Why Breathing can Calm Anxiety and Reduce Stress

"Take a few deep breaths..." can feel invalidating when we are feeling charged with emotion or stress. AND it is really quite good advice. But do we really know why?

We’ve all felt that pang of irritation when someone tells us to “take a deep breath” while we’re venting about that dumb thing our coworker did, rushing around to find our keys, and frantically running through the worst case scenarios in our head. The reminder to “just breathe” while we’re in the heat of the moment often makes us feel like grabbing a sharp object and plunging it through the heart of the person delivering this obvious suggestion.

And, let's be real, at the same time we know they’re right.

Why exactly is breathing so advantageous in moments of heightened emotion and stress? Why is deep breathing helpful and why are we so resistant to it when we need it the most?

You and I and every other human on this planet have been breathing since they came screaming and wailing out of the womb. Shouldn’t we be experts on breathing? We’ve been doing it our entire lives, over 20,000 breaths a day! And it turns out, we may only be breathing just enough to get by.

In 2016, The World Health Organization found that roughly 350 million people were affected by stress worldwide (World Health Organization, 2013). You are not alone if you are experiencing stress. It seems we have a global stress epidemic. When we experience stress, our nervous system moves into a flight-or-fight state, increasing our heart rate, respiration, and pumping stress hormones through our body to prepare us for action. If stress is constant, our body adapts to living in a fight-or-flight state most of the time. You guessed it, this affects the quality of our breath. If stress is a constant in your life, chances are your breath is shallow and short.

It can feel impossible to take that deep breath when you are feeling stressed because your body is trying to keep you prepared for action. Why slow down if danger is afoot? Of course, most of the stress we encounter today is perceived danger: awaiting a dreaded email from a coworker, a packed schedule, or financial insecurity. It’s unlikely that a bear is going to chase us when we walk to our car. So, when you notice heightened stress, take a moment to evaluate the situation and gently remind yourself that it is safe, and beneficial, to take those few deep breaths.

So, what does deep breathing really do for us?

We breathe deeply when we engage our diaphragm. The diaphragm is a large dome-shaped muscle at the base of the lungs with the sole purpose of powering the breath. Research has shown that diaphragmatic breathing as a daily practice, in addition to other stress-reduction interventions, can help reduce physiological and psychological stress (Hopper et al., 2019). Diaphragmatic breathing pumps necessary oxygen into the nervous system and activates the vagal complex. The vagal complex is a set of nerves that spans from the brain to the gut responsible for automatic bodily functions (i.e. breathing, heart rate, digestion) and activating the social engagement system. An active social engagement system allows us to feel safety and curiosity in our environments and engage in meaningful connection to the self and others. Deep intentional breathing can help us achieve this. Breathing with intention builds the awareness of the body and helps us recognize the body as a safe place. In addition to breathing, other intentional practices such as meditation and mindful movement can help with stress reduction (Cramer et al., 2018).

Anatomy aside - a few deep breaths allow us to slow down, evaluate the perceived threat of the situation, soften our muscles, and think more clearly. Intentional breathing even increases our ability to reach out for social support and find playfulness in our daily lives.

Diaphragmatic breathing is not only helpful in times of stress. In fact, it is most beneficial when we make it a daily practice! As a daily practice, deep breathing strengthens our vagal complex which ultimately promotes a baseline state of feeling safe and connected to our self and our environment. This means, each time we encounter a stressor in our lives (like that pesky coworker who just can't mind their own business), we are more likely to approach the situation with a calm and focused state of mind.

How to do diaphragmatic breathing…

Sit in a comfortable position on a chair or on a cushion on the floor. Allow yourself to sit upright and release your jaw and your shoulders.

Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your navel. Take a slow, full inhale through the nose on a count of four. As you inhale, pay attention to the feeling your navel expand into your lower hand. You may also feel your chest lift into your upper hand, but pay special attention to the movement of the abdominals.

Take a slow exhale on a count of four, completely emptying the lungs of air. As you breathe out, gently draw your abdominals in towards the spine and slightly upwards toward the ribcage. You can feel the movement of the navel with your lower hand.

Continue breathing in and out with attention on the movement of the navel for as long as you are comfortable with.

One or two minutes of continuous diaphragmatic breathing, once a day, is a great place to begin. You can increase the amount of time you spend diaphragmatic breathing with practice to enhance the positive effects on the body and mind.

Here’s a short video you can follow along with to practice diaphragmatic breathing. The practice is led by Dora Kamau, and presented by Headspace.

So… the next time you hear your friend respond to your frazzled energy with “just take a few deep breaths,” go ahead and give it a try. Remember that feeling resistant to pausing for a few deep, intentional breaths is the result of your body trying to protect you. That minute of deep breathing may give you the focused calm state you need to move through your day with a relaxed and focused awareness. You've got this!

References

Hopper, S., Murray, S. L., Ferrara, L. R., & Singleton, J. K. (2019). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 17(9), 1855-1876.

Cramer, H., Anheyer, D., Saha, F. J., Dobos, G. (2018). Yoga for posttramatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 18(72).

Prüss-Ustün, A., Wolf, J., Corvalán C, Bos, R., Neira, M. (2016). World Health Organization: Preventing disease through healthy environments. A global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks. [Internet].