Deep Breathing is a Complete Guide to Relaxation

Overview

* Breathing is interesting because we do it without thinking. When aware of our breathing patterns, we can deliberately control them. We can manage our breath by slowing, speeding, or taking shallow or deep breaths.

* How we breathe influences health.  Baxter Bell, MD, a qualified yoga instructor and medical acupuncturist, says deep breathing or conscious breath control can benefit our bodies.  “First, we can lower our blood pressure and stress and think more clearly,” he explains.  According to him, deep breathing frequently promotes well-being by calming and centering.

* Read on to learn how deep breathing works and how it can benefit you. It requires no special equipment and can be done at any time of day.

Breathing Function.

• Inhaling and exhaling are the two phases of breathing. 
• The diaphragm—the large, dome-shaped muscle between your chest and abdominal cavities—contracts and descends when you inhale. 
• Extra room in the chest cavity allows the lungs to expand.  The diaphragm relaxes when you exhale because you breathe less air.
• Breathing is necessary for moving muscles, digesting food, and reading these words.
• These processes produce carbon dioxide, which the body exhales through breathing.

Deep breathing

 Define deep breathing.

• Deep breathing involves intentionally filling your lungs with air. 
• “You usually don't get that when you're breathing normally,” explains Cleveland Clinic Health System Center for Integrative Medicine doctor Yufang Lin, MD.
• Shallow breathing may indicate inadvertent stress or stress itself.  

• Dr. Bell says deep breathing naturally slows the breath. 
• “When sitting down or doing a nonstrenuous activity, most people breathe in for two seconds and out for two seconds,” he explains.  
•   This is a common respiration rate when we're not thinking about our breath.

• Megan Elizabeth Riehl, PsyD, a clinical assistant professor and health psychologist at the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, advises relaxing your stomach region while deep breathing.  
• "We slowly fill the lungs with air and let them expand, which moves the diaphragm as it contracts.  
• She says, "We exhale all the air," as the diaphragm relaxes and the chest wall recoils.  She suggests we may slow our breathing by focusing on this procedure.

• Dr. Riehl adds that breath-focused meditation doesn't have to involve deep breathing, though yoga or mindfulness can include it.
• “Some yoga breathing is like diaphragmatic breathing, but sometimes it's different.  “ Some yoga breathing patterns require you to close your mouth,” she says.  
• She advises breathing in via the nose and out through the mouth in diaphragmatic, or deep, breathing.

• Breath-focused meditation can help you become conscious and embrace the present. 
• Riehl believes your breath is the only thing in the moment—you can't breathe ahead or backward.

• She says meditation and guided relaxation generally start with awareness of your breath as you breathe in and out, but you may not practice deep breathing or modify your breath pattern.  

It may be a reminder to breathe swiftly or gently.  Shallow or deep?  Riehl thinks mindfulness or meditation is different from focused diaphragmatic breathing.

Shallow Breathing Cons

* “Stress can shift our breathing,” Riehl explains.  Stress or tension can cause shallow breathing.

* She claims this is due to sympathetic arousal, which is activated by stress.  According to Riehl, hormones released during the "fight or flight response" increase respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure.  Whether an automobile swerves at you or you're talking to your employer about a raise, the sympathetic system prepares the body to survive.

* She says shallow breathing can tense your shoulders, jaw, hands, and back.  “ That tension increases GI distress.  Stress can cause shallow breathing, which can lead to greater stress, she explains.

Chest vs. abdominal breathing

The video about belly vs chest breathing

* All humans are deep breathers, explains Riehl.  Think about a baby sleeping.  Their small bellies rise and fall quietly and peacefully—you can see that,” she says.

* Riehl says we go from belly to chest breathing as we get older and exercise more.

* Dr. Lin believes chest breathing still moves air through our lungs, but it's shorter and shallower.  “When we breathe daily, most of us use the upper half or top third of our lungs.  She says when you take a deep breath, your chest rises, but most people's abdomens don't move.

* The diaphragm contracts to expand the abdomen and fill the lungs when abdominal breathing begins in the nose and proceeds to the stomach. Because it pulls down on the lungs, abdominal breathing is more efficient and brings in more oxygen than chest breathing. Breathing in increases chest cavity negative pressure, allowing more air into the lungs.

Possible Deep Breathing Health Benefits

• Bell claims that deep breathing reduces stress, which can cause various health issues.  Experts say deep breathing is safe for most individuals despite conflicting findings.

• This supplemental method may help you manage a health condition, whether done alone, as a meditation, or with yoga.

Deep breathing may help you to manage or improve:

• Lowering stress and anxiety can help GI problems like IBS. 
• High blood pressure
• Stress reduction and relaxation can help treat mental health illnesses like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, as well as sleep disorders like insomnia. 
• Lowering perceived stress helps pelvic floor issues, including overactive bladder. 
• Improves air circulation and quality of life in COPD and hyperventilation, lung function, and quality of life in mild to moderate asthma. 
• Reducing inflammation and psoriasis outbreaks may help skin diseases like eczema. 
• Autoimmune diseases like RA and lupus increase heart rate variability, a marker of heart health. 

 In advanced stages

• Parkinson's disease can induce dysphagia, breathing problems, and migraines.
• Hot flashes, fast heart rate, and other perimenopause symptoms can be distressing.  High blood sugar and oxidative stress accelerate type 2 diabetes.
• It aids COVID-19 recovery by increasing lung capacity, diaphragmatic function, and stress reduction.
• Riehl has seen that deep breathing helps her IBS and ulcerative colitis patients.  
• She thinks deep breathing reduces digestive system tension due to diaphragm movement.  “This can aid digestion and help with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), constipation, and diarrhea,” explains Riehl.  

Stress relaxed

• Deep breathing can help us feel and think better when we're overwhelmed.  “The more stressed we are, the harder it can be to think clearly,” she explains.
• Stress is linked to mental health illnesses despite their complicated causes.  Bell says persistent stress disrupts respiratory rhythm.  “That imbalance could cause anxiety, insomnia, or other problems.  He suggests conscious breathing activities to reset their breathing system.

Does deep breathing pose health risks?

Riehl argues that deep breathing is a low-risk intervention.  “When learning diaphragmatic breathing, people sometimes feel light-headed.  “They put more oxygen in their bodies than usual, which lowers carbon dioxide,” she says.  She says that it may change how you breathe, but it's safe.  Consult your healthcare staff if you experience pain or light-headedness before initiating deep breathing.

How to practice deep breathing? 

• Riehl suggests practicing deep breathing daily or if you're worried or overloaded.  Since deep breathing helps one sleep, doing it before bed can be useful.
• “In stressful times, you may hold your breath or gasp.  Deep breathing or another relaxation practice can help you activate our parasympathetic system, or relaxation response.  We can restore the baseline by doing that, she explains.

Simple Beginner Deep-Breathing Exercise

Deep-breathing beginners should start with this exercise, according to Riehl.

* Put one hand on your chest and one on your tummy. Breathe regularly; the top hand will likely move more than the bottom.  Riehl advises shifting it so the top hand stays static and the lower hand moves as the belly rises and falls.

* Relax your tummy while you breathe deeply through your nostrils.  She suggests counting to four to yourself to get into a rhythm by inhaling through your nose to four.  The belly will slowly rise and fall as you breathe in and out.  “Try to make your exhale last a second or two longer than your inhale,” advises Riehl.  Practice that for 6 to 10 breaths—you don't need 20 minutes if you're new to deep breathing.”

* She claims you can stop counting once you get used to it.  Just observe it takes a couple of seconds to breathe in and the belly to rise, and then a couple of seconds to breathe out and the belly to fall. Try to make your exhale last a little longer than your inhale.

* Bell adds that slowing down and managing breath during a stressful situation—whether you're apprehensive, have lower back discomfort, or something else—can make a difference.  “It can give us control in situations where we feel powerless.  He finds it empowering to have something you can use right away.

Conclusion

Deep breathing is easy but effective and can improve mental wellness. Modern science has confirmed this centuries-old method, which is employed in stress management and treatment.

The beauty of deep breathing is its simplicity and accessibility. Start at your speed, making little but major mental and physical health improvements.