logo

English
                 

 

This Is the Fastest Way to Calm Down

 

Deep breathing is the go-to solution for stress-filled situations. Now researchers have discovered the biological reason why breathing can calm you.

ALICE PARK @ALICEPARKNY

MAR 31, 2017 4:54 PM EDT

When people are anxious before getting surgery, doctors and nurses often tell them to take slow, deep breaths with long exhalations. It may seem like an inadequate way to quell anxiety, but in many cases, it actually works.

 

Now scientists describe why deep breathing, including the breath-focus of meditation, can induce such calm and tranquility. In a paper published in Science, researchers led by Mark Krasnow, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University, found that in mice, a group of nerves in the brain that regulates breathing has a direct connection to the arousal center of the brain. In other words, breathing can have a direct effect on the overall activity level of the brain.

Krasnow’s team has been studying a group of 3,000 neurons in the brain stems of rodents that control all of a mouse’s different breathing patterns, from the quick, rapid breathing associated with exertion and excitement, to the slower breathing typical of rest, to sighing and crying. Krasnow found that about 60 types of nerve cells make up this so-called “breathing pacemaker”, and each of these nerve cell groups are responsible for different breathing patterns.

 

In the study, the group was trying to isolate the different types of neurons and their various effects on breathing. Using a genetic technique, they silenced specific neurons to see what breathing function was disturbed. Their first experiment seemed like a failure when the researchers manipulated one set of neurons, yet the mice didn’t show any changes in their breathing. “We were very disappointed initially,” says Krasnow.

They put aside that experiment and moved the manipulated animals to a new cage environment. But that’s when they noticed something novel. Normally, moving mice makes them nervous and obsessive about exploring their new surroundings. But instead of sniffing and running around, the mice with the changes in their breathing center seemed to “chill,” says Krasnow. They continued their at-rest behavior: grooming themselves and hanging out without a need to urgently investigate their new surroundings.

It turns out that Krasnow had disrupted a set of nerves with a direct line to the brain’s arousal center; these nerves can either tell the brain there’s an emergency and set off the body’s alarms, or keep the brain on an even keel, maintaining a sense of calm. This is the change that happens when breathing slows down, says Krasnow. “This liaison to the rest of the brain means that if we can slow breathing down, as we can do by deep breathing or slow controlled breaths, the idea would be that these neurons then don’t signal the arousal center, and don’t hyperactivate the brain. So you can calm your breathing and also calm your mind,” says Krasnow.

 

Breathing, in other words, can change the mind, or the state of the mind.

So why do some people still feel anxious after a few deep inhales and exhales? It’s possible that their genetic variations mean they have a dulled response to this cluster of nerves responsible for regulating breathing, so that it takes more than conscious deep breaths to switch the brain from an aroused to a calm state. In those cases, having something like a drug or other intervention to specifically target the right group of breathing nerve cells and control its activity might be needed. That’s where Krasnow hopes the work will lead: to a way to better control the calming effect that deep breathing can have on the brain. In the meantime, he says, don’t dismiss deep breathing as a way to combat stress and anxiety. There’s now a scientific explanation for why it works.

No. Subject Date Author Last Update Views
Notice How to write your comments onto a webpage [2] 2016.07.06 운영자 2016.11.20 17771
Notice How to Upload Pictures in webpages 2016.07.06 운영자 2018.10.19 31855
Notice How to use Rich Text Editor [3] 2016.06.28 운영자 2018.10.19 5498
Notice How to Write a Webpage 2016.06.28 운영자 2020.12.23 43428
8112 The Latest Summary of Covid-19 Booster Shot [2] 2021.08.24 운영자 2021.08.25 74
8111 Letter from a freedman to old master [4] 2021.08.23 이한중*65 2021.08.24 262
8110 [WC] 축구대표팀 ‘최정예 엔트리’ 발표 [3] 2021.08.23 황규정*65 2021.09.02 34
8109 Taliban wants to trade with Korea [4] 2021.08.23 온기철*71 2021.08.24 52
8108 [Tigers, MLB] Miguel Cabrera after hitting 500 home runs: 'I'll always thank God for this moment' [4] 2021.08.23 황규정*65 2021.08.25 53
8107 [LPGA] 11년만의 LPGA 메이저 무관… 흔들리는 ‘사우스 코리안’ 왕조 [2] 2021.08.22 황규정*65 2021.08.24 37
8106 Why you shouldn’t rush for booster shot [3] 2021.08.21 이한중*65 2021.08.21 129
8105 Hospital-level care at home? Mayo offers [3] 2021.08.21 이한중*65 2021.08.21 92
8104 Wall Street and Red Capitalists [2] 2021.08.20 온기철*71 2021.08.21 75
8103 Breakthrough infections spread Delta easily [1] 2021.08.20 이한중*65 2021.08.21 51
8102 China: Red Capitalists 2021.08.20 온기철*71 2021.08.21 45
8101 Great Game; Afghanistan, UK, Russia, China, USA [2] 2021.08.20 온기철*71 2021.08.21 65
8100 Leonard LaRue 선장은 카톨릭 수도원의 수사가 되었다. [2] 2021.08.19 온기철*71 2021.08.19 45
8099 I wish him well [3] 2021.08.19 온기철*71 2021.08.22 49
8098 Hand washing, 20 seconds required [2] 2021.08.18 이한중*65 2021.08.18 40
8097 How common breakthrough infections are, New Data [2] 2021.08.18 이한중*65 2021.08.21 81
8096 Texas governor tested positive [3] 2021.08.17 온기철*71 2021.08.18 27622
8095 Afghan 사태 - 한국 news Summary [6] 2021.08.17 운영자 2021.08.18 61
8094 "미군 없으면 한국도 제2의 아프간 될 것" [7] 2021.08.17 이병붕*63 2021.11.01 87
8093 퇴각하는 군대와 피난민; 황초령 고개, 흥남철수 [1] 2021.08.16 온기철*71 2021.08.17 54