Breathing is one of the fundamental tenets of mindfulness. When beginning to learn meditation and yoga, most people spend a good amount of time learning to breath and becoming comfortable with the motion before moving on to more advanced parts of the practice. Breath is such a vital part of yoga and meditation because it is considered a measure of our life. It stands to reason that controlling our breathing would then help lower anxiety, reduce stress, and make it easier to sleep.
No matter what breathing technique you choose to use, each of them tap into the autonomic nervous system. In fact, breathing is the only part of this system we can consciously control. Other functions of this system include heart rate, digestion, bladder control, and the fight or flight reflex.
Why There are Different Types of Breathing Techniques
Depending on what you’re looking for, different kinds of breath will help you achieve different goals. Some breaths are good for calming anxiety and stress, while others will help wake you up.
In yoga, any kind of breathing is called pranayama, which is Sanskrit for extension of the life force, or breath control. There is a breathing technique for almost anything you can think of. If you need to calm down, get yourself pumped, or prepare for sleep, there is a type of pranayama for it.
Different types of pranayama include:
- Channel cleaning breath: used for clearing out stress or negative energy
- Conqueror breath: good for clearing the mind and invigorating the body
- Root bond: considered a more advanced pose, the root bond helps bring new energy to all parts of your body
Pranayama techniques have been shown to improve the function of the immune system, decrease hypertension, balance out the autonomic nervous system, and improve stress related disorders.
While not technically a pranayama, the 4–7–8 breath is another breathing technique that is good for calming stress, reducing anxiety, and promoting a good night’s sleep. This post will explain what the 4–7–8 breath is, examine some of its benefits, and share how you can use this technique to improve several areas of your life.
What is the 4–7–8 Breath?
Based on several principles of pranayama, the 4–7–8 breath was brought to modern popularity by Dr. Andrew Weil, who is considered an expert in alternative medicine and holistic living. The numbers in the title refer to how many counts you breathe in, hold the breath, and then breathe out. The speed in which you perform the exercise does not matter, as long as each of the counts are around the same length.
The 4–7–8 breath is a relaxing technique made simple for anyone to use in any circumstance. Because of the calming effect this breath tends to have on people, it seems to be most effective for stress reduction and getting to sleep.When done correctly, this technique can produce an altered state of consciousness. However, most people must practice this breath for some time before they are able to reach that state.
To do this exercise, complete the following steps
- Find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. If you are using this exercise to aid in sleeping, make sure all of your sleeping arrangements have been made beforehand.
- Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right where your teeth and gums meet
- Exhale through your mouth and make a whooshing sound as you empty your lungs
- Close your mouth and breath in through your nose for four counts
- Hold your breath for seven counts
- Open your mouth and exhale, making a whooshing sound as you count to eight
- The above steps are one cycle of the 4–7–8 breathing technique. Repeat this cycle for a total of 4 breaths
As you are doing this technique, remember to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. If you have a hard time holding your breath for seven counts, you can increase the speed of your counts as long as you keep the ratio of 4–7–8. Getting lightheaded when you first start practicing this breath can happen and is nothing to be too concerned about. However, if the lightheaded feeling does not shortly pass, talk to a doctor.
Dr. Weil claims that this breathing technique is more effective than tranquilizing drugs, as it gets more powerful over time. Most proponents of this breath exercise suggest doing it at least twice a day, and claim that you can’t do it too much. The idea behind it is that as you practice it, you’ll be better at taking deeper breaths, which will improve the benefits you experience from practicing this exercise.
Not breathing deep enough can prevent your body from getting the oxygen it needs to function. This is part of why being so stressed out all the time can have such devastating health consequences. It can also lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide, which is a leading cause of inflammation in your body.
Why it Works
In order to understand why this breathing technique works so well, it helps to understand how the nervous system works. The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and neurons. Nerve signals travel through neurons via neurotransmitters and transfer information throughout the nervous system.
Two of the most common types of neurotransmitters are Glutamate and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA). Glutamate encourages your neurons to fire and be active, while GABA reduces excessive brain activity and helps your mind reach a state of calm.
Many anxiety disorders and stress related conditions come from not having enough GABA in the brain. This is because a lack of GABA makes it hard for the brain to calm down and reduce the states of activity initiated by Glutamate. When allowed to run rampant, our minds believe we are in danger when we are instead in a perfectly safe situation.
Using the 4–7–8 technique helps increase oxygen in your blood, which in turn signals the brain to release more GABA. Having more GABA will help your brain realize that it’s time to be calm and reduce the stress hormones in your mind and body.
When we’re stressed or anxious, our breaths tend to be quick and shallow. This is because the fight or flight reflex is trying to take in more oxygen so that we have enough to meet the oncoming danger it suspects is coming our way. However, this often has the opposite effect because fast breathing usually means shallow breathing, which can deprive our brains from the oxygen they so desperately need.
Slow breathing tells your autonomic nervous system to reset and go back to a baseline state, instead of one of stress and panic. The 4–7–8 breathing technique forces us to change our breathing patterns so that our exhale is longer, which naturally helps us to take in deeper breaths on the inhale.
Counting your breath in a way that isn’t natural forces you to concentrate on what you’re doing. The 4–7–8 count is not a rhythm that your body is used to holding, and since breathing can be an automatic process, you have to concentrate to make sure you keep the correct ratio. Being forced to count your breath gives your mind something to focus on other than the things you might be stressed about. This breathing technique is one of the healthiest distractions out there.
As part of the autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system help slow down and speed up various functions in your body. When you inhale, blood goes from your heart into your lungs, and when you exhale, the blood returns to your lungs and helps your heart slow down. Better breathing enables your parasympathetic nervous system to take charge, reducing your heart rate and overall stress.
The technique is also thought to give you more power to resist cravings and control feelings of anger and frustration. The calming sensation also makes it easy to stop the fight, flight, or freeze reflex, leading to lower stress levels overall.
The next time you are having a hard time sleeping, or can’t seem to calm down, give the 4–7–8 breathing technique a try. There are currently no bad side effects that can come from trying out this exercise. The absolute worst that could happen is that it doesn’t help you. If you find that this kind of breathing isn’t for you, then there are many other techniques available that can help you reach the wellness goals you have in mind.
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Originally published at blog.spire.io on August 9, 2017.
