83/365 Breathe the Pain Away

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Stop for a moment. Take a nice slow breath in, about twice as long as a normal breath. Now exhale, letting the air release at the same slow pace. Didn't that feel nice?

A study from the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University concluded that slow breathing relieved participants after receiving different levels of painful stimuli. The greater the stimuli, the greater relief they found from breathing slowly. This is believed to assist the body in returning to homeostasis by increasing parasympathetic response. Parasympathetic response is the opposite of the flight or fight type reaction achieved by the sympathetic nervous system. The study also noted that participants would probably feel positively if they breathed slowly in the absence of pain.

So the next time that you're feeling down or in pain, try breathing. There is a reason why your mother told you to stop and count to 10 when you were upset. She probably hoped that you would take a nice slow breath too to help you cool off. This deep, slow breathing is one of the many secrets of yoga and meditation. Inhaaaaaaaaaaaaaale. Exhaaaaaaaaaaaale. Repeat.

In health,

Lauren

Zautra, AJ, et al. "The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: an experimental study." Pain (03043959) 149.1 (2010): 12-18. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 11 Oct. 2010.