Using breathing techniques to ground yourself
Studies show that calm and deep breathing can synchronise your breathing and heart rate. This synchronisation results in a higher heart rate variability and therefore impacts positively on health, mood and how the body responds to stress.
An abnormal daily life, planning uncertainty, negative news and worries are the order of the day right now. Working from home also means that we can be contacted at any time; there is little variety in our daily life and little if any social contact. These factors can lead to psychological stress, which in turn is a risk for various cardiovascular diseases. We have known for a long time that deep breathing has a positive effect on stress and mood (Perciavalle et al., 2016). It is not without reason that these days we are increasingly focusing on breathing, mindfulness and meditation. Breathing as a method of relaxation is also used in yoga, qi qong or when progressively relaxing the muscles, for example.
Controlled breathing has a positive impact on stress, produces a better mood and heightened concentration (Venkatesh et al.,2020). By training your breath, you can reduce stress hormones in the blood (such as cortisol) and lower your heart rate. The way in which heart rate affects health is described as heart rate variability (HRV). HRV relates to the regularity of consecutive heartbeats. Higher HRV values mean a greater variation between the heartbeats and as a result a more active and healthier heart. Low HRV values, i.e. less variation between two heartbeats, mean that the heart responds less to physiological needs. This may result in feelings of angst, stress and psychological problems.
There is where breathing comes in again. The variability of our heartbeats is influenced by our breathing and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) (Saboul et al., 2013). Studies show that breathing and heart rate is synchronised by calm and deep breathing of 6 breaths a minute. This synchronisation increases the amplitude of the heart rate, resulting in higher HRV values. This type of breathing is known as resonance frequency (RF) and differs from one person to the next. It settles at between 4.5 and 7 breaths a minute (Steffen et al., 2017).
Synchronising your breathing and heart rate results in a higher HRV, a lower blood pressure response to stress and quite simply an improved state of mind. So it’s well worth taking a few minutes out of a stressful day and concentrating on your breathing. Afterwards, you’ll find you feel better and are able to work more efficiently again.
Practical tips
Have a go at achieving a resonance frequency of 6 breaths a minute:
- Twice a day every day, be aware of how you breathe for 3 to 5 minutes
- Breathe at a frequency of 6 breaths a minute
- Inhale for 5 seconds / exhale for 5 seconds
- Breathe deeply from the abdomen: Imagine you are trying to fill and then empty a large balloon.
- Breathe as calmly and quietly as possible
Further reading
- Perciavalle et al., 2016
external page The role of deep breathing on stress – PubMed (nih.gov)
- Venkatesh et al., 2020
- Saboul et al., 2013
- Steffen et al., 2017