Breathing Technique to Help You Sleep
Dr. John Wertish
Insomnia? Over stressed?
In today’s world we are over stimulated by technology and social media. Many Americans are stressed and have issues with sleep. Insomnia can cause you to feel anxious, depressed, and irritable. Breathing techniques can help slow the mind by a vagal response. Slowing down your breath and focusing on your exhale can relax your mind by decreasing stimulation to the vagus nerve. You can do this activity by counting to 5 through the breath cycle. Here is an example:
Breathe in for 5 seconds
Hold your breath (count to 5)
Breathe out for 5 seconds
Hold your breath (count to 5)
Repeat 10 repetitions
Here is a few quotes from the article.
“In summary, this study was aimed to investigate the effects of a smartphone-based slow-paced breathing intervention (6 cpm) performed for a duration of 15 min before sleeping across 30 days, compared to a control condition with participants using social media on their smartphone. “
“Taken together, our results suggest that slow-paced breathing performed before sleeping may enhance restorative processes at the cardiovascular level during sleep. Future research should investigate the effects of slow-paced breathing on sleep via polysomnography.”
Increase stress can lead to increased cortisol levels. High cortisol levels lead to inflammation and pain. Next time you are feeling over stimulated or stressed, try some slow breath work to calm down. It can help with pain and your overall health.
Laborde, S.; Hosang, T.; Mosley, E.; Dosseville, F. Influence of a 30-Day Slow-Paced Breathing Intervention Compared to Social Media Use on Subjective Sleep Quality and Cardiac Vagal Activity. J. Clin. Med. 2019, 8, 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8020193
Our Message
When you are looking for a Chiropractor near you that you can trust, choose one who will not only get rid of your back pain, neck pain, or headaches but who will also guide you to living a healthier lifestyle to keep you out of pain. Our Chiropractors located in St. Louis Park, near the corner of MN-100 S & Lake Rd./Westside Dr., will teach you what the research says about how and why we should eat a better diet, move more and have more positive thoughts. By improving these areas of our lives we can become healthier, stay out of pain and reduce risk of diabetes and other diseases! So try this Breathing Technique to Help You Sleep!