{"id":3056,"date":"2018-09-23T01:12:09","date_gmt":"2018-09-23T01:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/?p=3056"},"modified":"2018-09-23T01:12:10","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T01:12:10","slug":"deep-breathing-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2018\/09\/deep-breathing-exercise.html","title":{"rendered":"Deep Breathing Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It’s the exam, the job interview, or the dinner with the new in-laws. Whenever you are stressed, your breathing becomes shallow and hard, and your chest constricts. A deep breathing exercise can relax your chest muscle and return breathing to a normal pace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breathing and stress.<\/h3>\n

Breathing is especially impacted by stress. Lung tissue is fragile. It’s thin like tissue paper. Air expands the lung, filling it with oxygen, which is then picked up by the blood vessels\u00a0around your lungs. These vessels carry oxygen to the rest of your body. <\/span><\/p>\n

Normally, your lungs fill up with air and then deflate as oxygen is downloaded. The more stressed you get, the quicker your lungs inflate and deflate. If stress goes on for a while, the lungs hyperventilate. This means they are deflating faster than they are filling up with air. Your body isn’t getting enough oxygen and you might feel faint or black out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your diaphragm helps push the air out of your lungs, but your chest muscles also help lungs move. Chest muscles expand and contract the ribcage. Your chest muscle automatically contracts when you get tense. Your diaphragm pushes up, squeezing air out of your lungs. You feel that familiar \u201ctightening of the chest\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gentle stretching and deep breathing relaxes chest muscle. But your lungs also need to de-stress. Deep breathing exercises help expand your lungs. As your lungs expand, more oxygen gets into your body. Fresh, oxygenated blood is pumped throughout your system, helping to relax tense muscles and get your breathing back to normal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Breathing exercise<\/h3>\n

Having a good breathing exercise in your depression tool kit can help you fall asleep, soothe aching muscles, and get you into meditation faster. Learning a simple breathing exercise can be handy when you\u2019re in a tense, stressful situation such as exams, a job interview, or dinner with the in laws. <\/span><\/p>\n

Deep breathing exercise<\/span><\/h3>\n