HELP SURVIVORS TO THRIVE

The physiological sigh is a very small but powerful technique that helps us feel almost instantly more relaxed.

When we inhale the diaphragm moves down creating more space in the heart cavity and increasing the heart volume as well as giving space to the lungs to expand and fill with oxygen. 

Blood moves slower through a larger space, and this is detected by a receptor called the sinoatrial node (SAN). SAN sends signals to the brain to say that blood pressure is lower in the heart which in turn sends signals back causing the heart rate to speed up. 

The opposite is true when we exhale- the diaphragm moves up, leading to less volume, the pressure increases, and the brain sends signals to slow the heart rate down.

When we are stressed some of the 500 million balloon-like air sacs in the lungs become collapsed due to increased breathing rate and shallow inhales. This limits gas exchange and increase the level of CO2 in the body. 

This contributes to that agitate feeling.

This technique discovered in the 1930's called ‘The Physiological Sigh’ can help us regain control, quickly, from feelings of stress and anxiety.

A sigh is a particular breathing pattern when two short and fast inhales take place followed by a long exhale. It’s something we do all the time involuntarily- around every 5 minutes including the moments before we are about to fall asleep, during sleep, and when we cry. Sighing is essential for lung function and without it our lungs would fail to work correctly.

When we inhale twice the collapsed alveoli (the air sacks in the lungs) re-inflate with air. This increases the surface area of the lungs and removes CO2 from the body much more efficiently. 

This makes the body feel more relaxed. 

When we take long exhales, the receptors in the heart sense the increase in pressure, this sends signals to the brain to slow down the heart rate thus creating a relaxed feeling. 

The method implies two inhales and a long exhale 1-3 times.

By consciously sighing a few times, we can manually reduce key symptoms of stress within a few seconds.

The best thing about this method is that it uses the body to control the mind, rather than trying to use the mind to control the body. The latter is significantly harder to do and takes training and practice. 

Mindfulness, Yoga and exercise are popular examples of this. 

But, as we all know, life happens and we don't always have the time or the possibility to take time for ourselves. 

This is a useful tool you can use in real time and is effective in reducing unwanted symptoms of stress.

Another very underrated technique to regain a calm state of mind almost instantly entails the use of cold water.

Simply to be splashed onto the face or if possible, to immerse the face into for a few seconds.

To put it simply, in the face we all have what is called the Vagus nerve, this runs from the brain and "wraps" our face like a helmet that starts from each ear and travels towards the front, where the teeth are.

When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it counteracts activity of the sympathetic nervous system, down-regulating our response to stress, curbing our physiological state of alarm by moving us into a state of calm, also "felt" as a state of safety.

It turns out, even if it's only splashing our face, cold water exposure activates the vagus nerve which slows down our breathing and heart rate and switches us into a state referred to as parasympathetic mode, more commonly known as 'rest-and-digest'.

Another, simpler approach for reliable vagal stimulation is presented by the diving response, a reflex present in all air-breathing vertebrates (yes we are vertebrates!), that is triggered by immersing the face in cold water.  The excitation of the trigeminal nerve in the face, especially the ophthalmic and maxillary branch in the eye and forehead region, respectively, leads to stimulation of the vagus nerve through the trigeminal-vagal reflex.

I know it sounds like a mouth-full, but stay with me. It will make sense.

Diving response-induced parasympathetic activation causes bradycardia, slower heart rate, and reduces blood flow to the limbs, while main arterial pressure is slowly increasing.

Essentially what we are doing in this case is to "flick a switch" in part of our nervous system.

The vagus nerve also affects our mental health. 

Stimulating it has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety and even PTSD symptoms. 

Studies show that when this nerve is stimulated we can more easily overcome these mental health symptoms.