Five years ago I wrote a post in which I stated that deep breathing “is beneficial in lots of ways, including reducing stress, increasing alertness, boosting your immune system, and reducing symptoms associated with anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and depression.” The explanation, I wrote, is that “this kind of breathing sends signals to your brain that all is well. In response, your brain adjusts your parasympathetic nervous system—the system that controls unconscious processes such as heart rate and digestion as well as your body’s stress response.”
New research, performed on mice, has refined this idea. The
research focuses on a small bundle of about 3,000 interlinked neurons inside
our brains that controls most aspects of breathing. It’s called the “breathing
pacemaker.” Different types of cells in this bundle regulate different types of
breathing, such as yawning, sighing, and rapid breathing. When we’re in an
anxiety-producing situation we begin to breathe rapidly. That’s because certain
types of cells in our breathing pacemakers are directly linked to the part of
the brain associated with arousal, including anxiety and panic. Deep breathing counteracts
this effect. That is, it does not activate the neurons that communicate with
the brain’s arousal center.
As to sighing, I was surprised to learn that we sigh about
every five minutes. A sigh is essentially a double breath that allows our lungs
to fully inflate. This is important because the many tiny air sacs (alveoli) in
our lungs begin to collapse in the course of normal breathing. Sighing
reinflates them.
Even though I don’t practice deep breathing very often, I
think it’s a good idea. As to sighing every five minutes, I’ve never noticed. I’m
glad I don’t have to think about it.
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
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