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Stress… More and more often we forget where we put the keys, we can’t cope with the preparation of a report at work, we can hardly keep our concentration on anything. The body has rejected attempts to attract our attention and turned on the «energy saving mode». «I’ll rest and everything will pass» — does not work. What will help restore efficiency and energy?
Breathing and stress
We are used to thinking that chronic stress is caused by unresolved emotions or external stimuli: problems at work, in finances, in relationships or with children. Very often it happens. However, these factors are far from the only ones and sometimes not the most important ones. It may turn out that going to a psychologist is not enough to recover.
“The nervous system largely determines our health,” says Yulia Rudakova, trainer in functional neurology. — It is on her condition that our physical and moral well-being depends — in what mood we wake up in the morning, what we feel during the day, how we sleep, how our eating behavior functions. All this is to some extent determined by the physical state of the brain. Thus, when stress is produced cortisol, which damages its cells responsible for memory and cognitive thinking. But there is something else that has a significant impact on the functioning of the nervous system. It’s breath.»
How to breathe correctly
The neuron is the main cell of the nervous system. It can function properly and be active only if it receives enough fuel — oxygen. It enters the body through breathing, which we perceive as something automatic. So it is, only automatic actions do not always work correctly.
“No matter how strange it may sound, 90% of people on the planet do not know how to breathe properly. Yulia Rudakova notes. Let’s start with the fact that you need to breathe deeply. Not the way we often do at a doctor’s appointment: we inhale loudly with the upper part of the chest, while raising our shoulders up. Deep breathing is when the diaphragm works, and the shoulders remain in place.
It is stress that changes the way of breathing from diaphragmatic to superficial — chest. This pattern quickly takes root and becomes habitual.
“Deep breathing should not be heard or seen,” says Yulia Rudakova. “Lao Tzu also said: “A perfect person has such a breath as if he did not breathe at all.”
But be careful. Diaphragmatic breathing is often described as belly breathing. This is not entirely true, because the diaphragm is attached around the entire circumference of the chest. When we breathe correctly, it is as if a balloon is inflated inside: forward, to the sides and to the back.
If we put our hands on the lower ribs, we should feel how they expand in all directions.
“There is another misconception,” adds Yulia Rudakova. — It seems to us: the more often we breathe, the more oxygen we get, but everything is exactly the opposite. In order for oxygen to reach the brain cells, there must be a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide in the body. Its amount decreases when we breathe frequently. Oxygen in this case cannot pass into the cells, and the person is in a state of hyperventilation, and the nervous system suffers. Therefore, it is very important that the breath be slow and that the exhalation be longer than the inhalation.”
The autonomic nervous system is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic is responsible for survival and is activated when we are in danger. We breathe faster, blood pressure rises, blood drains from the gastrointestinal tract and passes into the limbs, cortisol and other stress hormones are produced.
After the experienced emotions, the parasympathetic nervous system must start working so that all the depleted resources of the body can be restored. But if we do not know how to breathe properly, then we force the sympathetic nervous system and the whole body to work for wear and tear and fall into a vicious circle. The more often we breathe, the more active the sympathy, the more active the sympathy, the more often we breathe. In this state, the body cannot remain healthy for a long time.
We can independently check how much weaned our body from an adequate level of carbon dioxide.
To do this, you need to sit down with a straight back and take a calm breath through your nose. Do not raise your shoulders, try to breathe with your diaphragm.
After exhaling, hold your nose with your hand and turn on the stopwatch.
You need to wait for the first tangible desire to inhale, at which a twitch of the diaphragm can be felt, and then turn off the stopwatch and see the result.
40 seconds or more is considered good. Lasted less than 20? Your body is under stress and you are most likely hyperventilating.
“When we hold our breath, carbon dioxide begins to rise,” says Yulia Rudakova. “Oxygen in the blood is enough for us not to breathe for about a minute, but if our nervous system has become unaccustomed to the normal level of carbon dioxide, it perceives its growth as a great danger and says: what are you, let’s breathe in soon, we will suffocate now!” But we don’t need to panic. Anyone can learn to breathe.
Matter of practice
Another way to check if your body is getting enough oxygen is to count how many breaths per minute you take. “In medical sources, you can find information that 16–22 breaths is the norm,” says Yulia Rudakova. “But in recent years, a lot of scientific research and data have appeared that it is slow breathing that has a beneficial effect on the body: it reduces pain and stress, improves cognitive abilities, and improves the functioning of the respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. Therefore, at rest, 8–12 breath cycles are optimal.”
For many, slow breathing can be very difficult, but over time, the discomfort will begin to pass, the main thing is to train.
Slow breathing exercise
Inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 6.
If you can’t manage, start with 3 seconds for both inhalation and exhalation.
Be sure to lengthen your exhalation over time.
Do the exercise 2 times a day for 10 minutes.
“Breathing like this activates the vagus nerve,” explains the functional neuroscience trainer. — This is the main parasympathetic channel, it includes the department of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for recovery and relaxation.
If you have trouble falling asleep, it is very helpful to do this exercise before bed. And remember to breathe through your nose! Even in sports with a light jog or other not very strong load. This allows you to saturate the brain and other organs with more oxygen.”
Ancient brain and panic attacks
In especially difficult moments of life, our body may not be able to cope with emotional intensity. If at the same time he is in a state of hyperventilation, the likelihood of a panic attack increases. But even so, with the help of work on the nervous system, you can almost instantly help yourself and reduce the repetition of attacks in the future.
“Our brain is conditionally divided into new and ancient,” says the functional neuroscience trainer. “The higher nervous functions live in the new brain — what distinguishes humans from animals: consciousness, planning, control over emotions.
The ancient brain is a wild unbroken steed that, in moments of danger, breaks free from the reins, rushes into the steppe and does not understand what is happening. Unlike its rider — the new brain — the ancient reacts with lightning speed in emergency situations, but it is very difficult to pacify it. So he can do a lot of stupid things.»
During times of stress, our new brain shuts down, and the ancient one takes over the reins at that moment so that we can survive.
The rest doesn’t bother him. However, we can independently turn on the new brain to suppress the activity of the ancient one. For example, with the help of rational actions.
“In modern realities, this has become even easier. There are special games on the phone,” Yulia Rudakova shares. — One of them is the game «Stroop effect», which helps to turn on the frontal lobe. Try playing it for just a few minutes and you’ll feel like the panic attack is gone.» The game is useful not only for people prone to panic attacks, it perfectly relieves background anxiety in any person. It is enough to play it 10 minutes a day. If we are on the phone, then with benefit.
Text: Alisa Poplavskaya