Left unchecked, stress can lead to headaches, weight gain, muscle tension, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and low libido, just to name but a few consequences. When stress becomes chronic the physiological responses can become destructive. The body starts to produce too much adrenaline too frequently which can lead to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction (also known as adrenal fatigue), leaving us tired, anxious and irritable. High levels of stress can suppress immune function [7], accelerate cellular ageing [6], and promoting an earlier onset of age-related diseases.
“I’ve got to keep breathing. It’ll be my worst business mistake if I don’t. ”
Have you ever given a public speech, taken an important exam, competed in a sporting event, or performed in front of a crowd and felt the effects of an adrenaline spike? The heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, breathing is constricted, appetite is suppressed, and alertness goes up in preparation for your performance. The release of sympathetic hormones such as cortisol can have a positive effect on our bodies and give us the focus and drive needed to perform at our best. However, chronic stress wreaks havoc on the body and has direct effects on brain function and our life expectancy. Our ability to learn, remember and make decisions may be compromised by chronic levels of sympathetic hormones and may be accompanied by increased levels of anxiety and aggression.
The good news is that there is a tone of tools at our disposal to help keep stress at bay. Exercise, better work-life balance, socialising, spending time outdoors, avoiding unhealthy habits, and of course, meditating and mindful breathing are all great options. One of the best tools we have at our disposal to control the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) is our breath. Breathwork is a major skill set if you want to become a high-performing individual and enhance every aspect of your life.
The way we breathe in response to pain and pleasure, to stress and change, can make all the difference in the world to our health and well-being, our performance at home and at work, and to our loved ones. When we forget to breathe correctly, the body remain is a sympathetic state of stress (the fight and flight response). This branch of the ANS primes us to be fight, flee, or freeze. According to integrative breathwork facilitator John Luckovich, “Shallow breathing doesn’t just make stress a response, it makes stress a habit.” [1]
By changing the pattern of our breathing, we change the pattern of the information being sent to the brain. In other words, how often, how fast, and how much you inflate your lungs directly affects the brain and how it operates. Because breathing has such a strong impact on our thoughts and feelings, it provides a portal through which we can send messages through our own nervous systems to quiet our minds, reduce defensive over-reactivity, and enable us to feel safe, close, loving, and loved.
Breathing affects every organ, system, and function in the body. Every physiological, psychological, and emotional state has a corresponding breathing pattern. When you change one, the other changes. Therefore, conscious breathing techniques have the potential to transform the quality of your life on every level and on a day-to-day basis.
The threats we face are often acute events, but in modern society, we perceive many things as threatening:
Fighting with your partner
Being stuck in traffic
Going to work
Insufficient sleep
Food sensitivities
Financial worries
Feeling like we don’t have enough time
All of these things can trigger the same fight or flight response which increases our heart rate, breathing rate, and cortisol levels. The threat never seems to go away and our body becomes stuck in a never-ending sympathetic state. According to Luckovich, the chronic stress that is associated with shallow breathing results in lower lymphocyte, a type of white blood cell that helps to defend the body from invading organisms, and lowers the amounts of proteins that signal other immune cells. The body is then susceptible to contracting acute illnesses, aggravating pre-existing medical conditions, and prolonging healing and recovery times. Shallow breathing cause dry mouth and fatigue, aggravate respiratory problems and is a precursor for cardiovascular issues. [1]. Shallow breathing impacts both our mental and physical performance.
More and more people are waking up to the incredible value of breathwork, and they are applying it in their everyday lives at work and at home. Coaches, health-care professionals, counsellors, trainers, teachers, and therapists are using breathwork to create breakthroughs for themselves and for those they serve. The TSTM July 2020 monthly challenge is to create a daily breathing practice.
Many of us have become shallow chest, or thoracic, breathers — inhaling through the mouth, holding our breath and taking in less oxygen. Over time our breathing patterns have shifted as a reaction to environmental stressors. During a stressful event, the brain responds by determining the appropriate physiological and behavioural reaction. It sends instructions to other parts of the body such as the cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine systems, that in turn are responsible for the short and long-term repercussions of stress.
If you want to observe some of the best breathing, watch a newborn. They naturally practice diaphragmatic breathing by using their diaphragm, a muscle under the lungs, to pull air into the lungs. If you watch closely, you’ll see the belly expand and chest rise as they inhale air through the nose and into the lungs. As they exhale, the belly contracts. For many children and adults, diaphragmatic breathing is no longer instinctive.
Our breath affects our mental states, and subsequently, it can lead to positive changes in our body like the suppression of genes, lowering inflammation, as well as lower levels of cortisol in our bloodstream. Research has shown that anxiety and distress are connected to a number of physiological changes. One notable finding connects stress to the length of our telomeres. Shortened telomeres are associate with an increased chance of diseases such as cancer. Elissa Epel, a professor of psychiatry at UCSF, says that “chronic stress rots the cell’s resources to recover and help to protect and maintain the DNA productivity.” [6]
What are telomeres? Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. [3] Without the coating, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job, just as without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged and our cells can't do their job. Without the protection of telomeres, out cells age and die. [2]
Shallow chest breathers us the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and chest to expand the lungs. This can result in neck pain, headaches and an increased risk of injury. Mindful diaphragmatic breathing helps us shift the ANS from a sympathetic state (fight or flight) and closer to a parasympathetic state (rest and digest).
Diaphragmatic breathing helps us to
Lower blood pressure
Reduce heart rate
Relax muscles
Decrease stress
Increase energy levels
Improve cognitive function and enhanced memory recall [5]
Help intense sensations, experiences, and emotions feel less threatening
Grounds us
Speeds up recovery
How to practice diaphragmatic breathing?
To practice breathing from your diaphragm, lie on your back with one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Breathe in deeply while pushing out your stomach as far as you can. The hand on your stomach will move out and the hand on your chest will remain still. When you exhale, you will feel your stomach pulling back in. Both your chest and shoulders should stay relaxed and still.
By practising mindful diaphragmatic breathing we can create a sense of calmness that can have positive effects on our immune system, our telomeres, and our larger physiology. When stress becomes chronic, you become exhausted, your body starts to break down and chronic fatigue sets in. Mindfulness breathing can help us find a balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic states.
Do you dedicate time each day to parasympathetic activities?
Apply diaphragmatic breathing in the gym
Many personal trainers, coaches and therapists teach abdominal bracing by asking clients to suck their stomach inwards instead of using diaphragmatic breathing. The Valsalva maneuver is commonly believed to be the optimal diaphragmatic breathing pattern for producing maximal force and is frequently used in powerlifting to stabilise the trunk during exercises such as the squat, deadlift, and bench press, and in both lifts of Olympic weightlifting.[4] Additionally, competitive strongmen often use the Valsalva maneuver in things such as log press, yoke walks, and stone loading, as well as any other strongman movements.
As health and fitness professionals we have a responsibility to teach our clients how to manage stress. We also have a responsibility to teach our clients how to move loads safely. Highly stressed clients, which is most of our clients, are often chest breathers and have very little awareness of the diaphragm muscle.
Do you assess your clients breathing?
Do you teach your clients the Valsalva maneuver?
Do you ask your clients about their levels of stress and anxiety?
Do you teach your clients how to use their breath to control stress and anxiety?
Applying diaphragmatic breathing outside of the gym
Employee burnout cases have increased to the point where the World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon. In fact, the WHO has included it in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases. According to Gallup's recent report, Employee Burnout: Causes and Cures, 76% of employees experience burnout on the job at least sometimes, and 28% say they are burned out "very often" or "always" at work.
Learning how to manage our autonomous nervous system is essential to managing stress, anxiety, and recovery. We are starting to see a large shift in mental fitness, large organisations like Google, Nike and Apple are hiring mindfulness coaches and apps like Insight Timer have more than 2 million meditators (including me) every day.
Being mindful of our breathing patterns throughout the day and know how to use mindfulness and diaphragmatic breathing can be a lifesaver. By taking conscious control of your breathing, you harness your thoughts, your energy, and your body. [8]
If you would like to start a mindfulness practise you can read about our 30-Day breathing challenge or you can contact us form health coaching.