Do you think you are having a hard time falling asleep at night because your mind is competing?
Then you may be suffering from stress and overthinking.
But don’t lose hope. There are several simple breathing techniques you can do to instantly relax your brain and help you sleep quickly and easily.
“Practice of deep breathing can be physiologically calming by lowering the heart rate, releasing muscle tension, and changing skin conductance, which helps reduce the sensation of fighting and escape.” Dr. Haley Pers, a psychologist and performance psychology expert. I told Shape.com.
“Your breathing pattern is powerful data for your brain because you’re doing it all the time,” added sleep doctor Sumita Patel.
“If breathing is shallow, frequent, and focused on inhalation and short, fast exhalation, the body recognizes that you are stressed. It promotes the ability to fight, escape, and hide. It helps you — survive, yes, but not for healing or vitality.
“Only when you are relaxed, safe and secure, your breathing will deepen and slow down (slow down), and you will be able to pause between breaths for a long and stable exhalation.
“The body knows this truth.”
Longer exhalation than inhalation is the key to most breathing methods, but there are five simple ones that have been tried and tested to help people fall asleep.
Abdominal breathing
“One of the most important benefits of diaphragmatic breathing that most people have experienced is stress relief,” Perlus added.
“Abdominal breathing helps reduce anxiety, depression, and stress, as well as relieve emotional fatigue and depersonalization that can be caused by burnout.”
To practice abdominal breathing, sit or lie comfortably, with one hand under your ribs and the other on your chest.
Inhale through your nose and slowly push your hands out of your abdomen to keep your chest stationary.
Squeeze your lips like a whistle, exhale, and gently push out the air in your abdomen with your hands.
Do this 3 to 10 times. Each time, focus on your breathing cycle and take your time.
4-7-8 breathing
Developed as a variation of ancient yoga techniques, this breathing pattern is popular with psychologists.
To give it a try, straighten your back and place the tip of your tongue behind your front teeth.
Exhale through your mouth around your tongue, then close your mouth and inhale 4 counts through your nose.
Hold your breath for 7 counts before exhaling 8 counts from your mouth.
This cycle counts as one breath. It will be repeated 3 more times, so it will be completed 4 times in total.
Alternating nostril breathing
According to a 2013 study, those who tried nasal breathing felt less stressed afterwards.
To practice alternating nostril breathing, sit with your left hand on your lap with your legs crossed.
Place your right thumb on the right side of your nose and exhale completely before closing your right nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril and close the left nostril with the ring finger.
Open your right nostril and exhale before inhaling through your right nostril and closing it with your thumb.
Open the left nostril and exhale from the left to complete one cycle.
Continue for 5 minutes before exhaling through the left nostril.
Square breathing
“Square breathing gives you something physical to focus on, and counting seconds and synchronizing breathing can have a grounding effect and reduce wandering in the mind,” the spirit. Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and sleep doctor, said.
“In square breathing, when the expiratory stage is prolonged, the lungs push the heart a little and the heart beats slowly.”
To try a square ruler, inhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts, and rest 4 counts.
Repeat as many times as necessary.
Yoga nidra
Yoga nidra is similar to meditation, but aimed at allowing the user to “transition into a deep state of conscious sleep.”
It involves being very aware of your breathing so that the laying is complete and you can slow it down.
To follow the guidance, Dr. Dimitriu suggests trying videos on sites such as YouTube. His favorite is this 20 minute video.
This story originally appeared Sun Reproduced here with permission.
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