Increased Sighing/Deep breaths

One thing I've noticed in the past few days is I'm sighing a lot. I'm not even sure if the word is sighing. I'm noticing that I am doing big exhale which is coming out of my nose. (So no dramatic sighing noise lol.)

Earlier this year, before I discovered TMS, I had at least caught on to the whole "my nervous system is on fire" and tried to start doing some breathing exercises or at least be more aware of my breathing. I realized in that time I never breathe through my nose and it was very hard for me to do some basic breathing exercises.

So actually breathing in and out through my nose is a relatively new thing which I have gotten better at, and now with TMS work as I have been trying to do it during "scary" activities such as running or going to the grocery stores or up the stairs to show my brain this is a safe thing and show calmness. (Man I was an ugly mouth gasper for years with exercise and there was no calm about it.)

But this big sighing thing is new. It has been happening when I am thinking of surface level things, like being annoyed at this or that or mildly stressed about this or that. It's therefore been 100s of times over the last few days. It is generally also accompanied by a big inhale but I picked up on the exhale first. Not sure if this is some sort of change and I'm learning to off load some tension or what, or I'm just focused on being a weird sigh breather now! Haha could be worse symptoms! On a surface level I have definitely felt much more "whatever" about a lot of things in my life recently including some symptoms, annoyances, small stressors etc. Maybe I'll start rolling my eyes in accordance.

 

Okay so sighing is a very natural form of stress-release. Your body does this unconsciously. Do you have a dog by chance? Notice when they settle down for the night (or even just a nap), the last thing they do is a deep breath and release (i.e. a sigh). Dogs aren't worrying about the future, but they do this naturally. Forcing a deep breath is a very effective form of stress relief. I do an exaggerated sigh often unconsciously when I'm stressed from work. But it's still effective even if it's forced.

High level athletes (especially those under mental pressure, like golfers, or pitchers, or tennis players, etc) are often taught a focusing technique involving breathing. Basically it's an extended inhale (say for 4-5 secs), hold the breath for 7-8 seconds) and then a slow exhale (4-5sec). Do this a few times and you'll be surprised at how much more relaxed and focused you become.

 

There is a reason why many different disciplines emphasize breathing in through the nose. It's because mouth breathing is essentially panic breathing. You reflexively breathe in through the mouth when you exercise too hard, because the body is in need of extra oxygen and in panic mode, but it's not the optimal way to obtain oxygen. Nasal breathing warms and filters air which enables better oxygen absorption. Increased oxygen absorption comes with a host of different mental and physical benefits, including muscle relaxation.

Ensuring you emphasize nasal breathing is one of the most important things you can do for your health and well being.