- Health advice
- Aug 06, 2015
In our day to day life we tend to focus more on water, food, exercise than breathing.
However, breathing is more important than all of these because, as an adult, after five to ten minutes of not breathing, you are likely to develop serious and possibly irreversible brain damage.
- 1 minute: brain cells begin to die, but survival is possible
- 3 minutes: Series brain damage likely
- 10 minutes: many brain cells have died; the patient is unlikely to recover
- 15 minutes: recovery is virtually impossible
Using breath to reduce stress
In the 1970s at Harvard Medical School cardiologist Dr. Herbert Benson developed techniques to promote the relaxation response - a state of profound rest that can be elicited in many ways, including meditation, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation. The first step, in all of these techniques, is learning how to breathe deeply. Other ways to describe deep breathing are belly breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, or abdominal breathing.So how do you breathe deeply?
You breathe in through your nose until it fully fills your lungs and your lower belly rises. Then you naturally breathe out, through your mouth, letting the air escape from your belly and lungs. With clients I add to this by suggesting you breathe in for a shorter time than you breathe out. For example breathe in for 3 seconds and then out for 5 seconds. Or breathe in for 4 seconds and then out for 6 seconds.Using breath to promote relaxation and sleep
And here is another technique to help you relax and sleep that was developed by a wellness practitioner, Harvard-educated Dr.Andrew Weil, who studies meditation, breathing, and how it can be used to counteract stress. It’s easy to do.- You breathe in through your nose for four seconds
- Hold it for seven seconds
- And exhale through your mouth for eight seconds.