The second in my Wellbeing Basics series. The first one on sleep can be found here.
Here's a blonde joke
(disclaimer: as a blonde-ish person myself I feel I am allowed to make one…sort
of) - A blonde walks into a beauty shop with a pair of headphones on. She asks
for a haircut. The blonde is led to a chair and asked to sit down. "Make
my hair look good, but whatever you do, don't take off the headphones",
the blonde instructs. The blonde falls asleep during the haircut and the hair
stylist thinks, "It’s really hard to cut with these headphones on".
She takes them off, and the blonde dies. The stylist calls an ambulance and
when they take the blonde away the intrigued stylist picks up the headphones
and takes a listen. She hears a little voice saying "Breathe in, breathe
out, breathe in, breathe out..." So now you all know (if you hadn’t
guessed already) that breathing is rather important – and you can actually be
doing it wrong!
Why should I care about my breathing so much?
Apart from the obvious (see
above), our breathing – or more importantly the way we breathe – can have a big
impact on, not only our bodies, but also our emotions. Breathing is an
automatic mechanism. It’s controlled by our autonomic nervous system and we
don’t have to consciously think about breathing in and out. Because our bodies
are incredibly clever, our autonomic nervous system adjusts our breathing to
suit our body’s needs. If we are exerting ourselves, if we are anxious, if we
are ill – our breathing changes as a result. This can be very helpful. However,
it can also sometimes be unhelpful. Over-breathing (or hyperventilation) can upset our body’s chemistry and in turn result in negative
physical and emotional symptoms. The opposite problem – hypoventilation
(breathing too slowly) can result in too much carbon dioxide being in the blood
and not enough oxygen. Studies have shown that there is a high correlation
between ‘incorrect’ breathing and a number of illnesses, for example: heart
disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, chronic inflammation, anxiety – to name
but a few.
Someone told me I’m breathing from the wrong place – how is that possible?
We know that breathing too
quickly or too slowly can be unhelpful, but it also matters where you’re
breathing from. This may sound odd, but a lot of people breathe from the
‘wrong’ place.
Here’s a simple test to check:
if you take a minute or so and concentrate on your breathing what part of your
body is rising and falling? Are your chest and shoulders moving, or is your
abdomen?
If your chest and shoulders are
rising and falling, this probably means you aren’t using your diaphragm (a
huge, dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of the rib cage) to breathe. The
diaphragm is the best place to breathe from. Chest breathing can mean you feel
anxious a lot of the time, that you’re over-breathing and causing potential
imbalances to your body chemistry. Disproportionate amounts of oxygen and
carbon dioxide can have a radical impact on your health – meaning you can feel
fatigued, nervy or cross; while potentially doing yourself more serious damage
in the long run.
I find the most helpful way to
calm myself is to concentrate on my stomach and breathe from there. Think of
your abdomen as a balloon that’s slowly filling up with air as you inhale and
then slowly releasing the air (or deflating the balloon) as you exhale – try to
do this without your chest or shoulders rising. Another option is to lie flat
on the floor or your bed and place a book on your stomach, covering your belly
button, and try to lift the book by breathing in and out – this can help focus
your mind on exactly where you should be breathing from. Attempt to make your
stomach bigger (vanity will have to be out aside!) – this way your body will
learn to breathe from your diaphragm rather than your chest.
Many people can find it a
slightly uncomfortable or strange experience to change their breathing pattern
– but I would suggest you try it and keep persevering! You may feel sleepy at
first, or get some funny flutterings in your diaphragm – these are all part of
your body adapting to quite a significant change to its norm. It is, however, a
positive change. If you can practice this technique for a couple of minutes a
day, you will slowly start to breathe from your diaphragm reaping the rewards,
both physically and emotionally, as a result.
Five tips to breathe in a healthier way:
· Join a choir – you will learn all
about breath control and diaphragmatic breathing, plus it can be a fun and
rewarding activity!
· Try 7/11 breathing for five to
ten minutes every day – that’s inhaling for seven seconds and then exhaling for
eleven seconds, this can help regulate your breathing and re-balance your body
chemistry.
· Be more mindful – we can
unconsciously hold our breath when we are anxious, angry, concentrating or
exerting ourselves; try to be more aware of your breath and how you are
breathing – I talk a little about breathing in an old video of mine here (at about 9 and a
half minutes in).
· Practice yoga or Tai Chi – a lot
of yoga and Tai Chi exercises include breathing techniques which may prove
beneficial, plus you’re getting some exercise at the same time; it’s a win, win
really!
· Download a breathing app – it may
sound very close to the blonde joke I opened with, but they can be very useful
as a guide if you need to quickly regulate your breathing or calm down – I’ve
been using Breathing Zone, but there
are lots of free options which I am sure are just as helpful. I talked a bit about Breathing Zone in this video here.
Do you breathe using your diaphragm? What are some things
you find helpful to regulate your breathing?
How to get in touch (and all that social media stuff)