Have you ever noticed how your breathing changes when you are stressed? Maybe it becomes shallow and quick, or perhaps you even hold your breath without realizing it.
What if I told you that understanding and controlling your breath could be one of the most powerful tools for managing your emotions? Today, we are going to discuss about the science behind how breathing influences your brain and your emotional state.
information source- Psychiatrist Dr. Tracey marks YouTube Video
How Breathing Works in Your Body?
Today, we are talking deeply about an effective tool for emotional regulation, your breath. Let us start by understanding what is happening in your body when you breathe.
Your autonomic nervous system has 2 main branches, the sympathetic system, which handles your fight or flight response, and the parasympathetic system, often called the rest and digest system. Think of these as your body’s gas pedal and brake.
At the center of this system is the vagus nerve, which acts like an information superhighway between your brain and your body.
When you take slow, controlled breaths, you are essentially sending calming signals up this nerve to your brain on a neurochemical level. This helps regulate stress hormones like cortisol and also increases GABA, which is a neurotransmitter that promotes calmness.
This is why deep breathing can almost instantly make you feel more relaxed.
4 key ways that controlled breathing affects your brain and body
Emotion Regulation
When you breathe slowly and deeply, you are actually changing the carbon dioxide levels in your blood. Carbon dioxide plays a vital role in brain function, acting as more than just a waste product that we exhale. It influences how excitable neurons are, especially in the amygdala, your brain’s emotional alarm system.
When carbon dioxide levels drop too low due to rapid, shallow breathing, the neurons in your amygdala become more excitable, making you more prone to anxiety and overreaction. But when you slow your breathing and allow carbon dioxide levels to stabilize, you create a calming effect, reducing the amygdala’s reactivity. It is like turning down the volume on your brain’s stress response.
This effect of low carbon dioxide is one reason why hyperventilation can trigger or worsen panic attacks and why you sometimes see people breathing into a bag to slow their breathing. You are breathing back in the carbon dioxide and stabilizing your levels. You can get the same effect without the bag, but if your anxiety is already at def-con level ten, you are not going to have the control that you need to shift to slow breathing, so the bag helps increase your carbon dioxide levels faster.
Cognitive Function
Controlled breathing increases oxygen delivery to your prefrontal cortex. That is the part of the brain responsible for decision making and focus. So when you are breathing properly, you are feeding your brain what it needs to think more clearly.
Body Awareness
Focused breathing enhances what we call interoception, your ability to sense what is going on inside your body. This increased body awareness can help reduce feelings of anxiety and dissociation, grounding you in the present moment.
A Stress Reset
Deep diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to increase the rate at which your body clears cortisol, the primary stress hormone. So you are not just feeling calmer, you are actually resetting your body’s stress response.
One measure of how well your nervous system is functioning is something called heart rate variability. Despite how it might sound, having a high variation in your heartbeat is actually good. It shows that your system is flexible and responsive. Slow, controlled breathing has been shown to improve heart rate variability, which means better emotional regulation and stress resilience.
Breathing Techniques for Emotional Control
Now let’s talk about specific breathing techniques that can help you take control of your emotions. I am going to share three evidence-based methods, each with its own benefits.
What is Box Breathing and how to do it?
Box breathing is also known as square breathing. Here is how it works. Imagine tracing a square with your breath. You inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, and hold for 4.
A benefit of this technique is that it gives you a simple pattern to focus on while activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
Navy SEALs use this technique to stay calm under pressure, and research shows it can reduce stress and improve focus within minutes.
What is 4-7-8 Breathing and How to do it?
You inhale for 4 counts, hold for 7, and exhale for 8. This pattern is particularly good for anxiety because the long exhale triggers your relaxation response more strongly than the box breathing pattern. It is this longer exhale compared to the inhale that has been shown in research to increase parasympathetic activation more effectively than breaths of equal length.
What is Resonance Breathing and how to do it?
Resonance breathing is also called coherent breathing. This involves breathing at about 6 breaths per minute. That is 5 seconds on the inhale and 5 seconds on the exhale. So it is similar to box breathing in that you have an even inhale and exhale, but you do not have pauses with this.
This pattern optimizes your heart rate variability that I mentioned earlier and helps synchronize your breathing with your heart rhythm. This improves emotional stability over time. It is like finding your body’s natural relaxation sweet spot.
How Breathing Shapes Thinking?
These breathing patterns do not just affect your emotions, they also impact your cognitive function. When you are stressed, shallow breathing reduces oxygen flow to your brain, which can impair your focus, memory, and decision making. But controlled breathing, especially techniques that emphasize slow exhalation, enhances prefrontal cortex activity.
So when you take a deep breath before responding to a stressful situation, you are giving your brain the oxygen it needs to make a better decision.
When to Use Each Breathing Technique?
Use box breathing when you need to focus or stay calm under pressure, like before a presentation or during a stressful meeting. The equal ratios make it easier to remember and practice anywhere.
Try the 4-7-8 breathing technique when you are feeling anxious or need to calm down quickly. The extended exhale makes this really effective for reducing anxiety. But if you are new to breathwork, start with box breathing first, as holding your breath for seven counts may feel too uncomfortable, and this is not something that should feel like a struggle.
Practice resonance breathing when you have a few minutes to reset your system, maybe during your morning routine or when transitioning between work and home life. This technique is great for building long-term stress resilience.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Breathing
1. do not force your breath too much. The goal is gentle control, not strain. If you are feeling lightheaded or uncomfortable, return to normal breathing.
2. do not expect instant perfection. Like any skill, breathwork takes practice. Start with just a few minutes at a time.
3. do not wait until you are extremely stressed to try these techniques. The best time to practice is when you are relatively calm, so that you can build the skill for when you really need it.
The best part about breathwork is that it is always available to you. You do not need any special equipment. You do not have to set aside a lot of time, and you can do it anywhere. A few deep, intentional breaths can shift your entire psychological state in a matter of just seconds.
Our Thoughts
I encourage you to experiment with breathwork and see how it impacts your ability to manage stress in the moment. And of course, if you have a medical condition that impairs your breathing, you should check with your doctor to see what kinds of breathwork would be appropriate for you.