Researchers at Stanford University wanted to find out the best breathing technique when it comes to reducing stress and anxiety …
“For their study, published in the journal Cell earlier this month, they recruited 108 volunteers and divided them into four groups.
one group spent five minutes a day doing cyclic sighing, where you inhale slowly, before taking another shorter breath to fully inflate your lungs and then breathing out for as long as possible.
the second group did box breathing — inhaling, holding the breath, exhaling and holding the exhaled breath. the third group did cyclic hyperventilation — which sounds pretty horrendous. you take a deep breath, then do 30 very short exhales before exhaling fully. and try not to pass out.
the fourth group was asked to spend five minutes a day practising mindfulness meditation, a proven way to reduce anxiety; the idea is you sit quietly, focusing on your breathing but not consciously trying to control it. (there are lots of apps available that will help you do this, or you might want to sign up for a mindfulness course.)
after eight weeks, all the study participants reported a significant reduction in their anxiety, but those doing the cyclic sighing gained the most benefit when it came to reduced stress and more positive feelings.
the researchers think that any form of controlled breathing can be better than meditation, at least if you’re only going to do a few minutes a day, because it makes you focus on changing how you breathe, which is a good way to distract you from your thoughts.” ~ Michael Mosely
You can read Michael’s full article Here.