For example, we can choose to control our breath by slowing it down or speeding it up, or by taking shallow or deep breaths. By breathing more deeply or controlling our breath intentionally, we can impact our body in a number of positive ways, says Baxter Bell, MD, a former family doctor who now works as a certified yoga instructor and practices medical acupuncture. “For starters, we can lower our blood pressure and stress level, and think more clearly,” he says. Feeling calm and centered after deep breathing is common, and a breathing practice can promote a greater sense of well-being, he says.
“There is an intentionality to deep breathing you’re really trying to fill your lungs with air. In most cases, you’re not getting that when you are breathing normally,” says Yufang Lin, MD, an internal medicine doctor at the Center for Integrative Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Health System in Ohio. If your breath is shallow, you may be imposing stress on your body unintentionally, or the stress you feel may be contributing to shallow breathing. When we’re deep breathing, though, the breath naturally slows down, says Dr.
“When sitting down or doing a nonstrenuous activity, most people, on average, breathe in for about two seconds and breathe out for two seconds,” he says. That’s about what a typical respiration rate is when we’re not really consciously thinking about our breath.ĭeep breathing requires you to relax your abdominal region while you take a deep breath in, says Megan Elizabeth Riehl, PsyD, a clinical assistant professor and health psychologist at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor. “We are more slowly filling the lungs with air as we breathe in and allowing the lungs to expand, which will move the diaphragm. At the exhale, we release all the air out" as the diaphragm relaxes and the chest wall recoils, she says. In focusing our awareness on this process, we can slow our breathing pattern, she says.Ĭontrolling the breath can be part of a yoga or mindfulness practice, but breath-focused meditation doesn’t have to be deep breathing, says Dr. “Some yoga breathing can be similar to diaphragmatic breathing, but it can sometimes be very different. For example, some breathing patterns in yoga, you are supposed to keep your mouth closed,” she says. In diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing, you typically are encouraged breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, she says. “We can become shallow breathers in the face of stress or tension.” “Stress can shift our breathing,” says Riehl. This usually has to do with our body’s sympathetic arousal, which can be activated in times of stress, she says. This is also known as the “fight or flight response,” and the release of hormones can drive up our breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure, says Riehl. This response prepares the body to survive a real or perceived threat, so whether there’s a car swerving at you or you’re going to talk to your boss about a raise, the body’s sympathetic system responds similarly, as a article published in July 2021 in StatPearls notes. Shallow breathing can lead to physical tension in different parts of your body, including your shoulders, jaw, hands, or back, she says. “That tension also is associated with increased GI distress. Overall, it can have a snowball effect - stress might trigger more shallow breathing, and then the physical effects can lead to more stress,” she says.Ī key benefit of deep breathing is that it can help manage stress, which is a contributor to many health conditions, says Bell. Whether done alone, as a meditation, or in combination with a movement practice like yoga, this complementary approach may be worth trying if you are dealing with a health condition.įor instance, deep breathing may help you manage or improve: While research results on deep breathing vary, experts agree deep breathing is safe for most people to try.
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