Anxiety affects the ability of the human body to take in oxygen properly and, instead, results in shallow breathing. But oxygen is the best medicine to relieve anxiety, so it's important to breathe properly when stressed, anxious, nervous or tense.
Oxygen is Essential
The stress you feel when you don't get enough oxygen isn't just emotional. According to the University of South Florida College of Education, oxygen purifies you body's blood supply by removing its waste products. That process is hindered by poor breathing. It can affect your digestive system and rob your body of proper nutrition. That, in turn, can result in fatigue and an increase in anxiety levels.
Proper Breathing
Healthy Place says the correct technique for taking in and letting out oxygen is diaphragmatic, or stomach, breathing. That's how babies do it from the moment they enter the world. You'll know you're doing it correctly if your chest doesn't move when you breathe, but your abdomen moves out when you inhale and exhale. Eason Rowe of Healthy Place says, "Always inhale through the nose, never through the mouth. You can exhale through nose or mouth, although nose is better. Or, even better, inhale through the nose and exhale through pursed lips as if trying to blow through a drinking straw."
Exercise Your Breathing
Since breathing is an involuntary function of your body, it may strike you as odd to think about practicing your breathing. But breathing exercises have been standard fare in Eastern medicine and fitness, including yoga, for thousands of years. According to Chinese-Holistic-Health-Exercises, exercise helps you regulate how you breathe when you aren't thinking about it, along with soothing your emotions and strengthening your nervous system. The University of South Florida says you may not notice a difference in your energy or emotional levels immediately after starting a breathing exercise program, but in time you will.
Start Slowly
Don't overdo it. Approach breathing exercises like any form of fitness -- slowly and methodically. If you feel dizzy, stop. If you hyperventilate, stop. Talk to your health care professional if you encounter any adverse effects.
References
- Chinese Holistic Health Exercises: Anxiety Breathing Techniques and Acupressure: A Powerful Self Therapy for Anxiety and Stress
- Healthy Place; Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique for Anxiety Sufferers; February 2007
- Healthy Place; Breathing Techniques to Calm Anxiety and Panic; February 2007
- University of South Florida College of Education: Breathing Techniques
