Stress, You Take My Breath Away — Breath, You Take My Stress Away
Nature has conveniently provided the perfect way to initiate your parasympathetic nervous system, your relaxation response, and it involves the one involuntary bodily function that you can also consciously control — your breathing. Nothing is more convenient than using your breath to bring yourself back into balance. Whether quieting a rapid fearful breath or boosting a shallow anxious one, just a few mindful breaths can shift your experience.
The first step is to simply bring your breathing under control:
- Exhale completely.
- Then slowly take a deep breath in through your nose.
- Expand your diaphragm/belly to bring air into the lower portion of your lungs.
- As you gradually fill your lungs from bottom to top, expand your chest.
- Even lift your shoulders for a last bit of fresh air.
- Briefly pause your breathing and your thoughts.
- Then relax and let the air flow smoothly out of your body.
- Pull in your stomach at the end to expel the last bit of stress.
- Enjoy the emptiness for a few seconds.
- Then begin another breath.
As you do this few times, pay attention to the sound and sensation of your breath. If you get light-headed at first, then breath normally. Your brain is probably not used to all that oxygen.
Rapid Relaxation Breath
New York's Stress Management and Counseling Center recommends a breathing technique for rapid relaxation. According to program director and practicing psychologist Allen Elkin, Ph.D.:
"You take a deep breath, deeper than normal, and hold it in until you notice a little discomfort. At the same time, squeeze your thumb and first finger together (as if you were making the okay sign) for six or seven seconds. Then exhale slowly through your mouth, release the pressure in your fingers, and allow all your tension to drain out. Repeat these deep breaths three times to extend the relaxation. With each breath, allow your shoulders to droop, your jaw to drop and your body to relax."
Control Power
Loss of control is itself a principal cause of stress. For example, when hospital patients are allowed to administer their own painkillers as often as they like, they use less painkillers than patients who have no control over their medication. A study of coronary angioplasty patients found that ones who "perceive control over their futures by having positive expectations . . . seem to be at less risk for a new cardiac event." (Psychosomatic Medicine 1999;61)
By using your breath to take control of the situation, you always have an immediate and natural way to calm down. Then you can proceed with other ways to initiate your relaxation response and get the situation under control.
Derailing Your Train of Thoughts
Concentrating on your breath is just one way to slow and stop the train of normal everyday thoughts that trigger stress — especially the kind of circular thinking that gets you nowhere. Perhaps you have a simple thought or quote, even a word or sound, that you can use to initiate your relaxation response.
"Grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
A Sound Way to Counter Stress
Maybe Mozart is the muse whose complex compositions conduct your endocrine ensemble of stress-relieving hormones. Whatever kind of music soothes your savage beast — classical, Celtic, Celine — let it shift your brain into its parasympathetic symphony. Toning, chanting, and other self-generated sounds have transforming effects on the mind end emotions. Augment sounds with mental images of stress being washed or blown away. Let your mind use all its resources to protect itself from stress hormones.
Open Your Mind's Eye —Visualization and Guided Imagery
For a quick shift into a calmer state of mind, simply imagine yourself in a favorite, tranquil place: a serene scene from your past or a hopeful one in your future. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and try to see and feel your surroundings. The key to successful visualization is first to practice with real objects until you can vividly see them in your mind's eye. Then you will be able to better visualize imaginary ones.
You can start with images from books or listen to audio tapes, but the best images are the ones that your subconscious provides. A skilled guided imagery therapist can facilitate the process of bringing these images into consciousness.
Regular practice of visualization is important. Be sure to take advantage of the transition states between sleeping and waking, when the door to your subconscious mind is open.
Sixty-five patients who listened to guided imagery tapes for three days before and six days after surgery reported less stress and physical pain than a control group. Moreover, they requested only about half as many painkillers as those who had not listened to the tapes. The tapes helped patients imagine themselves in a beautiful and peaceful place along with a person they cared for. They visualized that their upcoming operation caused little pain or stress. (Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 1998)
It's Time We had a Brain-to-Brain Talk
When you're stressed out, first of all, realize what is actually going on inside your body and what the consequences are for your brain cells. Here's a brain transcript from "Attack of the Adrenals!"
"Attention all parasympathetic forces. Urgent. Missile silos mounted atop kidneys have just released chemical weapons of mass destruction. Must mobilize internal defenses. Launch immediate counter-calm before hippocampus hammered by cortisol."
Visualize fire hoses spraying cooling hormones that soak your adrenal glands until they're no longer steaming with cortisol. Then visualize security hormones rounding up the cortisol delinquents still loitering in your hippocampus — and taking them to Kidneyland for a one-way ride on the Bladderhorn.
Guided Metabolism
Create your own metabolic story, one that works vividly for you. Use imagination to reinforce your inner troops as they try to keep you alive and healthy. Have fun with it. Swim with the "endolphins" of your mind. Hey, it's not brain surgery. (And let's keep it that way.) This "guided metabolism" is similar to the way cancer patients use visualization to increase their immune system's T-cell count.
Sleep On It — The Brain Power Nap
Why do cats nap? Because they can. But so can you. Taking a "Brain Power Nap" may be one of the best things you can do to correct poor mental performance, especially after a stressful night of disrupted sleep. It makes sense: naps can help restore what insomnia steals.
It's been found that for every hour of lost sleep you lose an IQ point — reversible with sleep therapy or meditation. One study found that higher cognitive functions in children — verbal creativity and abstract thinking — were impaired after a single night of restricted sleep, even though the children could maintain routine activities. (Sleep 1998;21/8:861-8) A study of Japanese men found that a mid-afternoon nap had positive effects upon the maintenance of their daytime vigilance level. The 20-minute nap improved performance level and their self-confidence. (Clin Neurophysiol 1999;110/2:272-9)
Acute stress is known to modify sleep-wakefulness cycle, which leads to poor mental performance. Reverse the sequence: improve your performance with naps that reduces stress. Learn how easily it is to enjoy a Brain Power Nap, a variation on Tom Edison's famous catnaps. If he found time to take them, so can you.
Meditation — It's Not What You Think
Unlike prayer, where you do the talking, meditation is more akin to listening. And, your breath is the most natural thing to tune in to. Just observe your breathing. Listen to the sounds it makes and feel the sensations it creates. This leads you into a meditative state. If thoughts enter your mind, just let them go. Passively disregard them. Instead, stay with your breath. Let it settle into its own circular rhythm.
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., author of Brain Longevity, found that meditation not only lowers oxygen consumption, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood lactate, it also causes a decline in cortisol production. "Among people who meditate regularly, cortisol levels tend to remain low, day after day. . . . Meditation has been shown to slow the aging process significantly, and to increase not just lifespan but 'health span.'" He also found that meditation promotes theta brain wave activity, which heightens learning ability and creative problem solving.
A daily session of meditation — preferably at the same time every day — will change the way your body responds to stress, because the effects of one session can last throughout the day. There are many nuances to meditation, and a qualified teacher may be advisable.
In a study at the Medical College of Georgia, scientists discovered that the daily practice of transcendental meditation kept blood vessels open, thus significantly lowering the blood pressure of meditators compared to those who just relaxed as completely as possible. (Psychosomatic Medicine, Aug 2, 1999)
Breath is even more than a mind-body interface. It is the gateway to spirit. The ancients knew this, and their language underscores the connection. In Sanskrit, atman means world-soul and atma is breath. In Hebrew, neshuma refers to both spirit and breath. The English word inspiration also hints at the connection. After years of studying meditation, Dr. Khalsa found that "the space between our thoughts — what the Asian healers call 'the sacred space' — is where most spirit-directed healing originates."
Biofeedback and Hypnotherapy
Some people benefit from more modern techniques of initiating the relaxation response. Biofeedback training uses sensitive electronic instruments that enable you to measure and eventually regulate bodily functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. Chronic heart failure patients who used biofeedback in a UCLA study were able to improve their blood flow compared to patients who only rested. In the 20-minute sessions, patients increased their skin temperature by imagining their hands becoming warmer. (Spectrum, Mar/Apr 1998)
A qualified practitioner is essential, as it is with hypnotherapy, which accesses your unconscious mind. From this advanced state of relaxation, a posthypnotic suggestion is given that may help you deal more effectively with stress in your daily life. Patients preparing for coronary bypass surgery who used self-hypnosis relaxation techniques were calmer and required less pain medication after their operations, compared to a control group. (Alternative Therapies, Jan 1998)
LET'S GET PHYSICAL — Flight or Fight (not just Fright)
To avoid stewing in your own juices of adrenaline and cortisol, it can be a good idea to do what nature has best prepared you to do — move it to use it to lose it. Burn up those hormones with physical activity.
- Do exercises that work your leg muscles, as in "Run away!"
- Bounce on a rebounder or jog in place.
- Climb stairs or use a stair-stepper.
- Walk it off or run around the block.
- Use a treadmill. (It works for rats.)
When two groups of rats were given mild shocks, the ones that had an outlet for stress, such as treadmill, had lower levels of cortisol and stress-related illnesses than the group without a way to alleviate their stress.
- Use short bursts of muscular energy, as in "Put 'em up!"
- Kick-box or have a punching bag handy.
- Do push-ups, sit-ups, and other upper body work.
Exercise not only defuses a stressful situation, it better prepares you to cope with future stress and even stimulates your brain to grow.
Progressive Relaxation
Another option — especially if you're stuck in your car or at your desk — is c. Tense, then release different muscles in a set sequence. It's easy to learn, simple to do, and it works. Scientists at Ohio University in Athens found it to be the best therapy for reducing tension headaches. In several studies, chronic headache sufferers experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain and frequency using progressive relaxation. (Prevention, June 1998)
Yoga and Tai Chi
These moving meditations that came to us from Asia are excellent long-term practices that can help you develop a healthy response to stress. A good teacher will get you moving in the right direction.
Special mind-body exercises are the centerpiece of Dr. Khalsa's brain longevity program. These unique combinations of movement, breath, and sound are energizing and regenerating yoga techniques that have helped his patients better cope with stress as well as improve their overall brain health and fitness.
The Medium is the Massage
Because mind and muscle are connected through the peripheral nervous system, massage does more than just relax your muscles. By relieving muscular stress, massage may improve brain function. A study of preschoolers found that those who received a 15-minute massage scored better on tests of cognitive performance than children who just read stories with an adult for the 15 minutes prior to testing. (Touchpoints, Vol. 5 #1)
Massage reduced levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline in depressed mothers with infants. A study at the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School found that massage therapy also improved sleep and reduced the mothers' depression. Massage releases endorphins that calm the peripheral nervous system. It increases circulation and speeds up the removal of toxins from the body. (Alternative & Complementary Therapies, Jan/Feb 1996)
Feet First
Foot reflexology is a form of massage that works with the thousands of nerve endings in the soles of your feet. A session with an experienced reflexologist can be a liberating experience. Simply rolling your foot over a golf ball can be a good way to reduce tension.
In a Chinese study of 86 individuals, blood tests were taken before and after 30- to 45-minute reflexology sessions, ten days in a row. The results showed that levels of free radicals decreased while antioxidant enzymes increased. (China Reflexology China Symposium Report, Oct 1996) In a three-year study, Danish postal workers given access to reflexology therapy missed fewer days of work, saving thousands of dollars per month. (Self Healing, May 1997)
LET'S GET PHILOSOPHICAL — Mind Over What's the Matter
- See problems as opportunities.
- See problems as personal trainers.
- There is no right answer.
- It's not a perfect world.
- Let go, and let God.
- This too shall pass.
- Refute negative thoughts.
- Stop overgeneralizing.
- Control yourself, not others.
- Be you now.
- You are a human being, not a human doing.
- "Don't sweat the small stuff."
- "Work like you will live forever; pray like you may die tomorrow." (Ben Franklin)
Another powerful way to elicit the relaxation response is prayer — your own or the prayer, and care, of another.
News Fast
No, not another media feed. Just the opposite. Stop absorbing all the information — mostly negative — that assaults you throughout the day. Information overload is an insidious form of chronic stress. Turn off your TV. Andrew Weil, M.D., often suggests his patients try a one-week news fast.
Laugh First — Ask Questions Later
Before you react to some stressor, first try becoming an observer whose job it is to find the humor in the situation. Seek belly laughs that release those pain-killing endorphins which make you feel good as well as more stress-proof. The pioneering work of Norman Cousins demonstrated the value of laughter in stress-reduction.
Friends who make you laugh are one of life's greatest blessings. Here's where the right social network pays off. One of the most important anti-stress coping skills is to develop a social support system. For example, in a five-year study of 1350 coronary disease patients, those who had no spouse or intimate friends were three times more likely to die than those who had support. Even pets are effective.
Crying Out Loud
Crying is another one of nature's stress-relieving strategies. A psychiatric chemist named William Frey, Ph.D., showed that not all tears are alike. Emotional tears have a different composition than tears caused by eye irritants, and they are especially abundant in adrenaline and other stress-related chemicals.
Allies from Planted Earth
Plants have been at the heart of medicinal systems throughout the history, and today we are verifying that compounds extracted from herbs do indeed have properties that account for the benefits ascribed to the herb. Traditional cultures have always used relaxants such as chamomile, valerian, and kava. A 1998 survey by Consumer Health Sciences showed that 19 percent of individuals with depression used St. John's wort, 18 percent ginseng, and 17 percent ginkgo. The closest pharmaceutical was Prozac (17 percent).
Ginkgo and Depression
A Swiss study found that ginkgo biloba may help improve both sleep and cognitive behavior in depressed patients. "Results from the depressed patients' brain scans provide the first direct evidence that ginkgo biloba may improve their sleep," said Dr. Martin Hatzinger, one of the researchers from Basel Psychiatric University. Ginkgo appeared to significantly reduce the number of awakenings and increase both short wave and slow wave sleep. Both types of sleep returned to original levels however after ginkgo treatment stopped. (American Psychiatric Association's 152nd annual meeting in Washington)
Ginseng and Cortisol Regulation
Ginseng is a traditional herb that has long been valued as an adaptogen that helps the body better handle physical and psychological stressors. Apparently it does this by strengthening of the adrenaline glands, thereby reducing the overproduction of cortisol that is secreted in response to stress.
Ginseng helps to create a calm, focused state of mind, a greater ability to adapt to life's changes so you can bend not break. Numerous studies demonstrate its ability to improve the mental performance of people, especially when they're under stress. Russian telegraph operators who took ginseng for thirty days showed improved concentration and coordination, reflexes and endurance. Another study measured increased blood flow in the main arteries to the brain, while others demonstrated ginseng's positive effects on memory and learning — even for the elderly.
Vitamin C Reduces Stress Hormones
New research shows that high daily doses of vitamin C reduced the levels of stress hormones in rats' blood. P. Samuel Campbell, chairman of the University of Alabama's biological sciences department, reported that megadoses of vitamin C also increased the levels of an immune system antibody in stressed and unstressed rats, as well as reduced other indicators of stress. Rats were given 200 mg of vitamin C daily. The equivalent human dosage would be several grams per day. (Speech to the American Chemical Society, August 23, 1999)
Magnesium helps control the firing rate of neurons, and along with vitamin B1 is an essential nutrient that supports the reparative process that neurons need to offset the stress from the continual firing of the electrical impulse. Low synaptic levels of magnesium can cause hypersensitivity and increase your body's response to stress. Noises will sound too loud and lights will seem too bright. Stress affects your kidneys' ability to recycle magnesium, which in turn increases your sensitivity.
Aromatherapy — Common Scents that Your Brain Knows
The all-encompassing word "chemistry" derives from the Greek khemeia — "the extracting and mixing of medicinal plant juices." The famous 16th century Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus referred to the oils he distilled from medicinal plants as "quinta essentia," hence our modern term, "essential oil." We obtain these unique compounds from the seeds and flowers, the roots and barks, and the fruits and resins of plants.
Smell was the first sense that animal life developed and is the most nostalgic of all your senses. A certain fragrance can immediately remind you of an experience in your distant past. This is because smell takes a direct route to your limbic brain where emotional memories are processed — and where stress hormones do their worst damage. Perhaps this why the sense of smell if often the first to go in older individuals.
Aromas have an intimate and irresistible effect. Unlike other senses, molecules of the object you are detecting actually come in contact with your brain. Your olfactory receptors are the only part of your brain that is exposed to the outside. Essential oils from plants are very powerful chemicals that influence brain chemistry, hormone production, and stress levels. Obnoxious smells certainly demonstrate this, but positive scents also have a subtle but powerful affect on emotional well being. It's not known for sure how essential oils work on the brain, but it's thought that they interact with certain membrane lipids as well as affect enzymatic processes.
A study of depressed men showed that citrus fragrance in their room reduced their intake of anti-depressants. Lavender has a calming effect on many people. A few drops of lavender oil on a handkerchief can help suppress the distress of frustrating situations, like being stuck in traffic or on the runway. Vaporized lavender oil was used in a British nursing home to help residents relax into sleep. It worked as well as sedative drugs. (Alternative Therapies, May 1997)
Andrew Weil, M.D., mentions research showing that the essential oil of a tropical flower called ylang-ylang causes the pituitary gland to secrete more euphoric endorphins, while oil of grapefruit stimulates the brain to produce natural painkillers called enkephalins. The scent of oil of marjoram boosts production of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin. (Self Healing, Oct 1996)
Essential oils added to bath water or massage oil are good ways to use aromatherapy, because heat helps the oils penetrate into the skin and bloodstream, as well as releases the oil's aromatic molecules for entry through the nose.
Trees are People, Too
Plants have their own stressors and have evolved chemicals to defend themselves. Trees have been shown to react to stress strikingly similar to the way we do. In her excellent book, The Fragrant Mind, Valerie Ann Worwood describes how trees respond to predators. When threatened by deer, a tree produces chemicals called tanins that deter the animals from chewing its leaves. Within 15 minutes, tanin levels in leaves have been observed to increase up to 282 percent, depending on the tree. And, like us, it takes much longer for the tree to return to its normal chemical state — from 24 to 100 hours after the attack.
Quick and Convenient Relaxation Techniques:
- Gain control of your breathing.
- Repeat a helpful quote or word.
- Visualize yourself in a tranquil place.
- Have a brain-to-brain talk.
- Use progressive relaxation.
- Get away from the noise.
- Use good scents.
- Lose the coffee.
- Laugh.
With More Time and on a Regular Basis:
- Exercise.
- Meditate.
- Get a massage.
- Practice yoga or tai chi.
- Take a Brain Power Nap.
- Use guided imagery tapes.
- Take an aromatherapy bath.
- Listen to Mozart or other music.
- Use biofeedback or hypnotherapy.
- Take time-out: a short walk or a long vacation.
- Take a news fast: stop being a receptacle for the world's problems.
"We are disturbed not by things, but by the views we take of things." — Epictetus
"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." — Shakespeare
"I've had many terrible experiences in my life, and some of them actually happened." — anon.
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