Reduce Stress with Your Breath
Shared by Dr. Tim Dunn
Stress and the way we think is important to our overall health and quality of life. In our chiropractic clinic we teach our patients to think well on top of move well and eat well. Not many people know that breath work can help to relieve stress and improve focus and attention. In our clinic we teach our patients diaphragmatic breathing, and I reviewed a study that shows that proper diaphragmatic breathing can lower our levels of the stress hormone cortisol and also increase our ability to remain attentive. “Cortisol, a steroid hormone of the glucocorticoid class, is released in response to stress. Cortisol release is associated with depression, anxiety, and other negative emotions.” (Ma et al., 2017)
Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique in which you breath into your abdomen rather than the chest at about a rate of 4 breaths per minute. A study on diaphragmatic breathing used monitors on the abdomen of the participants who were instructed on how to properly utilize diaphragmatic breathing over 20 sessions implemented over 8 weeks. When compared to a control group the participants instructed on the diaphragmatic breathing showed statistically lower cortisol levels than the control group and were able to maintain sustained attention longer than the control group.
Quotes From Research Article
“Forty participants were randomly assigned to either a breathing intervention group (BIG) or a control group (CG)”
“The findings suggested that the BIG showed a significant decrease in negative affect after intervention, compared to baseline.”
“the BIG showed significantly increased sustained attention after training, compared to baseline.”
“the BIG had a significantly lower cortisol level after training, while the CG showed no significant change in cortisol levels.”
This Research is important because many of us are stressed whether it be financially, emotionally, or physically, etc… There are many stressors in our lives that all lead to more pain and inflammation and decreased quality of life. A simple breathing technique can help to lower our stress levels and when combined with other healthy lifestyles our quality of life can increase dramatically. Our chiropractic team is dedicated to educating our patients about these kinds of topics and helping them think well. Come into one of our clinics today and learn this breathing technique to increase your quality of life and decrease your stress.
References
Ma, X., Yue, Z.-Q., Gong, Z.-Q., Zhang, H., Duan, N.-Y., Shi, Y.-T., Wei, G.-X., & Li, Y.-F. (2017). The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874
Our Message
We love to help our patients in Dallas stay healthy. We are here to relieve back pain, neck pain and headaches while also teaching about how our diet and stress effects our over all health. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as the chiropractic adjustment and getting the proper nutrients to stay healthy. Our Doctors, near the corner of Mockingbird Ln. and Abrams Rd., want to help you stay healthy and Reduce Stress with Your Breath!