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Getting Rid of Stress
Take a Deep Breath....and Relax! Your mind chatters on about everything you need to get done today. Your palms sweat, your heart races, your breathing is fast and shallow. Stop right there and take a deep breath—or two, three or four. “Inhale down into your abdomen and you immediately become tuned into the present,” says William Miller, M.D., family practice physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “You’re slowing everything down. Your intuition is working. You’re open to the sights and smells around you.” Breathing: we do it all day, every day, and most of us don’t even think about it. But how we breathe is a sign of how we feel and cope. “When someone comes into my office, I notice their breathing,” Miller says. “If there is a health problem, the breathing will most likely be affected. For example, we know that stress triggers asthma attacks.” Does deep breathing make a difference?Breath is our most vital link with life. Consider that we breathe about 21,600 times a day, delivering more than 88 pounds of oxygen to our heart, brain and other cells. If shallow breathing is a habit, are we depriving ourselves of the oxygen we need?Probably not, Miller says. “People who have sleep apnea (stopped breathing during sleep) are at greater risk for high blood pressure and heart disease, but research has not shown that abnormal awake breathing raises that risk.” Humans instinctively know how to breathe correctly, says Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network pulmonologist Daniel Ray, M.D. “The brain, heart and lungs work together to deliver oxygen to the blood and vital organs,” he says. However, even if deep breathing doesn’t affect our oxygen intake, it does help us relax—and that in itself has important health benefits. “When you release tension by breathing deeply, you can ease a headache, help lower blood pressure and reduce the sensation of shortness of breath from asthma or other lung problems,” Ray says. Learning how to do itThe key to deep breathing is to bring air into your diaphragm. Practice with this exercise, says Connie Fehr, exercise specialist for Healthy You programs at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network: “Lie on your back. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Only the hand on your stomach should move up and down when you breathe.”To learn deep breathing, try yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi. “You move into a pose, exhale and let your muscles elongate. It goes back to the ancient Eastern tradition of connecting your mind, body and spirit,” Fehr says. No time for long breathing sessions or yoga classes? Simply take a “mini breathing break” for five minutes twice a day. “You can do it anywhere—in the car, at your desk, in the shower, while making dinner or lying in bed,” says Jennifer Maloney, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network occupational therapist and Pilates instructor. “Inhale slowly as if you were smelling a flower and exhale as if you were blowing out candles on a birthday cake.” Maloney has felt the benefit. “I haven’t had an asthma attack since I began daily deep breathing,” she says. “Today, I teach the technique to people who have depression and anxiety, and together we experience a new sense of self-expression and awareness. It’s a great cleanser.”
Want to Know More? For a list of breathing and mindfulness exercises, call 610-402-CARE. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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