Just 5 minutes of this every day can improve anxiety and depression.

A single small habit can have a significant impact on both the body and the mind. In particular, daily breathing exercises are one of the few ways we can consciously influence the autonomic nervous system, which is difficult to change at will. This is because inhaling activates the sympathetic nervous system, which raises heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels, while exhaling activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which acts in opposition to the sympathetic nervous system. Let's explore the changes brought about by short breathing exercises.

 

◇ 5-Minute Breathing is More Effective Than Meditation for Improving Anxiety and Mood

 

There are research results comparing the health effects of meditation and 5-minute breathing exercises. A research team at Stanford University in the United States conducted a study on 108 participants to investigate the impact of 5-minute breathing exercises on mental health compared to mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation refers to meditating while focusing solely on one's own breath.

The research team asked participants to choose one of three breathing exercises or mindfulness and perform it for five minutes daily for one month, and participants who did not participate in the three breathing exercises participated in mindfulness meditation. The three breathing exercises are as follows.

 

▷ Periodic sighing and breathing exercises

 

It is a method of slowly inhaling, taking short breaths to fully inflate the lungs, and then exhaling for as long as possible.

 

▷ Abdominal breathing exercises

 

Abdominal breathing is a breathing technique in which you push the diaphragm, located beneath the lungs, downward when inhaling, causing only the upper abdomen to expand. Close your eyes in a comfortable position and relax your body. Place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest, and focus on the sensation of the hand on your abdomen rising and falling.

 

▷ Periodic hyperventilation exercises

 

It was an exercise involving taking a deep breath and exhaling briefly 30 times before fully exhaling. Participants who did not participate in the three breathing exercises participated in mindfulness meditation.

 

The research team measured the participants' mood states using the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), a type of emotion scale test. One month later, the participants completed a questionnaire to evaluate the effect of exercise on their anxiety levels. Based on this, the research team compared the results with the questionnaire administered before the study.

 

As a result, it was found that five minutes of daily breathing exercises were more helpful in improving mood and relieving anxiety than mindfulness meditation. Among these, the 'periodic sigh' breathing exercise was the most effective in improving mood and reducing the breathing rate. In addition, research results showing that longer exhalations are more effective than meditation in stabilizing the sympathetic nervous system have been published in the international open-access journal 'Cell Reports Medicine'.

 

◇ Exhale for more than twice as long as you inhaled

 

Proper use of breathing improves stress tolerance and helps regulate emotions and cognitive states. Performing breathing exercises regularly for 5 minutes every day can effectively manage your mental and health. While sitting or lying comfortably on a chair or bed, take a deep breath through your nose, then take another short breath to expand your lungs, and finally exhale slowly and deeply through your mouth.

 

Exhale for more than twice as long as it took to inhale. You shouldn't stop after just one or two times; you need to do it for five minutes for it to be effective.

 

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I've heard that abdominal breathing is good.

 

Compared to the time spent at the beginning

They say that letting out a long exhale makes the body feel comfortable,

I think I did it only every time I heard it.