How to lower stress in less than 30 seconds (Exhale-Emphasized Breathing)
Besides raising your stress threshold and changing your stress mindset, there’s a third brutally-effective way to master stress: lowering it in real-time. As it turns out, the quickest and most effective way to do so comes down to a particular way of breathing.
What to do
Whenever you’re very stressed, do three rounds of exhale-emphasized breathing.
Why it works
The way you breathe has a powerful impact on how stressed you feel. Yet, it's not about taking a deep breath. That's precisely the opposite of what you should do when stressed out. To lower your stress level and calm down quickly, you want to exhale more than you inhale. This works via two fascinating mechanisms.
First, when you exhale, your diaphragm moves up. As a result, there's less space in your chest cavity, and your heart gets a little bit smaller. Your blood then flows quicker through your (now smaller) heart. Your nervous system senses that blood is flowing quicker – and reacts by slowing your heart down. This, in turn, lowers your stress level in real-time.
Second, your lungs consist of millions of so-called alveoli, which are tiny sacs that get filled with air. When something troubles you, these sacs collapse and deflate like a balloon. As a result, the level of carbon dioxide in your blood increases, which makes you feel stressed. Yet, when you exhale more than you inhale, you’ll get rid of the carbon dioxide in your system, which also lowers your stress level.
How to do it
You can forget about these details, but remember this: exhale-emphasized breathing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to lower your stress level. And here’s how to do it, depending on the circumstances you find yourself in. If you're sufficiently private, do the following: inhale as deeply as possible through the nose for a count of two. Then, add a second inhale on top of the first one through the nose for a count of one. Lastly, exhale as fully as possible through the mouth for a count of six. Repeat this cycle two times, for a total of 27 seconds.
This technique is also known as the physiological sigh. Its second inhale on top of the first one reinflates the tiny sacs (or “alveoli”) in your lungs, and you’ll release much more carbon dioxide during the exhale. That’s one reason why the physiological sigh is more effective than meditation for handling stress, according to research by Stanford professor Andrew Huberman (pictured above). In this video, he demonstrates how to do a physiological sigh.
If you're not sufficiently private, go for the simplest (and most hidden) exhale-emphasized breathing technique: three-six breathing. Here’s how to do it: inhale through the nose until a count of three. Then, exhale through the mouth until a count of six. Repeat this cycle at least two times, again for a total of 27 seconds. In essence, three-six breathing is a physiological sigh without the (pretty noticeable) second inhale on top of the first one. With some practice, you can do this without anyone else noticing – even during meetings or calls.
Apart from lowering your stress level, both practices help you fall asleep at night. So if you’re often feeling stressed at work or home, make exhale-emphasized breathing at least once a day a daily habit.
And if you can think of one person who could benefit from doing the same, please share this post with them.
Until next week,
Christian
2 more ways I can help you
1) Becoming Ultracreative 1:1 Coaching Call
There has never been a better time to become a thought leader through LinkedIn. The platform is growing strongly and allows you to quickly build your distribution, monetization and recognition – thus becoming Ultracreative.
While coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs, executives, and CEOs on sustainable peak performance, my co-author Eric Partaker and I pulled this off in just 12 months. Our results: a 1+ million audience, a 7-figure business around it, and a book deal with Portfolio Penguin.
Most importantly, we’ve deconstructed what it takes to help you become Ultracreative, too — and packaged it into a 90-minute 1:1 coaching call. Learn more and book your call here.
2) Becoming Ultraproductive 1:1 Coaching Program
Are you struggling to focus on the important work being busy with urgent stuff? Are you feeling tired throughout the day despite sleeping for 7 or 8 hours at night? Are you having trouble dealing with high stress at work – and “switching it off” at home?
If so, check out our new Becoming Ultraproductive 1:1 coaching program. In it, I help executives, entrepreneurs and CEOs build rock-solid habits for deep focus, deep sleep, and mastering stress – and increase their productivity by up to 10x. That way, I’ve coached 60+ executives, entrepreneurs and CEOs on Becoming Ultraproductive since 2023.
The coaching program includes six 1:1 sessions with me over 12 weeks, tailor-made habit systems and handouts to optimize focus, sleep, and stress – and a guaranteed 100% increase in productivity. It is limited to ten seats at a time. If you’re interested in one of these seats, learn more and get in touch here.
PS: Interested in sponsorships for my newsletter and LinkedIn post?
Get in touch with me here.