THE TOP TEN PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF 6:4 BREATHING

Now we’ve taken a look at 10 physical benefits of breathing stress away, let’s look at 10 psychological benefits of practising the breathing technique.

#1 It’s the easy path into meditation

Most people who practise mindfulness meditation only meditate upon the breath.

Meditation is about focused attention and mindfulness is about noticing when your attention strays from your chosen point of focus and bringing it back. Every time you notice and redirect your attention, you are practising mindfulness.

So it is with the breathing technique. If you are breathing and counting the breath and, your mind wanders off to your shopping list or what to get for dinner, you simply notice and gently guide your attention back to breathing and counting again.

There is so much science-based research about the benefits of meditation now. Controlled breathing is undoubtedly the easiest starting point, especially as it takes as little as 5-10 minutes a day to feel the benefit.

And, once you’ve got used to the idea of never going to bed without having practised your breathing for at least 5 minutes, it becomes a healthy daily habit that fits comfortably into your routine.

#2 It calms anger

When you feel the red mist rising… STOP, breathe and count!

This is your opportunity to respond from your rational brain rather than react from your emotional brain. Responding takes a little longer as incoming signals from the outside world reach the emotional side of the brain first. That’s the hemisphere that has the job of checking out the environment for danger so it knows whether or not to press the panic button.

Rather than react mindlessly, if you stop, count and breathe you will be using your neo cortex. That’s a good thing because you certainly don’t want your jumpy inner chimp to be running the show!

#3 It lowers anxiety?

For the same reason, counting and breathing will activate the rational brain and allow the fear signals that come from the emotional brain and cause panic attacks, to settle. With the rational brain back in control, your mind can reassure your body that you are ok.

If you’re feeling panicky in any situation, keep breathing and counting until you are calm again. The longer you stay in place rather than running away from the situation that causes you anxiety, the more the old pattern of panic is broken.

In addition, every time you practise the breathing, you knock adrenaline out of the blood stream and lower your base stress level just a bit. When you practise again, it reduces another notch. In the end you have bought yourself ‘spare capacity’ and increased the distance between your base stress level and screaming pitch.

#4 It calms PTSD symptoms

Post traumatic stress disorder can have some upsetting symptoms attached to it like nightmares and flashbacks but there are lesser known symptoms too like panic attacks, anger, generalised anxiety and depression.

I wrote a book about a technique to resolve PTSD. If you think you might be suffering from PTSD, it’s a good idea to find a mental health professional who practices EMDR or the Rewind Technique which can work quickly to eliminate symptoms.

However, as stress levels are often high with PTSD, regulating your breathing can help bring back a sense of control, improve sleep and help lift depression.

#5 It improves focus and attention

Your brain and body are constantly running a kind of internal triage through your ventral vagal system to check if you’re safe. This is the part of your autonomic nervous system that controls fight or flight.

Only when it feels safe will it allow the neo cortex to get involved. Your safety takes priority and you will not be able to focus or concentrate fully until the safety message is received.

Controlled breathing sends safety signals that soothe and reassure both body and mind, freeing up brain capacity, memory and concentration and allowing you to get tasks done quicker and more efficiently.

#6 It elevates mood

Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression.? As deep breathing calms the nervous system, it also raises your brain’s endorphin levels which are your happy hormones.

One study followed 18 volunteers as they practiced breath-based meditation over three years. The study found that participants experienced long-term decreases in depression.

#7 It strengthens relationships

If you can stay calm and rational, you are much less likely to fly off the handle and say or do things you regret later. This is going to really help in forging strong and steady relationships.

So many times, in the heat of the moment, things get said that cannot be unsaid. Remember, because high emotion disables the rational brain and generates black and white thinking, if you’ve got two angry people arguing, you’ve got two stupid people in the room.

In the heat of the moment, both think ‘I’m right, you’re wrong.’ Neither is likely to say ‘hey, you might have a point there!’

Count, breathe and step away from the argument. Come back twenty minutes? later when you have had a chance to calm down physically as well as emotionally then you can aim to have a rational discussion to resolve the issue.

#8 it helps you make good choices

Latest research estimates that we make an eye popping 35,000 decisions every day.

Think about it. We decide what to eat, what to wear, what to say, who to phone, when to go to bed, whether to go through this door or that.

Apart from conscious choices, we are making thousands of unconscious micro choices too. When I reach into the fridge do I take out the tub of cottage cheese for lunch or the box of donuts? When I go home from work, do I ride the bus as usual or walk? When I get home, do I reach for the bottle of wine and curl up on the sofa or put on some upbeat music and head for the gym?

Our choices become our habits and our daily habits pave the path to our future.

Next time you reach into the fridge, try stopping, counting and breathing for just a few seconds. Then you can make a conscious, life enhancing choice from your rational brain that you won’t regret later on. Your waistline will thank you for it.

#9 It reduces cravings

Anything that’s enjoyable can become addictive, whether that’s eating, drinking, smoking, drugs, sex or even shopping.

All addictions are driven by the emotional brain. Repeated behaviours form neural pathways in the brain. Neurons that fire together wire together. Once an action has been performed hundreds of times, a myelin sheath develops around the pathway creating, in effect, a super highway. Now the action becomes automatic and unthinking.

There’s a lot of evidence that breath-based mindful exercises help develop greater awareness and conscious control over unwanted behaviours.

#10 Memory

We know that emotional arousal suppresses rational thinking so, in the short term, you are less able to create new memories as you are not paying full attention to what is going on in the here and now. Stress also impedes access to existing memories as concentration and focus are reduced.

Stress hormones also block the memory centre (hippocampus) from receiving enough energy to function well by diverting glucose to surrounding muscles for fight or flight.

It stands to reason that anything you can do to reduce your stress levels will have a positive impact on your memory. That’s good news if you’re taking an exam or attending an interview.

Monday: 6:4 breathing. How to get it right

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