Your breath is one of the easiest ways to get into the Parasympathetic or relaxed state.
The parasympathetic pathway is where your mind
realizes that your body can relax, rest, and feel safe. On the other hand, the
sympathetic pathway is responsible for preparing for an emergency, and
unfortunately for most of us, our bodies are continuously in this high alert
state, increasing stress and anxiety.
Inhalation is considered the sympathetic state (eg: get scared you inhale and hold your breath)
Exhalation is your parasympathetic state
(eg: think about going to the spa, you tend to give a relaxed sigh) So
try and exhale longer. 4 second inhale and 8 second exhale
You need to manipulate the diaphragm to expand, not just the belly but the lower rib cage also.
This is key to reducing stress,as it frees up
the tension in your neck muscles and rather than using the upper chest
muscles to breathe you focus on your lower diaphragm.
Upper chest breathing with heavy inhales can
cause soreness of the neck, tension headaches, and nerve tension.
“Belly breathing”, which engages the diaphragm, is the natural way of breathing (not the chest)
By regulating your breathing through
diaphragmatic and nasal breathing you retain more carbon dioxide,
expelling it out more controlled, you become able to handle the stress more
within your body. Another way is to turn on the cold water when
showering, but hey, that’s a discussion for another time….
Reference: https://www.muscleintelligence.com/nasal-breathing-for-performance-james-nestor/