Your Complete Guide To Deep Breathing And Why It's So Beneficial
Dec 28, 2018
Since our bodies breathe naturally, most of us pay little attention to the way we’re actually breathing. But sometimes our breathing habits aren’t healthy for us. Those who breathe shallow breaths could benefit from deep breathing techniques. Indulging in some deep breaths is great for your mental and physical health. It can bring you happiness, productivity, and energy.
In order to breathe deeply in the proper manner, we must use our noses to breathe instead of our mouths. We also need to activate our abdomens and not just our chests. You may have heard of these deep breathing techniques before referred to as abdominal breathing or belly breathing.
But trying them for yourself can actually prove how much better it can make you feel! The best part about it is that you can engage in this technique anywhere you’re at any time of the day!
Taking a short 10-minute break from the day to focus on deep breathing can bring you physical and mental health benefits. Are you going try this technique?
How To Deep Breathe
- Lie on your back in an area without any distractions.
- Begin with your hands resting on your stomach. Keep your body relaxed.
Inhale through your nose as deep as you can. You should feel your abdomen expand and your lungs fill up entirely with air. Count upwards to the number 5 as you breathe in. Hold this breath to the count of 3. Then begin exhaling through the mouth. Make sure you feel your lungs empty. Then, count upwards to 5 again and relax all of the muscles you just used. Perform this technique for 5 - 10 minutes at a time. This method can be used in the morning when you wake up and right before bedtime.
If you can’t lay down to perform this technique, you can also try it while sitting down. Making it a habit to use deep breathing twice a day at the same time each day can give you amazing advantages to your health. But what are these benefits?
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1. Stress Reduction
You’ll notice a difference in your stress levels if you perform deep breathing techniques. Your tension will leave your body and your anxiety will melt away. Belly breathing can be a better way to manage your stress and worries than eating junk food or watching television.
2. Detoxes Your Body
Shallow breathing does not work as effectively as deep breathing when it comes to clearing toxins from your lungs. These toxins can cause inflammation, chronic fatigue, and even issues with your weight. However, breathing helps to cleanse the blood and detoxify the body.
3. Boosts Lung Function
The function and performance of your lungs will improve as you continue your deep breathing efforts. By strengthening the muscles associated with breathing, you’ll notice that your lungs bring your body more oxygen that it needs in order to function properly.
4. Helps With Weight Loss
Focusing on taking deep breaths can help boost your weight loss. As you become more comfortable with this method of breathing, your oxygen reaches your fat molecules more easily making them more prone to break down into water. Deep breathing can help alter your blood flow in a way that will cause you to lose those extra pounds.
5. Become More Well Rested
Deep breathing can be a relaxing and healthy technique to help you achieve better sleep. Your nervous system will be more calm, allowing your brain to rest and become more susceptible to falling asleep and staying asleep. If performed at night, you should have no trouble sleeping!
6. Reduce Blood Pressure
Hypertension is one of the most common health conditions in the world. Focusing on deep breathing can relax your body and break down the salt that you consume in order to expel it from your body. Reducing blood pressure is easy when you have a deep breathing routine!
7. Alleviates Pain
Taking a moment to focus on belly breathing can help you manage your pain. Breathing in this manner releases helpful endorphins that can alleviate our pain naturally. The relaxed mental state also makes pain easier to manage. By controlling our breathing and bodies, we control our pain.
8. Reduces Motion Sickness
If you’re traveling by train, boat, or airplane and tend to get sick from the ride, you can do deep breathing techniques to manage your motion sickness. The natural remedy activates our nervous system in order to manage the symptoms you may get from motion sickness. Close your eyes and focus on breathing.
9. Boosts Digestion
Bloating, constipation and other problems with digestion can be managed with deep breathing techniques. This process boosts blood flow to your digestive system, allowing your body to digest naturally and effectively. You may encourage a more regular bathroom cycle if you engage in deep breathing twice a day.
10. Gives You Energy
Breathing is the most natural way to activate your internal energy. Your blood flow and oxygen levels will increase, making it easier to focus on tasks and be energetic. If you suffer from chronic fatigue, deep breathing techniques may help boost your mood and energy.
As you can see, deep breathing has many added benefits that can help our mental and physical health. Remember that when engaging in a deep breathing routine, you should notice a rise and fall in your abdominal area. Focus on this area of your body and make sure that you can feel every inch of air entering and leaving your body. If you’re having trouble focusing on the techniques, use relaxing music in order to keep you in the zone. Set reminders in order to remember to perform this routine once or twice a day.
Once you see the benefits of deep breathing, you’ll never want to stop! Are you going to implement a deep breathing routine into your daily schedule? Let us know of some more relaxation techniques in the comments!
Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!