How to use breath to your advantage
For the next 10 seconds, pause and notice your breath. Don't change anything; just observe.
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What did you notice? Were your breaths deep or shallow? Did you inhale through your nose or mouth? How did you exhale? Did you pause at the top or bottom?
Every breath we take impacts the chemistry of our body. It's happening whether or not we're aware of it. But if we can become aware of our breath during critical situations, we can use it as a tool to alter our bodies, ultimately improving our response and performance in those moments.
How breath impacts the body
Breathwork - the practice of intentional breathing exercises to achieve a desired outcome - has been used for thousands of years across the world. Only recently have the impacts of mindful breathing been studied to understand their impact on the body, codifying what many cultures understood for millennia. As western medicine spends more time researching how breathing techniques influence the body, it's understood that breathing impacts (citation 1):
Blood pressure
Regulation of blood oxygen, carbon dioxide and pH homeostasis
Heart rate variability
Both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems
At a high level, breathing can help us reduce stress.
And when we're working, our bodies are often under a significant amount of stress.
Implementing intentional breathing techniques can help us manage that stress and improve our ability to react in these situations.
Let's look at two feelings of stress we might have in the workplace and two different breathing techniques to de-stress so we can respond more effectively.
Stressful work situations and how to use breath to improve our performance
Situation #1: When we're feeling anxious or nervous
There are all kinds of situations that might bring on a feeling of anxiousness or nervousness. Maybe we're five minutes from giving a big pitch or presentation. Maybe we're about to interview for a dream job. Or maybe we're stepping into a performance review that will determine if we'll be promoted.
Technique to use - box breathing
Box breathing gets its name from the fact that there are four sides to a box and there are four sides to this breathing technique.
Step 1: Close your eyes and breathe in. Slowly count to four.
Step 2: Hold your breath for a slow four count.
Step 3: Exhale for a slow four count.
Step 4: Hold our breath for a slow four count.
Repeat this process at least four times, up to four minutes.
Impact of box breathing
Better ability to focus (citation 2)
Lower cortisol and blood pressure (citation 3)
Situation #2: When we're feeling aggravated
We've all felt aggravated at work. A deal may have just fallen through. We could have just received feedback we disagree with. Or maybe an organizational announcement just went out and caught us off guard.
When we're aggravated, we aren't thinking clearly. Instead, our amygdala is taking over and we're in fight-or-flight mode. If we can recognize these moments, we can use diaphragmatic breathing to re-engage our prefrontal cortex, leading to higher cognitive function (citation 4).
Technique to use - diaphragmatic breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that helps use take slow, controlled breaths by focused on the diaphragm.
Step 1: Sit or lie down comfortably, with your knees, shoulders, and neck relaxed.
Step 2: Place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest.
Step 3: Take a slow, deep breath. As you breathe, focus on breathing into your stomach. You should feel your hand on your stomach move, while the hand on your chest stays in the same position.
Step 4: Exhale through pursed lips.
Repeat this for five minutes.
Impact of diaphragmatic breathing (citation 5):
Reduces blood pressure
Reduces heart rate
Reduces cortisol levels
Conclusion
Like anything else, breathwork may feel clunky the first time we try it. But the more we practice it, the better we'll get. There's a reason why the word "work" is included in "breathwork" - it's something that takes effort.
If we can recognize the moments where we're feeling stress, using box breathing or diaphragmatic breathing can be extremely useful tools to calm both the brain and body. They enable us to push back on the physiological reaction to stress so we perform better in the critical moments we face at work.
Works Cited
1 - Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O'Rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe (Sheff). 2017 Dec;13(4):298-309. doi: 10.1183/20734735.009817. PMID: 29209423; PMCID: PMC5709795.
2 - Hasenkamp, W., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Duncan, E., and Barsalou, L. W. (2012). Mind wandering and attention during focused meditation: a fine-grained temporal analysis of fluctuating cognitive states. Neuroimage 59, 750–760. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.008
3 - Hopper SI, Murray SL, Ferrara LR, Singleton JK. Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2019 Sep;17(9):1855-1876. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003848. PMID: 31436595.
4 - Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, Garbella E, Menicucci D, Neri B, Gemignani A. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 Sep 7;12:353. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353. PMID: 30245619; PMCID: PMC6137615.
5 - Joshi A, Kiran R, Singla HK, Sah AN. Stress management through regulation of blood pressure among college students. Work. 2016 Jun 8;54(3):745-52. doi: 10.3233/WOR-162308. PMID: 27286072.
