“You do sigh a lot” – I’ve heard that a few times recently and although I will readily acknowledge that a louder more exaggerated sigh is a pointed but useful way to communicate emotions ranging from frustration and impatience to relief and contentment, I shall also take comfort from the fact that a sigh is a naturally occurring process which has both lifesaving and life altering benefits.
We sigh approximately every five minutes, which translates into 12 sighs per hour irrespective of whether we are frustrated, impatient or bored. Indeed, sighing is an essential reflex which keeps our lungs healthy.
What is a sigh and why is it essential to our health?
A sigh starts out as a normal breath, but before you exhale, you take a second breath on top of it.
The purpose of a sigh is to inflate alveoli in the lungs which have an important part to play in our respiratory system. It is in these half-billion, tiny, delicate, balloon-like sacs where oxygen enters, and carbon dioxide leaves the bloodstream.
Expanding as we breathe in and collapsing as we breathe out sometimes the sides of these tiny balloon-like sacs stay collapsed compromising the ability of the lung to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.
With a larger inhale, a sigh brings in twice the volume of a normal breath increasing pressure in the alveoli and forcing them open ensuring that the lungs continue to function properly.
How can we use a sigh to benefit us emotionally?
The longer than normal exhale activates our para sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for controlling how the body rests and digests. Our heart rate slows, blood pressure drops, digestion improves, and we begin to calm down and relax.
Regulating our breath which is a part of the autonomic nervous system is one way we can alleviate stress and control our emotions.
We know that we tend to breathe quickly when anxious or stressed and when scared a sharp inhale triggers our sympathetic nervous system preparing us for fight or flight. Awareness of how a sigh, as breath regulation, impacts emotions is a useful tool at our disposal. Sighing not only acts as a reset button helping our lungs function properly but also as a way to shift our emotional state.
The physiological sigh – Two inhales followed by a long slow exhale.
A recent study (Balban et al 2023 ) conducted by Spiegal and Huberman amongst others at the Centre on Stress and Health at Stanford University School of Medicine focused upon the physiological benefits of a sigh and long exhale as a way to calm ourselves and combat anxiety.
A Randomised controlled study it compared three different five minute breathing practices with mindfulness meditation as tools for stress management and wellbeing. The breathwork, especially the exhale-focused cyclic sighing, produced greater improvement in mood and reduction in respiratory rate compared with mindfulness meditation. Daily 5-min cyclic sighing was shown to have promise as an effective stress management exercise.
A physiological cyclic sigh is essentially two inhales (through the nose) followed by a longer exhale (preferably through the mouth). You take in one deep inhale followed by a shorter inhale expanding the lungs, increasing the intake of oxygen and the offload of carbon dioxide. This is followed by a long slow sighing calming exhale slowing down the heart rate and having a comforting effect on the body.
The physiological or cyclic sigh is simple, can be done anytime and costs nothing.
It is a fabulous tool at our disposal when faced with a mountain to climb, a stressful meeting or when trying to manage our emotions.
Sighing and Yoga
Utilising the calming effects of a sigh is something I might invite whilst teaching a yoga class especially if a student or students have arrived in a rather hurried and busy state. It can be practised as a separate breathing practice or whilst practising an asana such as Downward Dog (try lifting the heels on the inhales and lowering on the slow extended exhale).
Discussing and exploring the physiological benefits of a sigh with yoga therapy clients provides another tool to add to their self-care toolbox of stress management techniques.
In my previous blog I explained how our vision and gaze also impact our emotional state. Why not combine your gaze with a sigh for an increased soothing effect.
Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., Weed, L., Nouriani, B., Jo, B., Holl, G., Zeitzer, J. M., Spiegel, D., & Huberman, A. D. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell reports. Medicine, 4(1), 100895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
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