Why is Breathing so Important?
By Lauren Karafin, BS PTA
Let’s start off this blog post with one of our favorite topics here at A Life In Balance: BREATHING! Ready? Yes, even in my blog posts I make you do exercises.
Take a Minute to Breathe
Let us try it together, seriously, DO IT… Close your eyes… well, read the instructions first:
Find a comfortable space to be, lie on your back in bed, on the floor with pillows under your head and knees, or sit in a chair with your head, neck, and shoulders supported (yogis believe sitting upright improves the body's connection to the mind).
Breathe in through your nose letting your belly fill with air.
Breathe out for longer than you inhale.
Use your hands for feedback, put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly.
Breathe in and feel your belly rise, breathe out and feel your belly lower against your hand. Your hand on your belly should move more than your hand on your chest.
Take 5 more breaths into your hand on your belly and exhale as much air as you can slowly.
Take notice of how you're feeling now, and leave a comment if you’d like to share! More relaxed? Alert? Mindful? Calm? Peaceful? Chill? Reinvigorated? Energized? How does your body feel? Any alleviation of your chronic aches and pains? How does your mind or mood feel? Any reduction in cluttered thoughts, negative emotions, or stress? Consider these common changes:
Physiological/Psychological Changes
⇓ Cardiometabolic risk factors
⇑ Cardiopulmonary health & fitness
⇓ Inflammation
⇑ General physical function
⇓ Chronic pain conditions
⇑ Postural Control
⇓ Stress and negative affect/feelings
⇑ Well-being and self-efficacy
⇓ Symptoms of affective psychopathology
⇑ Executive functioning, working memory, learning, and emotional regulation
⇑ Attentional control
⇑ Global cognition, creativity, empathy, and compassion
Deep Dive Into Breathing
Interest in Eastern traditional contemplative activities such as meditation, mindfulness, Thai chi, qi gong, yoga, and other mind-body exercises has grown tremendously in the past 50 years, more so in the past decade. The clinical trials that have been done each year have increased from a little under 20 in 2,000 to about 250 in 2014. Popularity has grown among those who want to practice with the goal of enhancing their physical and mental health. Contemplative activities, particularly breathing techniques (low respiration rate, long exhalations AKA relaxed, deep, slow, and diaphragmatic or meditative breathing), show a plethora of positive benefits for physical health, mental health, and cognitive performance. Let’s dive deeper into what and how, shall we?
Deep breathing has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to manage stress. Stress is not only in our minds whether from psychological or environmental factors. Stress is also in our bodies, triggering a physiological response to protect us from life-threatening situations. This physiological response has evolved as a survival mechanism enabling us to react quickly to situations. Unfortunately, the body cannot differentiate between a tiger chasing us and non-life-threatening situations such as traffic, work, and family issues.
Stress triggers our autonomic nervous system which simplistically can be said is made up of two opposing controls over the heart (the sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous systems). The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions such as breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat, dilation, and constriction of key blood vessels and small airways in the lungs. The sympathetic nervous system or stress response triggers release of epinephrine and cortisol - the “stress hormones.” The stress hormones increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, increases blood sugar, suppresses the immune system, and constrict blood vessels. Increased production of glucose by the liver provides the body with a burst of energy to respond to perceived dangers, also known as the “fight or flight” mode. Allowing us to fight off the threat or flee to safety. According to Harvard Health Publishing “Over the years, researchers have learned not only how and why these reactions occur but have also gained insight into the long-term effects chronic stress has on physical and psychological health. Over time, repeated activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body. Research suggests that chronic stress contributes to high blood pressure, promotes the formation of artery-clogging deposits, and causes brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression, and addiction. More preliminary research suggests that chronic stress may also contribute to obesity, both through direct mechanisms (causing people to eat more) or indirectly (decreasing sleep and exercise).”
This reaction mode makes our breath shallow and reduces air intake, increases blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol, and disrupts our immune system, energy levels, and sleep hygiene. Deep slow breathing counteracts the stress response by activating the relaxation response or “rest and digest” known as the parasympathetic nervous system. As we lengthen our exhale, we trigger our parasympathetic nervous system, reducing our heart rate and opposing the as above explained stress response. Our respiratory system increases the tidal volume (oxygen intake) while our cardiovascular system increases cardiac output, synchronizes blood pressure with heart rhythm, increases heart rate variability, and reduces blood pressure.
When it comes to mental health and cognitive performance, we have to take a deeper look into the brain where the real magic happens. Deep within the brain's limbic system lives the amygdala which governs our senses, memories, decisions, and moods. Imagine the amygdala as our emotional thermostat and how we control our reactions to life and express ourselves. When we are feeling stressed, fearful, or anxious we can swing from a chill setting (calm, rational, level-headed) to overheated (stressed, irrational, reactive), maxing the thermostat out based on threat. When the amygdala becomes overactive from continued stressors (fight or flight mode) it can no longer regulate itself anymore, reshaping the structure and neural pathways in the brain through neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reprogram and change. Meditation is shown to shrink the amygdala and thicken the prefrontal cortex that governs our awareness. This ability to self-regulate our amygdala improves our capacity to handle stress, increase our awareness, and improve our reactions to stress and fear. Thus, creating mental resilience. This improved emotional regulation and thickening of the prefrontal cortex also strengthen the ability to focus and regulate attention. Reshaping our cognitive and behavioral flexibility.
When it comes to chronic pain, relaxed deep slow breathing has been shown to reduce the detection of pain, unpleasantness, mood, intensity, and significantly increase the threshold for pain. Relaxed deep slow breathing not only changes our perception of pain and how we relate to unpleasant feelings, but physiologically improves our core’s ability to activate. The natural pelvic floor rhythm is disrupted by the “fight or flight” mode which we work to restore through ALIBPT’s breathing techniques and activating the “rest and digest'' mode. According to the Journal of Motor Behavior “Postural control and breathing are mechanically and neuromuscularly interdependent. Both systems– of spinal stability and respiration– involve the diaphragm, transversus abdominis, intercostal muscles, internal oblique muscles, and pelvic floor muscles.”
Psychologically, focusing on breathing such as meditative breathing, allows us to accept all sensations without judgment. Commonly during focused breathing, we get distracted by our to-do lists, thoughts, feelings, and wandering minds, the goal is to keep guiding ourselves back to the sound and rhythm of our breath. This teaches us how to redirect our attention. Our natural instinct is to resist pain, which only increases our suffering. When we reduce our resistance to the pain, we lessen our experience of pain. Meditation can help you find "the spaces in between" all of your experiences, where you can be in the moment and not in the pain—or worries about the pain, or feelings of anxiety or sadness, says Lonnie Zeltzer, professor of pediatrics, anesthesiology, and psychiatry at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, and director of the Pediatric Pain Program. "By sitting each day to meditate, your brain actually begins to quiet down; you begin to feel more equanimity, and the pain begins to lessen and move from foreground to background."
Resources:
Stress Relief Breathing Techniques
The Physiological Effects of Slow Breathing in the Healthy Human
Slow Breathing Reduces Pain
Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity
Breathe Away Pain
Why Deep Breathing Makes You Feel So Chill
Physiology of Long Pranayamic Breathing: Neural Respiratory Elements May Provide a Mechanism that Explains How Slow Deep Breathing Shifts the Autonomic Nervous System
Pain and faulty breathing: a pilot study
The effect of deep and slow breathing on pain perception, autonomic activity, and mood processing--an experimental study
Pranayama: The Top Beginner’s Guide to Yoga Breathing Exercises
An Incredible Alternative to Mindfulness You Never Heard Of
Voluntary Control of Respiration Patterns | SpringerLink
Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system - ScienceDirect
Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function | Journal of Neuroscience
New breathing therapy reduces panic and anxiety by reversing hyperventilation -- ScienceDaily
The Yogi masters were right -- meditation and breathing exercises can sharpen your mind: New research explains link between breath-focused meditation and attention and brain health -- ScienceDaily
What Does Mindfulness Meditation Do to Your Brain? - Scientific American Blog Network
Changes in intra-abdominal pressure during postural and respiratory activation of the human diaphragm | Journal of Applied Physiology
The Impact of Deep Muscle Training on the Quality of Posture and Breathing: Journal of Motor Behavior: Vol 50, No 2
Headspace for Pain Management
Understanding the stress response - Harvard Health
Meditation for Stress - Headspace
Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness
Stress is bad. OK, but why?
More than focus
