When we’re feeling stressed, the stress hormones make us fixate on potential threats – this makes us laser focus in on the potential worst-case scenarios. Yes, there are things to be concerned about at the moment, however staying in a state of worry and fear does not serve you or those around you, and will not support your body – in fact, long-term stress weakens the immune system.
So, for your mood and your overall health, it’s really important that you do what you can to keep your stress levels down.
One of the easiest and quickest ways to do this is to BREATHE – properly.
The key is to breathe through the nose (not the mouth) making the exhale longer than the inhale, breathing into the belly.
When we’re stressed, we take short, sharp, shallow breaths using the top part of the chest and lungs – and if we’re really stressed we might be breathing through the mouth – so we need purposely do the opposite.
So try this whenever you’re feeling stressed, and if you’re feeling particularly tense or on edge at the moment, I recommend that you do this as soon as you wake up and when you are ready to go to sleep, and I’d also set some kind of reminder to do this multiple times throughout the day.
The Technique:
Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 7 seconds, hold for 7 seconds.
As you breathe in, imagine you’re inflating your belly with the air – so your belly should push out.
When you exhale, do the opposite, pull the belly button back towards the spine – it’s an in and out feeling to the breath rather than up and down.
For those of you with a good lung capacity, try 7 counts inhale, 7 hold, 11 exhale, 11 hold.
This seems so easy and simple that many people don’t recognise the power of correct nose breathing – so do try this when you feel stressed.
Kate x
