Physiological Sigh

Last month I discussed taking a Mental Vacation to help you relax and de-stress.  Have you hear of the Physiological

Sigh?  This is a breathing method that helps bring your autonomic nervous system (ANS) down and into balance,

calming your mind and relieving stress and anxiety.

Introduced by Standford researchers Mark Krasnow and Dr. Andrew Hubberman, this physiological breathing

technique is super simple in helping to downregulate your emotional state:

Two inhales through the nose, followed by an extended exhale through the mouth

Your first breath dilates the lung sacks, the second inhale inflates the lungs a bit more allowing more carbon dioxide out of the bloodstream so that when you exhale you release the most possible amount of CO2 out of the body.  This perfectly balances the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood and lungs. 

Breathing is important for calming the body and YOU can control your neurons - the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body.   As Dr. Hubberman explains The diaphragm is the one organ that can be controlled by breathing and is the path of the mind to the body and it has real-time control over the brain state.  For example, when you breathe quickly you increase adrenaline in your body, when you breathe slowly your brain secretes less.

 In summary, this physiological sigh can be done anytime.  Releasing the carbon dioxide helps to;

• Calms the mind

• Oxygenates the body

• Brings your nervous system into balance

• Creates equilibrium between alertness and relaxation

Want to learn more? Listen to this podcast;Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman | Rich Roll Podcast  https://youtu.be/SwQhKFMxmDY