The miracle of conscious breathing: control your stress response

Do you know how to breathe?

Weird question isn’t it, what’s there to know about breathing? We do it out of instinct, don’t we?

Well yes, & no. Let me explain.

Breathing is controlled by the autonomous nervous system, which is outside of your conscious control. But it’s also one of the few autonomous bodily functions that can be controlled consciously too.

The role of your nervous system.

Your autonomous nervous system houses other nervous systems, notably the parasympathetic nervous system (PNR), & the sympathetic nervous system (SNR).

In simple terms, when SNR is activated, you go into a fight or flight state, putting you into stress. It was designed to protect you from perceived danger. & when PNR is activated, you go into a relaxed, rest & digest state.

Negative & stressful situations trigger your sympathetic nervous system, while happy, joyous & calm situations trigger your parasympathetic nervous system.

Your breathing pattern in each of these states is the opposite of the other. In SNR, your breathing is fast, shallow, & you might feel out of breath. In PNR it’s deeper, slower, & more fulfilling.

We’ve developed these 2 systems for 2 reasons:

1. Fight or flight: to protect us from perceived danger.
2. Rest & digest: to relax after escaping said danger.

When your breath is on autopilot, it’s controlled by your external stimuli, as in whatever’s happening in your life. This affects your internal state & whether you’re in a fight or flight state, or a rest & digest state.

It sounds like such a simple thing though doesn’t it? But if I asked you to pay more attention to your breathing pattern & try to control it more often —you might think: “Why should I bother trying to control something that happens automatically? These emotions are normal reactions anyway”

One reason is because as humans, our brains have a tendency to register negative emotions more than positive ones. Fear, anger, & sadness come up & linger more than peace & contentment. This is known in psychology as the “negativity bias”.

You ever started to feel good about something, only to self sabotage by worrying about when the next bad thing is going to happen? Or when you go out with friends, have a great time, but one minor inconvenience happens & you go to bed thinking about it instead of all the fun you had? That’s negativity bias in action.

The good news? You don’t have to let your external stimuli dictate your internal state. This is not to say you shouldn’t experience & process your negative feelings, it’s quite healthy to do so. But many of us get stuck & feel unable to get out of our negative states, focusing on them for longer than we should.

We often forget how much we can control ourselves, & how much our breathing is a reflection of this.

Everyday we’re bombarded by the stresses of modern life. It’s easy to see how emotional states (particularly anxiety & depression) can become the norm when we spend so much time chronically stimulating one state over another.

This is where conscious breathing comes in. It helps us reset our nervous system & return to a more relaxed state. Conscious breathing reduces stress levels, which have a negative effect on our health. When we’re under a lot of stress, our blood pressure rises, which puts extra stress on all our organs. The effects are not only psychological but physiological as well.

With a calm mind we are able to make better choices.

You’re not the same person in fight or flight vs when you’re in a relaxed state. Your thoughts, behaviours, reactions, & how you view the world differ drastically in each state. You’re more erratic in fight or flight, & more rational in rest & digest. How many times have you regretted a decision you’ve made while in fight or flight? & how many times you’ve regretted a decision you took in a calmer state?

When you breathe deeply & consciously, it helps slow down your heart rate, lower your blood pressure, improve circulation & reduce stress hormones like cortisol (the “fight or flight” hormone).

Conscious breathing helps you remain centred in the face of everyday stressors, helping you respond in more rational ways rather than being reactionary & causing more suffering to yourself in return.

Breathwork practices can work like a mini-meditation sessions. By allowing us to check in with ourselves; to simply observe what is happening internally, and aligning ourselves with what feels right.

When you learn to consciously breathe & become aware of your breathing pattern, you also begin to notice when your breathing is shallow or rapid. This will help you identify times when stress is present & begin to regulate your breathing pattern to control your stress response.

As a result, this practice will help prevent the buildup of negative emotions like anger or anxiety by allowing them to be released through your breath & avoid your nervous system to be trained on staying in fight or flight.

3 breathing techniques for a more manageable life.

1. 4-7-8 breathing
2. Box breathing
3. 4-6 breathing

4-7-8 breathing

The 4-7-8 breathing technique is one of the most effective ways to calm your mind, relax your body & reduce stress. It’s known as the “relaxing breath”, helping you release tension & fall asleep quicker.

1. Take a deep breath through your nose for 4 seconds
2. Hold that breath for 7 seconds
3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds, allowing all the air out of our lungs completely.

Repeat the cycle 3 to 5 times.

Box breathing

Box breathing is a useful technique for calming yourself down before a stressful event, like a meeting or an interview, or even a date. It’s also helpful to recenter your focus during/after work. It helps balance your oxygen levels & get rid of excess co2 in your system.

1. Take a deep breath through your nose for 4 seconds
2. Hold that breath for 4 seconds.
3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 4 seconds.
4. Hold that exhale for 4 seconds.

Do this for 3-5 cycles, or as many cycles as you need.

4-6 breathing

4-6 breathing is a variation of box breathing, & it can be used to calm down after a panic attack or other stressful situations, or even just as a general relaxation technique.

1. Breathe in for 4 seconds through your nose
2. Breathe out for for 6 seconds through your mouth

Repeat this pattern 3-5 times, or as many more as needed.

To sum up:

• Breathing is an unconscious, automated bodily function. But it can also be consciously controlled. It affects and is directly affected by your autonomous nervous system.

• The autonomous nervous system houses two notable systems: the parasympathetic system & the sympathetic system.

• The parasympathetic system is responsible for your relaxation response.

• The sympathetic system is responsible for your fight or flight response.

• Consciously breathing deeply can take you out of fight or flight and into relaxation.

• The more you practice deep breathing, the more effective it becomes.