An Amazing Sleep Aid: Cyclic Sighing
A simple breathing technique helps the transition from wake to sleep.
Impaired sleep disrupts both mental and physical functioning, and is amazingly common in the US. A third of adults have frequent trouble sleeping, and more than 20 million Americans take prescription sleep medications most or every night. Millions more take over-the-counter supplements, use sleep apps, or plug in sound machines to try to get adequate rest.
Sleep problems plague those with mental health conditions at even higher rates, as I’ve seen in my psychiatric practice. During the past year, I’ve used cyclic sighing, an anxiety-reducing breathing technique, to produce impressive results for those with trouble falling and staying asleep.
Humans have used breathing techniques for millennia to induce calmness, lower anxiety, and ease the transition to sleep. A study published in early 2023, by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, psychiatrist David Spiegel, and their Stanford colleagues, kicked off the flurry of interest in cyclic sighing for anxiety and general well-being.
My own experimentation with cyclic sighing led me to stumble across its benefits for sleep. It helped my sleep so much that I shared the approach with dozens of patients, who have been similarly pleased.
