To ease off on the spot, use 5 minutes of "cyclic sighing": 2 inhales, then a long exhale
Grade BMedium benefitLifespanFreeLittle timeNo willpower
Do a 5-minute breathing exercise every day and keep it up for a month, and both mood and slower breathing improve more than with mindfulness meditation of the same length. Among the breathing methods, "cyclic sighing," which lengthens the exhale, works best. The method is to inhale through the nose, take 1 more small breath to fill the lungs, then breathe out slowly through the mouth until empty. This is only 1 trial, and whether it helped is reported by the person themselves, but it costs nothing.
- Cost
- No cost. 5 minutes a day.
- Benefit
- This was a controlled trial done at home, with people assigned at random, comparing 3 breathing exercises of 5 minutes a day with mindfulness meditation of the same length, for 1 month. The 3 breathing methods are cyclic sighing (emphasis on a longer exhale), box breathing (inhale, hold, and exhale of equal length), and cyclic hyperventilation with breath holds (long inhale, short exhale). Putting each person's sessions together (a mixed-effects model), the breathing exercises all beat mindfulness meditation, especially cyclic sighing, which is built on the exhale. It was better both for mood (P<0.05, meaning this difference does not look like a chance hit) and for a drop in breathing rate (P<0.05).
- Notes
- The method is to inhale once through the nose, briefly add 1 more small breath to fill the lungs, then breathe the air out slowly and at length through the mouth, and repeat for 5 minutes. There is only this 1 trial. It was done at home, whether it helped was reported by the person on a questionnaire, and the number of people was not large. The effect is only slightly better than meditation. It does not amount to solving the problem. But it costs nothing, takes only 5 minutes, and can be done anytime, anywhere, so the return for the cost is high.
Sources · 1
- Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895