Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress

 

In times of extreme crisis or a sudden uncertainty, it is natural that our stress levels shoot up and cloud our reaction and many times forces us to a decision we will never otherwise take.

A simple breathing exercise can help bring down the stress levels immediately and calm us down to take propper decisions appropriate for the situation. Similar exercises can help us with our more common workplace stress. 

Several breathing exercises can be adopted and among them, the following three are examined to identify the most effective routine to reduce both the immediate and long term stress reduction.

• Breathing exercise: SKY breathing, a series of breathing and meditation learned over several days to induce calm and resilience.
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction: a meditation technique to train oneself to be aware of each moment in a non-judgemental way.
• Foundation of emotional intelligence: a program to teach techniques to improve emotional awareness and regulate breathing.

SKY breath meditation is found to be most effective to manage stress, depression, positive emotions, social connectedness, improve mental health. It was more beneficial in terms of immediate impact on stress, mood and conscientiousness and these effects continued over the long term. 

People who underwent SKY breathing exercises held steady in terms of breathing and heart rate when subjected to a simulated high-stress situation, indicating that the exercises helped them manage the stressful situation without any anxiety. This meant they were in a better emotional state, think clearly and perform the task in hand.

What makes breathing so effective?

When we are in a stressful state, our rational thinking is impaired and logic will not work to regain control in these situations. This makes it hard to think straight with the team. With breathing techniques, it is possible to regain control.

Different emotions are associated with different forms of breathing. So changing the way we breathe changes how we feel. When you follow the breathing patterns associated with different emotions, you start feeling the emotions associated with it. 

Changing the rhythm of your breath signals relaxation, slowing down the heart rate and helps you start calming down. You start feeling better and start thinking rationally. 

As an experiment change the rhythm of your breathing. When you inhale the heart rate speeds up and when you exhale the heart rate slows down. try and lengthen your exhaling time - inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds. This immediately helps you calm down and regain control over the situation.

While these exercises can be effective in the moment, a comprehensive protocol like SKY techniques can build resilience over the long run. These simple techniques would help lower stress levels and promote greater well being both at work and beyond. 

Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress

by Emma Seppälä, Christina Bradley and Michael R. Goldstein

HBR 2020/09