The best way for de-stressing in real-time takes less than 30 seconds

The way we breathe has a powerful impact on how stressed we feel. That’s why the best way for de-stressing in real-time comes down to a particular breathing pattern.

Since that pattern involves a double-inhale followed by an extended exhale, scientists call it the “physiological sigh”. Interestingly, we automatically use that pattern in certain situations – whenever we’re in deep sleep, for example.

As it turns out, we can also use the physiological sigh deliberately to calm ourselves down whenever we feel stressed. This works via two fascinating mechanisms.

The first mechanism involves carbon dioxide. Our lungs consist of millions of so-called alveoli, which are tiny sacs that get filled with air. When something troubles us, these sacs collapse and deflate like a balloon. As a result, the level of carbon dioxide in our blood increases, and we feel stressed. The physiological sigh's double-inhale effectively reinflates these tiny sacs. And the subsequent extended exhale helps us get rid of all the carbon dioxide in our system at once, which calms us down instantly.

The second mechanism is all about exhale-emphasized breathing. Whenever we exhale more than we inhale, that decreases our heart rate and calms us down (I’ve explained how exactly this works in last week’s post). That is why, apart from offloading all that carbon dioxide, the physiological sigh’s extended exhale relative to the shorter double-inhale additionally helps us de-stress.

To ensure both our offloading carbon dioxide and exhale-emphasized breathing, here are three simple steps to do the physiological sigh:

1. Inhale as deeply as you can through the nose for a count of 2.

2. Do another deep inhale on top of the first one through the nose for a count of 1 (inhaling as fully as possible is crucial to reinflate the alveoli in your lungs).

3. Exhale as deeply and fully as possible through the mouth for a count of 6.

In this short video, neuroscientist and Stanford professor Andrew Huberman demonstrates how to do a physiological sigh. Depending on how stressed you are, he recommends adding a second and third cycle after completing the first one. Huberman researches the topic extensively and regards the physiological sigh as one of the most effective ways to de-stress in real-time. And since even a total of three cycles takes less than 30 seconds, it's also one of the quickest.

Here's the best part about physiological sighs and other exhale-emphasized breathing techniques: Performed regularly, they improve what Huberman and other scientists call "vagal tone". That's the degree to which our nervous system automatically activates the calmness response whenever something stresses us. In other words, when we have a high degree of vagal tone, we're putting on our brain's "brake" by default. That, in turn, sets us up to better deal with all kinds of stressors throughout our life. 

Taken together, physiological sighs not only help us calm down effectively and quickly at the moment, but also structurally improve our resilience. So, whenever you feel stressed about something, remember to do one to three physiological sighs.

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Until next week,Christian