Breathe Your Way to Instant Stress Relief!
Breathe Your Way to Instant Stress Relief!
The video explains how one can control stress levels in real-time using principles from physiology and neuroscience, focusing on the interrelation between breathing, heart rate, and stress levels.
Inhaling causes the diaphragm to move down, enlarging the heart slightly and slowing the blood flow, leading to a faster heart rate. Conversely, exhaling moves the diaphragm up, reducing the heart size and accelerating the blood flow, which results in a slower heart rate.
To become more alert, one should focus on deeper, more vigorous inhales, whereas to calm down, longer and more intense exhales are beneficial. This process, which doesn’t require any specialized breath work, is known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and is the underlying principle of heart rate variability (HRV).
Key Takeaways:
Breathing Affects Stress Levels: One’s breathing can directly influence stress or calm states.
Inhaling Increases Alertness: Inhaling makes the heart larger and slows blood flow, leading to a faster heart rate and increased alertness.
Exhaling Induces Calmness: Exhaling makes the heart smaller and speeds up blood flow, resulting in a slower heart rate and a calmer state.
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia: This is the technical term for the described physiological process affecting heart rate through breathing.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV): The described physiological process is also the basis for HRV.
Practical Application: Adjusting the intensity and duration of inhales and exhales can help control stress levels in real-time, without the need for specialized breath work.
Immediate Impact: This technique enables instantaneous control over one’s stress levels and emotional state.
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