Sighing: It's not rude, but necessary!

Have you ever had a conversation where you sighed deeply and squeezed the air out of your mouth, and the person speaking felt insulted? Well, the reason for that sigh is not with them, but with YOU.

Don't feel rushed right now, because sighing is actually good! It just helps you relax from stress and anxiety. Many people suffer from disturbed sleep, stress at work and personal problems, but when your body is overwhelmed by these feelings, it needs to get rid of some of them. That's where your sigh comes from and yes, it feels great!  

A sigh is an intense form of physical relaxation that is involuntary and reflexive. You can also practice this consciously when you want to calm yourself down! This breathing exercise is also known as cyclic breathing.

A study published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine showed that cyclic breathing is more effective in improving mood than mindfulness meditation and other breathing techniques. Highlights of this study were:

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• By doing five minutes of breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation each day, you can improve your mood and relieve anxiety.
• It appears that breathing exercises have a greater positive effect on both mood and physiological arousal compared to mindfulness meditation.
• Among the various types of breathing exercises, cyclic sighing is the most effective in improving mood and lowering breathing rates.

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Both mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises focus on your breathing. The goal of mindfulness, however, is to be aware of your breathing in the present moment, while breathing exercises give you more direct control over your breathing. This greater sense of control can reduce anxiety, as a sense of powerlessness is a common aspect of anxiety.

Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist at Stanford and one of the researchers in this study, says that a “physiological sigh” is the best way to reduce stress in a tense situation. It allows you to calm down at that moment, without removing the stress factor. Now that the excitement is built around cyclic breathing, supported by research, let's learn how to do it correctly to achieve maximum results:

1. Inhale once, followed by another short inhalation through the nose
2. Then exhale through the mouth for a long time

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In this video show Andrew Huberman how to perform this breathing exercise. This is the most effective way to practice it, but if you don't like it, you can also try breathing in and out completely through your nose OR mouth!

You're probably wondering, “Why am I inhaling twice?” The answer is simple: inhaling twice brings more oxygen into your lungs, and the long exhalation in the form of a sigh helps your body quickly eliminate more carbon dioxide. This way, your body relaxes quickly!

To make something “organic” about this: our lungs are NOT two big sacs, but consist of millions of air sacs (alveoli). When you put these bags down, their volume is as big as a tennis court! These bags help absorb more oxygen but also emit more carbon dioxide. Inhaling twice (first long, followed by a short inhalation) helps to inflate these small bags that have collapsed. This in turn helps to remove more carbon dioxide!

And I haven't mentioned the best part yet! You don't have to sit in a quiet place for 5 to 10 minutes to do this breathing exercise. 3 physiological sighs are enough to lower your stress level and make you feel calmer!

Try it now and use this simple but effective breathing technique when you're in trouble. And the next time someone calls you rude because you're sighing, let them try this breath too!

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Sources:

• Balban, M.Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M.M., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., Holl, G., Zeitzer, J.M., Spiegel, D., & Huberman, A.D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895  
• Sloat, S. (2023, January 22). Cyclic breathing: Why experts say just 5 minutes a day can reduce stress. Inverse. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/cyclic-breathing  
• Velden, N. van der. (2023, February 3). The Physiological Sigh: The most powerful tool for acute stress, according to experts. The Breathwork Movement. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.thebreathworkmovement.nl/blog/fysiologischezucht