Think about it, do you have a heaving chest or a heaving stomach when you breathe?
Most people know that breathing provides oxygen and sustains life, but they don't know that changing the way they breathe can improve sleep, regulate immunity, and have multiple health benefits.
Life Times invites experts to tell you how to help your health through breathing adjustments.
Experts interviewed
Zhu Weimo, academician of the American Academy of Sports Sciences and tenured professor at the University of Illinois
Jin Shoude, Director of the Respiratory Department of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University
Chest breathing is the result of evolution, but it has drawbacks
In medicine, human breathing is divided into chest breathing and abdominal breathing.
Thoracic breathing relies on the contraction of the "intercostal muscles" to drive the ribcage and stretch the lungs. This type of breathing allows the chest to amplitude and the stomach barely moves.
Abdominal breathing is a breathing that mainly moves the "diaphragm" up and down, supplemented by the movement of the intercostal muscles, and the stomach rises and falls significantly.
The emergence of chest breathing also begins with the instinctive reaction of human beings in the face of danger in the process of evolution.
When a person is frightened (high-pressure state), they change the rate of breathing and activate the reserve respiratory muscles (superior trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, pectoral muscles, and scaly muscles) to increase the volume and rate of breathing and deliver more oxygen to the muscles to get out of danger.
But if you constantly put yourself in this high-pressure state, it is not good for your health.
The body secretes more stress hormones
Because of long-term high pressure, the stress hormone cortisol will be secreted excessively. Too much cortisol has been linked to sleep deprivation, anxiety disorders, and more.
The body secretes more inflammatory substances
Under high pressure, the body also releases more inflammatory chemicals, such as histamine, and with high histamine levels, a noticeable sensation is itchy skin.
The air exchange is small, and the body is prone to hypoxia
Not only that, the amount of ventilation in the chest breathing is very small, and the lack of ventilation at the normal breathing rate can easily cause the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the body, resulting in a lack of oxygen in the brain, dizziness and fatigue.
The body activates the reserve respiratory muscles, causing a chain reaction
If the brain senses a chronic lack of oxygen in the body, it orders the shoulder and neck muscles to lift up to help breathe. At this time, our shoulders and neck are prone to tightness and soreness, and even other muscle groups will have compensatory changes.
Change to abdominal breathing, and the benefits are uninvited
Due to the frequent sedentary and lack of exercise, many people breathe shallowly and shortly, or even only use chest breathing, or two breathing styles together but chest breathing is the main thing.
Zhu Weimo, a member of the American Academy of Sports Sciences and a tenured professor at the University of Illinois, said that abdominal breathing is a powerful anti-disease "toolbox" that can bring the body back to the calm part of the nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system (which controls digestion, rest, and can help slow down breathing and heart rate), and shuts down the sympathetic response responsible for "fight or flight."
Consciously changing "chest breathing" to "abdominal breathing", also known as diaphragmatic breathing, can reap the following benefits:
1. Improve lung capacity, oxygen absorption and supply efficiency;
2. Reduce the production of stress hormones;
3. Reduce cortisol levels, lower blood pressure, and relieve anxiety;
4. Improve the response of autonomic nerves to pressure, improve arterial blood flow, sleep quality, etc.;
5. Based on the above, it helps to enhance immune function.
This does not mean that you should do abdominal breathing training all the time, and you can benefit from consciously practicing it only at a few key moments, such as insomnia, nervousness and anxiety, feeling sleepy and dizzy, stressed, etc.
Especially for many people with insomnia, before going to bed, their minds are like "playing a movie", and it is very suitable for abdominal breathing.
Relax all muscles in your body, focus on your stomach, and feel the ups and downs of your stomach during abdominal breathing, which can help eliminate other distractions and allow active nerves to relax and fall asleep.
Abdominal breathing Step 1: Find your diaphragm
It is not difficult to find that the diaphragm (diaphragm) plays an important role in abdominal breathing.
The diaphragm is the muscle located at the base of the lungs, the dividing line between the chest and abdomen, and the largest and most important respiratory muscle in our body.
How does the diaphragm work?
- During inhalation, the diaphragm actively contracts and presses down, so that air naturally fills the lungs;
- On exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and rises back into place.
Understanding the role of the diaphragm can help us perform abdominal breathing exercises better, and the basic steps are as follows:
inhale
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen (under your ribs).
Close your mouth and inhale through your nose to make your abdomen bulge and expand, feeling the diaphragm press down, that is, the hand placed on the chest should not be felt, and the hand placed on the abdomen should expand as air enters.
exhale
Exhale through the mouth, tightening the muscles (feeling the abdominal wall sink) to force the air out.
Repeat the cycle, try to breathe evenly, and carefully feel the abdomen fall together. After getting acquainted, you can free your hands and practice anytime and anywhere.
Learn an "advanced version of abdominal breathing"
The above is the basic version of abdominal breathing, after mastering it, you can also try the advanced version - "square box" abdominal breathing exercise.
This exercise can help calm the nerves and improve concentration during stressful times. It can be done anywhere in a sitting, standing or lying position.
Step 1
Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose (lower abdomen distends) and slowly move upwards along the left side of the imaginary box, slowly counting from 1 to 4 in your mind.
Step 2
Hold your breath, keep your lungs full, and slowly count from 1 to 4 from left to right along the top edge of the box (holding your breath doesn't mean depriving your body of oxygen, but rather trying to expand and open the small airways in your lungs).
Step 3
Exhale slowly and deeply through your mouth, slowly counting from 1 to 4 from top to bottom along the right side of the box.
Step 4
Hold your breath and keep your lungs empty, slowly counting from 1 to 4 along the lower edge of the box from right to left.
Repeat the above steps 3 times, or 5 minutes at a time.
In conclusion, many people ignore the potential benefits of breathing, and consciously cultivating the habit of abdominal breathing can not only relax tense nerves and improve sleep, but also enhance cardiopulmonary function and bring unexpected health benefits. ▲
Editor of this issue: Zheng Ronghua
Copyright Notice: This article is the original of "Life Times" and is not reproduced without authorization.