Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
1–10 of 174 posts
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#2The how-to is buried pretty deep for those like me who are unfamiliar with cyclic sighing (aka psychological sighing or double inhale)
> Participants were informed they should sit down in a chair or, if they prefer, to lie down, and to set a timer for 5 min. Then they were told to inhale slowly, and that once their lungs were expanded, to inhale again once more to maximally fill their lungs -- even if the second inhale was shorter in duration and smaller in volume than the first, and then to slowly and fully exhale all their breath. They were told to repeat this pattern of breathing for 5 min. They were also informed that ideally, both inhales would be performed via their nose and the exhale would be performed via their mouth, but that if they preferred, they were welcome to do the breathing entirely through their nose. They were also informed that it is normal for the second inhale to be briefer than the first.
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#3this sounds alot like pranayama
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#4The how-to is buried pretty deep for those like me who are unfamiliar with cyclic sighing (aka psychological sighing or double inhale) > Participants were informed they should sit down in a chair or, if they prefer, to lie down, and to set a timer for 5 min. Then they were told to inhale slowly, and that once their lungs were expanded, to inhale again once more to maximally fill their lungs -- even if the second inha…
The second sigh sounds like it may, in effect, progressively overload your lung capacity. Felt good too
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#5The one that works is the one that people do without special training: sighing*. There had to be some reason why people sigh.
* Yes, this is an odd sort of sighing, but it isn't that different from spontaneous sighing. And people also hyperventilate on their own, but mostly preparatory to diving or holding their breath for some other reason.
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#6The how-to is buried pretty deep for those like me who are unfamiliar with cyclic sighing (aka psychological sighing or double inhale) > Participants were informed they should sit down in a chair or, if they prefer, to lie down, and to set a timer for 5 min. Then they were told to inhale slowly, and that once their lungs were expanded, to inhale again once more to maximally fill their lungs -- even if the second inha…
[deleted]
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#7It's remarkable that I so often lapse in my meditation practice when it's such a short time commitment and so consistently improves my mood. I tell myself that morning yoga is enough or a walking meditation while taking the dog out is enough - I do those every day without fail. But they're not the same as seated breath work.
Why do other mood improvement habits seem more approachable, like making a cup of tea or exercise or a shower, while sitting and breathing seems harder?
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#8The one that works is the one that people do without special training: sighing*. There had to be some reason why people sigh. * Yes, this is an odd sort of sighing, but it isn't that different from spontaneous sighing. And people also hyperventilate on their own, but mostly preparatory to diving or holding their breath for some other reason.
> And people also hyperventilate on their own, but mostly preparatory to diving or holding their breath for some other reason.
It's common for people to hyperventilate in the midst of a panic attack, and the common advice I've seen is to encourage a panicked person to take deep breaths. Strange to see it as a consideration for beneficial effects. As a kid I'd hyperventilate to feel dizzy because it was fun (oops was I getting high?)
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#9The one that works is the one that people do without special training: sighing*. There had to be some reason why people sigh. * Yes, this is an odd sort of sighing, but it isn't that different from spontaneous sighing. And people also hyperventilate on their own, but mostly preparatory to diving or holding their breath for some other reason.
Except sighing isn't generally a natural response to stress, but a response to boredom.
So maybe it's consciously emulating a natural behavior matching a lower-stress state, to help shift to that state.
From personal experience, the deep inhalation preceding a sigh (extended exhalation) is also helpful.
Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal
#10I like that they described how each method is performed. The mindful meditation method was a bit different from what I've used, but something I can adopt.
So cyclic sighing can replace mindful meditation, except that it requires more use to reap the benefits.
So now Cyclic Sighing, Mindful Meditation and Binaural Beats are techniques I can call upon in times of stress.
Cheers