Take a long, slow breath. Really,
it’ll help. The idea that breathing exercises can somehow calm you down is an
ancient one – yoga isn’t a recent development, you know. But few people understand
exactly how breathing can relieve stress on a physiological level and can even
be used to increase workplace productivity. The answer lies in the autonomic
nervous system, which is responsible for the automatic function that keeps our
body ticking. While most autonomic functions – such things as heart rate and digestion
– are out of our conscious control, breathing is unique in that we can take
charge if desired. Not only that, but invoking different breathing patterns can
have a sort of cascade effect, shifting our entire autonomic nervous system
between a state of rest and relaxation (scientists call this zone the “parasympathetic”
state) and the ready to rumble state of fight or flight (this is called the “sympathetic”
state). In the layman’s terms, different breathing patterns can serve as a
quick and often easy way to manipulate your emotional and physiological state
in ways that allow you to be calmer, less stressed, and more productive.
Our lungs are filled with receptors
that tell our brains whether we are inhaling or exhaling. As we inhale, we
activate the sympathetic state (the fight or flight system). As we exhale, we
activate the parasympathetic state (the calm and collected system). This is why
yoga style breathing exercises often involve long exhalations. For maximum
productivity, you want to breathe in a way that will keep you in the
parasympathetic zone so you are calm and stress free, but not too far into it
to the point where your mind is mush. To achieve Office Zen, researchers
suggest a breathing practice called Coherent Breathing, which features equal
length inhalations and exhalations at a very slow pace, without holding your
breath. For most adults, the ideal breathing rate is four and a half to six
full breaths per minute. According to researchers, this technique is ideal
because it strikes a balance between the benefits of both the parasympathetic
and sympathetic states and can be done with little effort after a bit of training.
Studies have also linked it to a reduced stress and increased cognitive
performance.
