Physical Stress Management
Diaphragmatic Breathing is an effective
technique for stress management. It is simple to teach and, once
practiced, simple to implement. Like brain activity, breathing is
essential to life and is involved in everything we do. Breathing
delivers oxygen from the atmosphere to your lungs, where your blood
supply picks it up and takes it to every cell in your body because the
cells need it in order to function properly. Breathing also allows you
to eliminate waste products, such as carbon dioxide, to keep your
internal environment healthy.
Too much
carbon dioxide causes feelings of disorientation and panic, making
stress seem unmanageable. Brain cells are particularly sensitive to
oxygen; they start to die within four minutes when deprived of oxygen.
Slight changes in oxygen content in the brain can alter the way a person
feels and behaves. When a person gets angry, breathing becomes
shallower, and its rate increases significantly. This inefficient
breathing pattern causes the oxygen content in the angry person’s blood
to decrease while toxic carbon dioxide waste products increase.
Subsequently, the oxygen/carbon dioxide balance is upset, causing
irritability, impulsiveness, confusion and poor decision making.
Learning
to direct and control your breathing has several immediate benefits. It
calms the basal ganglia, which controls anxiety; helps the brain run
more efficiently; relaxes muscles; warms hands; and regulates the
heart’s rhythms. The first rule of thumb for stress management
breathing involves breathing slowly, deeply and from the belly. Men
especially breathe exclusively with their chests, which is inefficient.
If you watch babies or puppies breathe, you will notice that they
breathe almost solely with their bellies. That is the most efficient
way to breathe.
Expanding
your belly when you inhale flattens the diaphragm, pulling the lungs
downward and increasing the amount of air available to your lungs and
body. Pulling your belly in when you exhale causes the diaphragm to
plush the air out of your lungs, allowing a more fully exhaled breath,
which once again encourages deep breathing. With just a little
concentration, most people can learn how to change their breathing
patterns, which relaxes them and gives them better control over how they
feel and behave.
Stress Tips