Did you know that sometimes anxiety is a result of how you breathe? That we don’t just breathe fast because we’re anxious, but also vice versa?

Most of the time we’re not very conscious of our breathing, and for good reason–it’s automatic, so that we won’t die because we forgot to breathe! However, conscious breathing gives us a lot more choices as to how we feel in any given moment.


Our autonomic nervous system has two branches, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is responsible for keeping us alert to danger and ready to respond rapidly with intense muscle activity, such as running away or fighting off an enemy. Hence, it’s known as the “fight or flight” response, and others have added “freeze” and “fawn” to that list. The amygdala, part of the brainstem, assesses threat; when threat is perceived, it triggers the SNS. The threat response is designed to keep us safe, and it’s meant for a short-term mobilization of all our resources. The adrenal glands secrete cortisol and adrenalin, causing the heart to beat faster, blood pressure to rise, and muscles to tense; blood glucose levels go up to provide more energy to the muscles. Digestion is low priority; that can be done after the threat has passed.

Unfortunately, the stressors that our bodies were designed to handle, thousands of years ago, are unlike our modern stressors. Instead of running away at top speed from an abusive boss, we may cringe, tense, and internally fume with anger. Instead of slugging a critical teacher or acquaintance, we bottle up our feelings or even blame ourselves. Our bodies are stuck with no way to discharge all those stress hormones. Muscle tension, elevated blood sugar levels, and high blood pressure can become chronic problems when there are multiple long-term, unresolved stressors in our lives. Vigorous physical activity can help discharge some of this built-up tension.

The other branch is the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This is the “rest and digest” branch, and is responsible for repairing damaged tissues, enhancing immune system function, and thoroughly digesting our food. It helps us sleep well and awaken renewed, and keeps our bodies healthy.

Clearly, an imbalance– too much stressful activation of the sympathetic nervous system–can lead to illness.

Balance

In a balanced system, on our in-breath the sympathetic branch is slightly stimulated, while on the out-breath we slightly stimulate the parasympathetic. This explains why one of the quickest ways to relax tension is to lengthen the out-breath! A slow exhalation signals the brain that it is safe to relax, soothes the vagus nerve, and stimulates the parasympathetic system. It isn’t hard to do. You can inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 6-8 seconds, with a tiny bit of practice. If it feels awkward, try this: purse your lips while exhaling, so that your air is held back a little.

Panic Attacks

If you’ve ever suffered from a panic attack, most likely you were breathing rapidly, trying to get more oxygen, and having disastrous thoughts: “What if I pass out, or have a heart attack and die?” It’s terrifying and devastating!

What’s actually happening in the body is called hyperventilation or over-breathing. When we breathe rapidly, often through the mouth, our CO2 levels drop. The blood pH becomes alkaline, as carbonic acid levels in the blood go down. And then a weird thing happens. The hemoglobin in the blood, which is the carrier of oxygen to the brain, muscles, and so on, can’t release the oxygen when the pH is too alkaline. There’s plenty of oxygen, but it can’t be offloaded to the tissues that need it. Our brains are screaming, “I need oxygen!” This stimulates us to breathe even harder, which only makes things worse. Without enough oxygen, the brain foretells doom. It’s counter-intuitive to breathe more slowly in such a situation, because we feel so unsafe and hungry for air. A panic attack sufferer may be told to breathe in and out of a paper bag. This helps because it causes the exhaled CO2 to be re-inhaled, thus balancing the pH.

Most people can prevent (or quickly stop) a panic attack by practicing the slower exhalation for a few minutes, calming the nervous system and lowering the blood’s pH to normal levels.

The most beneficial way to breathe

Always breathe through your nose. That tends to slow the breath, filtering, humidifying and warming the air that reaches the delicate lung tissues and protecting them. Did you know that the alveoli, or air sacks where oxygen diffuses into the blood, are just one cell thick?

Inhaling through the nose gives the added benefit of inhaling our bodies’ natural nitric oxide (NO). This helps promote:

• Vasodilation: Nitric oxide promotes the relaxation and widening of blood vessels, which enhances blood flow and lowers blood pressure. This helps in preventing hypertension and coronary artery disease. It helps protect the endothelium (the inner lining of blood vessels).
• Endurance: By increasing blood flow, nitric oxide helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to muscles during exercise, improving endurance and reducing fatigue. It aids in muscle repair by facilitating the removal of metabolic waste products from muscles post-exercise.
• Brain Health: Nitric oxide improves cerebral blood flow, which can enhance cognitive functions and potentially reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
• Immune Response: Nitric oxide helps combat pathogens and facilitates communication among immune cells, enhancing the body’s ability to respond to infections. It helps regulate inflammation.
• Tissue Repair: Nitric oxide contributes to various wound healing processes, including inflammation regulation, collagen formation, and antimicrobial action.

A 10 to 11 second breath is ideal, and once you’re calm, you can breathe equal time in and out, such as 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out. That’s right, just 6 breaths a minute! Most people breathing unconsciously are taking at least 12 breaths a minute, even at rest. How about you? When we are sitting quietly, we can easily learn to breathe as little as 4 slow breaths per minute. You may notice that you can even pause at the end of an exhalation before you begin to feel the need for the next breath. Be playful and explore!