follow the breath and be eliminated outside.
In addition, in many studies, it has been found that breathing properly also helps you reduce stress, improve mood, and balance psychology effectively and safely. Experts share that human breath and thought have a very close relationship with each other. Therefore, when you breathe properly, your mind and consciousness will improve.
The results of a few studies have shown that when breathing correctly, it helps to increase serotonin levels – this is a substance that has a good effect in regulating mood, creating a feeling of happiness, joy and reducing stress effectively. fruit. That is why when you are stressed, stressed, tired, just taking a deep breath is enough to help dispel depression, regain a sense of comfort and relaxation.
In addition, a number of scientific studies have also shared that when the body is provided with enough oxygen, it can kill harmful germs, bacteria, and viruses from the inside. According to the share of Dr. Otto Warburg – one of the Nobel laureates (1931), cancer cells will not have a good chance to grow in an oxygen-rich environment.
How to breathe to relieve stress
As mentioned, breathing plays an extremely important role in everyone’s health, especially when the mood feels stressed and tired. To help you quickly relieve stress and pressure, you can refer to the following ways:
1. How to inhale and exhale equally
One of the simple breathing methods to reduce stress and fatigue that most people can apply is the equal inhalation and exhalation exercise. When applying this breathing method, it will help you increase your concentration, replenish positive energy and help regulate your psychological state effectively.
To be able to apply this exercise most successfully, you need to focus deeply on each breath, trying to maintain a steady breathing so that your mood is stable, from which feelings of stress and anxiety are also felt. significantly reduced. So if you feel too stressed, you can immediately apply this exercise with specific instructions as follows:
- Prioritize choosing a comfortable, quiet and cool space.
- Start in a sitting position, with your whole body relaxed.
- Slowly take a deep breath in through your nose (lasting about 4 seconds).
- The mind is completely focused on the breath and holds it for a few seconds.
- Then gently exhale (for 4 seconds).
- Sit comfortably for a few seconds and then start the breathing exercise again.
2. Abdominal breathing exercises effectively reduce stress
Abdominal breathing, also known by many people as diaphragmatic breathing, is an extremely simple breathing method that can help you reduce stress and improve your psychological state quickly. Whether children or elderly people can still apply this breath effectively.
The specific way to do this is as follows:
- Perform the exercise in a supine position on the floor or exercise mat, the body is completely relaxed, the knees are slightly bent, the eyes are half-closed to relax.
- Place one hand under the ribcage and the other on the chest so that you can easily feel the movement of the abdomen during breathing.
- Start taking deep breaths through your nose and gently press your hands on your belly to feel the movement. Try to keep the hand part numbered.
- The mouth can close and exhale slightly, at this time the abdominal muscles will begin to tighten.
- Repeat the exercise until you feel more comfortable and relaxed.
3. Reduce stress with 1:4:2 . breathing exercises
For this exercise you need to pay attention to the numbers. According to the author of “Unlimited Strength,” Robbins says that when you do this breathing exercise, it will help you gradually change your mood, the short breath will gradually be transformed into a deep, slow breath. than.
Experts say that in order to apply this breathing exercise well and help relieve stress quickly, you need to relax your mind and focus on your breathing. At this time, the mind will be rested, minimizing negative thoughts.
Just like the name implies, to start the exercise, you need to have a good understanding of each 1:4:2 number. This is the time to inhale, hold your breath, and exhale. Depending on the ability of each person, you can adjust the time ratio accordingly.
Eg:
- Inhale for about 3 seconds
- Hold your breath for about 12 seconds
- Exhale for about 6 seconds
After you get used to the exercise, you can start to increase the time based on the initial ratio of 1:4:2. According to the recommendations of experts to prevent and reduce stress, you should maintain this breathing exercise about 3 times a day and each time for about 10 minutes.
4. How to breathe Buteyko relieves stress quickly
Most people who are in a state of stress and stress have symptoms such as changes in heart rate, faster and shallower breathing than usual. Sometimes breathing becomes too rapid, making you feel that the body is lacking the necessary amount of oxygen, the activities in the body are gradually reduced.
However, according to experts, the faster breathing will make the oxygen content inside the lungs increase significantly, making the activities unbalanced and leading to a state of panic and anxiety. level. Therefore, to overcome this situation well, Dr. Buteyko has started to research and apply breathing methods to help reduce stress, stress and balance oxygen content, now this method is also named after Dr. he.
How to perform the Buteyko breathing method to help reduce stress is as follows:
- Perform the exercise in a relaxed sitting position
- Start taking a deep breath in and slowly exhale through your nose
- Next, use your fingers to cover both nostrils, hold your breath for a few seconds.
- Try to hold your breath for as long as possible.
- When the limit is reached, begin to relax the body and gradually loosen the hand from the nose.
- Then start breathing normally for about 60 seconds and continue doing the exercise again.
Thus, it can be seen that breathing plays a very important role in the health of each person. In addition, it also helps you reduce stress, improve mental quickly and safely. Hopefully, through the information of the above article, readers will know some more ways to breathe to help reduce stress effectively.
