Why does taking deep breaths help ease stress and anxiety?
In: Biology
The changes in our body from stress and anxiety are caused by the fight-or-flight response. During this response, chemicals are pushed into the blood that cause increased blood flow to our muscles and brain and we end up breathing quicker to maintain this high energy state. When we expended the energy or are able to breathe slowly again, the body starts to tune the response down.
The response is great for physical stressors like a large predator chasing us or running away from a natural disaster. Once you’ve expended the energy and are able to breathe normally again, the stressor is gone and your body can relax.
However, in our complicated world today, most stressors are often not physical. Anxiety about money, relationships, or even just purpose in life can trigger this fight-or-flight response. Physically fighting against it typically goes against the law. Running away ends up making it worse. Therefore, we have to manage this stress response in other ways.
Forcing ourselves to breathe slower tricks the body to thinking that we’re more relaxed and will turn down the stress response. Another way is to exercise and expend the extra energy in the body caused by stress. Once we’re able to control our biological response, it’s a lot easier to deal with the actual stressor with a clear mind.
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