Start with a Sigh: Detailed Instructions

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The stress response is super fast, and so we need a super-fast response. You can't stop all stressors, and wouldn't want to!: some stress is good, it's stimulating and absolutely essential for optimum performance.

But the stress response launches in less than 1 second, and it's not always good. When triggered, you can counter the response by sighing. Sighs and yawns are natural, calming responses to stress. And you can trigger a good one on your own, using The Physiological Sigh" technique. This rapidly turns down the stress response, shifting momentum away from Fight-or-Flight (sympathetic) and towards Rest-and-Digest (parasympathetic). Shifting from reactivity to choice—and there's great power in choice.

This technique is being seriously studied for its benefits at Stanford neurobiologist Andrew Hubernam's lab, and is well-described in a recent video.

It's simply this: take two inhales through the nose, followed by a long, slow exhale through the mouth

Huberman explains the WHY: "You have little sacks of air in the lungs, which increase the volume of air that you can bring in. Those sacks collapse over time, and as a result, oxygen levels start to go down and carbon dioxide levels go up in the bloodstream and body, and that's a big part of the signaling of the stress response."

This special sigh pops open the lung's air sacks, pulling in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide—quickly.

This is a real-time tool that you can deploy anytime, anywhere to reduce stress.

Breaths, sighs, yawns... they do far more than just moving O2 in and CO2 out. In fact, some researchers claim that these ways of breathing, found in all mammals, may do more to connect sensations, thoughts, and emotions than any other activity.

"Breathing is modulated by various circadian, cognitive, and emotional brain states, and at the same time itself plays a major role in centrally affecting emotions, arousal, and other brain states... [and]  is perhaps one of the most centrally integrated motor behaviors with functional roles that reach well beyond a 'simple control of lung ventilation.' ” (Ramirez 2014)

The roles of sighing are complex and far-reaching, and are even essential for life. Sighs are not just large breaths: "Genetically engineered mice that are unable to sigh eventually die of major lung problems, suggesting that sighs are essential for survival" (Koch in Ramirez 2014).

The sigh has been long-overlooked by scientists. Sighs signal relief to oneself and to others. They can increase 20-fold when a mammal simply realizes relief is on the way (see Soltysik 2014). Overall, sighs signal a change in brain and body states.

So, to change your internal state, you can choose to sigh when you want to counteract the Fight-or-Flight state. It works like this: after the large air intake from a sigh, the HR slows, which helps turn down Fight-or-Flight. The sigh is a sort of reset, that restores natural, non-stressed breath and HR patterns that get 'stuck' during Fight-or-Flight (Vlemincx 2013). 

When you're in Fight-or-Flight habitually, choosing to sigh regularly throughout the day is a great way to monitor and reset yourself. Awareness creates opportunity, sure, but taking real action is up to you. How fortunate we are that such well-studied and easy tools are built into us already. We just need to initiate the habit. Awareness —> Motivation —> Reps —> Habit —> Success!

Don't sigh too little; don't sigh too much. Just use a couple of sighs (The Physiological Sigh) to  reset from that "stuck" feeling of Fight-or-Flight. 

Remember, sighs can BOTH signal and induce changes in the state of your mind-body. Don't induce stress or anxiety by over-doing it. "Too much sighing and hyperarousal can lead to panic disorders." (Ramirez 2014). Keep it moderate; keep it simple.

Just sigh 1 to 3 times, to break the wind-up cycle when feeling anxious or noticing that you're triggered. And start the habit of sighing throughout the day, just to check in once in a while. For deeper training, be sure to practice paced breathing at least once daily for 10 min.