{"id":106241,"date":"2024-11-22T13:58:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T13:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?post_type=news&p=106241"},"modified":"2024-11-22T13:58:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T13:58:58","slug":"working-well-the-simple-act-of-taking-deep-breaths-can-reduce-stress-and-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/working-well-the-simple-act-of-taking-deep-breaths-can-reduce-stress-and-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Well: The simple act of taking deep breaths can reduce stress and anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A simple, uncommon ritual starts each staff meeting at Myosin Marketing. When everyone is gathered\u00a0on Zoom<\/a><\/span>, and before they get to the meat of the agenda, CEO Sean Clayton leads his team through\u00a0a deep-breathing exercise<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The practice sets the tone for the meeting, and helps his employees, most of whom\u00a0work remotely<\/a><\/span>, to feel safe, grounded and willing to take creative risks, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first they thought it was really weird, like, \u2018What are we doing?\u2019\u201d Clayton said. \u201cThere were a lot of cameras off and I\u2019m sure a lot of people were like, \u2018This is awkward.\u2019\u201d But after a couple of weeks, there was a shift. Employees of the Austin, Texas company were saying, \u2018This feels good,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Deep breathing can be an effective way to\u00a0reduce stress at work<\/a><\/span>, studies show. But\u00a0on the job<\/a><\/span>, many people don\u2019t think about how they\u2019re inhaling and exhaling.<\/p>\n

Desk workers sitting a computer tend to take shallow breaths as their shoulders creep up. Workers who spend the day on their feet\u00a0in retail<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or health care may be too busy to focus on breathing.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s good reason to remember to pause to take deep breaths. Chronic, unmanaged stress, which increases the risk of heart disease\u00a0and stroke<\/a><\/span>, can be as harmful to our health as secondhand smoke, according to the American Heart Association.\u00a0Research suggests<\/a><\/span>\u00a0deep-breathing exercises can lower a person\u2019s blood pressure and\u00a0reduce anxiety<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Other benefits: deep breathing is free, can be done anywhere and doesn\u2019t require taking a half-hour to\u00a0meditate<\/a><\/span>. Spending just a minute or two breathing deeply can help calm racing thoughts, experts say.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt relaxes my mind. It makes my mind so full of ease,\u201d Lisa Marie Deleveaux, a marketing professional and mother of five, said. \u201cIt brings you back to the present moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Deleveaux was laid off several months ago and has struggled to find a new job. She wakes most mornings at 4 or 5 a.m., before the children, to do breathing exercises. One is a technique known as alternate nostril breathing, a yoga exercise that involves inhaling through one nostril and out through another, using a thumb or forefinger to hold one nostril closed at a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIf you set a priority for yourself … you can make the time,\u201d Deleveaux said.<\/p>\n

Focusing on breathing for one to five minutes \u201ccan help you clear the slate and wipe all these things out of your mind…and allow you to get back to focusing on the one thing you want to accomplish,\u201d said cardiologist Glenn Levine, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. \u201cThe best analogy is turning your computer off when you have 37 programs (open) and it freezes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A good way to do deep breathing exercises is while sitting on a bench outside, Levine said. If that\u2019s not an option, doing it at a desk works.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither turn off your screen or just put something blank on the screen so people think you\u2019re still working,\u201d Levine said. \u201cInstead of focusing on the screen or work, just focus on your breathing. If possible, close your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are other ways to fit in breathing exercises. To get ahead of anxiety before starting a day of cold calls, sales development representative Lindsay Carlisle does breathing exercises with her 7-year-old daughter during the drive to school. They breathe in for seven counts, hold their breath for five, breathe out for seven counts, and then repeat the cycle several times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout that process, my shoulders start to drop on their own, and it really is calming,\u201d Carlisle, who lives in Flint, Michigan, said. \u201cI\u2019m not a yoga instructor. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing, but it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suze Yalof Schwartz was an overworked fashion editor when her mother-in-law taught her a three-minute meditation technique that she says changed her life. She gave up her fashion career and founded Unplug Meditation, a Santa Monica, California, company with a meditation studio, an app and programs for corporate clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we slow down our breath, we send a signal to our brain that everything\u2019s OK, even when it\u2019s not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A 16-second breathing technique she\u2019s taught to firefighters, police officers, doctors and others is called the box breathing technique. You breathe in for four counts, hold for four, breathe out for four counts and hold for four.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the best thing that you can do at work before you have a meeting, before you send out an email that you wish you didn\u2019t send, before you have a difficult conversation, because it just calms you down, gets rid of your negative energy,\u201d Yalof Schwartz said.<\/p>\n

Employers such as\u00a0Coca-Cola<\/a><\/span>, Mattel and Netflix have hired Unplug Meditation to teach breathing or meditation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0not always easy<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for workers to find space for deep breathing exercises. For example, in retail jobs, workers often mix with customers. Yalof Schwartz recommends doing breathing exercises when ringing up a sale or folding clothes. You can also take a deep breath right before walking through a door.<\/p>\n

Office workers can set a timer on their phones to remind themselves to breathe deeply. That\u2019s what Carlisle, the sales representative, does. She also keeps a Post-it note on her monitor that says \u201cBreathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe anxiety is always going to be there,\u201d Carlisle said. \u201cBut at least I know I have one small tool. … It sounds so simple and silly, but it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information about stress, go to stress.org<\/a><\/h3>\n

Written By\u00a0CATHY BUSSEWITZ\u00a0<\/a>Bussewitz is a national reporter on the AP\u2019s business team. She writes about the workplace, job issues and wellness.<\/p>\n

Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva<\/a><\/p>\n

OP -The Associated Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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