Breathe Easy: 6 Techniques to Tame Stress and Anxiety

Welcome to a world where inspiration meets the inevitable chaos of life. Let’s be honest, stress is like that uninvited guest at a party you never wanted to host, and with the political circus swirling around us, it's become a veritable three-ring spectacle of anxiety. According to Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a wise voice in the storm of our collective unease, stress has reached alarming heights, and frankly, it resembles the line for the nearest coffee shop on a Monday morning—mostly full and wildly jittery.

In a gathering of 30, 21 people are dealing with stress and burnout. It’s like watching a scene from a dramatic play where everyone has lost their lines, and the audience can’t look away. The irony? Chronic stress doesn’t just steal your joy; it appears to speed up the aging of your immune system, to boot. I mean, where’s the fairness in that? Research has shown that stress can increase your risk of death by about 20%, which is not exactly the fun fact we wanted to hear. But don’t fret; managing stress could be your golden ticket to a longer, happier life—alongside wholesome eating, exercise, and friendships that don’t revolve around your Netflix account.

Dr. Xuan-Mai T. Nguyen from the Department of Veterans Affairs expressed surprise at how much we could gain from adopting just one, two, three, or even all eight healthy habits. It’s like the buffet of well-being, and I, for one, am here for it! Breathe in, breathe out—the good news is, psychologists suggest that the key to calming down might be as simple as your breath. Yes, that thing you do without thinking can impact how you feel. Who knew the secret to sanity was hiding in plain sight all along?

Think about this: your brain pays the most attention to your lungs. That’s right—if you're juggling hunger, a stubbed toe, and a gum-related near-choking incident, guess who’s getting priority? The breath wins! But here’s where it gets really interesting—though we can't control our heartbeats or our tricky digestive systems, we can take charge of our breathing. “Use your body to communicate with your brain,” Dr. Patricia Gerbarg advises, which sounds remarkably like my motivational self-talk during the third episode of a binge-watch session.

Brain scanners have revealed that slowing our breath down can zap away anxiety and ramp up reasoning abilities. Imagine your thinking mind keeping the emotional part in check while you take those sweet, calming breaths. In the world of psychology—believe it or not—slow, deep breathing can gently coax your body out of that high-alert, fight-or-flight mode. It’s akin to sending yourself a little note that says, “Hey, it’s okay. We’ve got this.”

So, if you find yourself in a state of frenzy, take one of these five breathing techniques and run with it. Or, perhaps walk slowly, because we’re all about calming vibes here. Dr. Nerurkar suggests what she calls a three-second brain reset. It's all about grounding yourself, anchoring in the here and now, rather than spiraling into “What if?” thoughts that often dog our footsteps during stressful times.

Next up is the breath that employs your diaphragm, which I like to think of as tapping into your inner baby. Babies breathe deeply and effortlessly. So, let’s take it back to basics under the guidance of Dr. Bartolucci, who advises this lovely technique to regain that natural breath. “You'll know I've hit my limit,” she quips, “because my belly starts trying to take center stage.”

And who can resist a good sigh? Dr. David Spiegel, the sage of Stanford, outlines a sighing exercise to practice, ideally for about five minutes. This is like giving your lungs a gentle hug while simultaneously putting your emotional turmoil on mute. In a world where the average adult tends to take 15-20 breaths a minute, the magic number for optimal calm seems to hover around five breaths per minute. It’s as if we are giving our brain a message that says, “All systems are clear; go ahead and relax.”

And here’s a little gem from sleep guru Dr. Michael Breus, who promotes a simple breathing exercise that could lower that pesky heart rate and offer a calming elixir for the soul. Dr. Melissa Young adds, make this an everyday ritual—because who wouldn’t want to cozy up with a lovely breathing routine on their way to mindfulness?

So, go ahead, take a breath, or several, and let’s embrace the art of living well despite the swirling storm around us. Each breath is a step back towards sanity, a reminder that perhaps