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Testimonial
My doctor told me I
should find time each
day to relax, perhaps meditation or yoga. He then suggested I buy a CD
of relaxing sounds and listen to it each night. The CDs (which were
quite expensive) ended up being mostly rain sounds. It's nice to listen
to rain but they quickly became very boring. I probably listened to
them 5 times before they went in the bottom drawer.
I assumed that the
Breatheasy CDs would be something similar. But Breatheasy
was not what I expected! ... it works quicker. I can
listen to it for 5 minutes and feel relaxed at the end of it. Also,
knowing there is sound research behind it makes me feel like it's time
well spent.
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More
Kellie Helen
My-Blood-Pressure.com
Australia
How Slow Breathing And Music Work Within The Body To Relieve Stress, Lower Blood Pressure And Much More...
For some people it's enough to feel the effects of stress relief - they don't need to know the physiology behind it. But lower blood pressure, increased blood flow, hormonal activity and such are crucial to understanding stress and how to reduce it.
An example of this is the fact that we can rarely feel our blood pressure. But our "system" knows when our blood pressure is out of whack or hormones out of balance. They interact with everything.
When the system isn't working right it creates an underlying feeling of "dis-ease" that the body interprets as stress. Putting things right internally generates an enormous sense of stress relief and well-being.
Of course internal stress is only one type of stress but getting a grip on it makes coping with external stress a great deal easier.
Breathing, music and stress relief have a long history together...
Breathing is our earliest
method of stress relief
The connection between our breathing and our emotions has been known since the earliest days of our ancestors. So have the links between our respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems.
In fact our breathing affects virtually every aspect of our health and well-being.
"Breathe slowly and deeply" is our instinctual advice to anyone suffering panic, rage or other stressful emotion. Slowing down to take a deep breath brings a predictable response. Our heart rate, nerve impulses and finally our emotions and stress levels always follow the where our breathing leads...
In the experts' jargon "our breathing modulates our heart rate and other systems".
Breathing is nature's oldest and surest method of stress relief!
It's so logical and yet many people fail to take up or continue with guided breathing programs because, let's face it... it's boring. That's why so many CDs and self-help books end up gathering dust in the back of drawers.
Also, some people are put off by the unscientific claptrap that comes with some of these programs. BreathEasy is not like that; its techniques are straightforward and clinically proven with no need for far-fetched explanations.
Playing and listening to music is surely the second oldest way to reduce stress...
Our response to music is universal. And relaxing to music is by no means just a matter of mood and "feel-good-factor". Recent research shows that external rhythms - such as music - do influence internal rhythms.
External rhythms can influence internal ones... The faster the tempo, the faster the respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and so on. When the music was slower it had a slowing effect.
Luciano Bernardi, M.D.
Pioneering Cardiologist, Dept. of Internal Medicine
University of Pavia, Italy
Much of the research that follows on this page and throughout the site relates to blood pressure reduction. But I hope it's clear by now how closely blood pressure is linked to stress. The ability to lower blood pressure naturally also indicates powerful stress reduction.
Slow breathing and music work in a number of ways to reduce chronic stress and blood pressure...
Relaxation
Relaxation again. Yes, relaxation plays a major role in stress relief, even if it's effects don't tend to last.
We all know how relaxing listening to the right music can be. Slow breathing while relaxing takes it a step or two further, deep enough to allow major blood vessels around the heart to expand and relieve the pressure on the heart.
Your nervous system interprets this relief as profound relaxation.
Changes
in blood chemistry...
Unlike simple relaxation, slow breathing affects your blood chemistry. What does this have to do with stress?
Dr. David Anderson, a researcher with the National Institutes of Health, has studied the relation between what he calls "inhibitory breathing" and high stress and blood pressure. We tend to breathe rapidly and shallowly when under stress. Sometimes we even hold our breath without being aware of it.
It should be obvious but inhibitory breathing decreases the amount of oxygen in the blood and increases the amount of carbon dioxide and toxins that should be removed through proper respiration.
This in turn makes the blood more acidic, leading to kidney dysfunction, a condition associated with hypertension, and other ill effects. The result of imbalance and instability is always stress, even if you otherwise have reason to feel good.
Stress can potentiate the development of hypertension via inhibition of renal excretory function. One potential mediating mechanism is an inhibited breathing pattern... This is the first known report of an association of sustained stress with an inhibited breathing pattern in humans...
David Anderson, PhD, National Institutes of Health
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
December 03, 2008
Slow
breathing and even listening to
music boost levels of a life-enhancing substance responsible for our
feelings of well-being...
Nitric oxide is vital for good health and even
for life itself. It fights stress an antidote for
cortisol and other toxic stress hormones.
This incredible substance is an invisible gas called nitric oxide. It's role in the body is so vital that nitric oxide has been labeled "the new hero of human biology". Ironically, its lifespan is less than a minute and yet its effects last a lifetime.
Nitric oxide (chemical name: NO) is a "messenger" molecule involved in virtually every important physiological activity:
-
In its role as a neurotransmitter in the brain it relays our thoughts and feelings such as joy, sadness, pain... and stress!
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It repairs our cells and fights infection and tumours to help us live longer and healthier...
-
It can increase blood flow by up to 200%, which has numerous health benefits. Not least among them, it allows men to produce erections and heightens sexual stimulation for both sexes. The principle action of Viagra, by the way, is to raise nitric oxide levels...
-
Increasing blood flow also improves the circulatory system by keeping blood vessels clear of plaque and other harmful build-up...
-
Nitric oxide plays a major role in maintaining healthy blood pressure by signalling blood vessels to expand!
Some of these actions work directly to reduce stress and anxiety. Others do this indirectly as the body interprets healthy signals as well-being.
How does slow breathing increase nitric oxide levels?
The highest concentrations of nitric oxide are found in the nasal passages. Inhaling slowly through the nose is the most effective natural way to increase nitric oxide.
Tests show that inhaling slowly in this way helps your lungs go from 97 to 100% oxygen saturation. And it allows very rich sources of nitric oxide to be fuel injected into your system. This leads to 10-15% higher oxidation of the blood.
- Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Vice Chair & Professor of Surgery at Columbia University
Director,Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Of course inhaling slowly through the nose is an important but by no means only part of the BreathEasy System.
Listening to music is not just relaxing; it also stimulates physical responses such as increased alpha waves and nitric oxide production...
Listening to music is not just mentally
relaxing; it's been shown to reduce blood
pressure by expanding
blood vessels
by a measured average of
26%. This
generates a feeling of well-being that we
interpret as relief from
stress.
As with breathing, our response to music is varied and complex. Among the more obvious responses, these are just a few of the ways listening to relaxing music acts on us:
-
Deepens breathing and slows the respiration rate...
-
Decreases theta activity in the brain and increases alpha. Alpha waves are those associated with a deep but alert state of relaxation...
-
And, our "hero" returns: A study published in December 2008 by the Center for Preventive Cardiology at Maryland University, showed that listening to relaxing music expanded blood vessels by an average 26%.
Expanding blood vessels obviously reduces blood pressure but it also helps to prevent the build up of LDL (bad) cholesterol and other toxic compounds. Study participants showed significant reductions in both blood pressure and LDL levels.
Micheal Miller, the leader of the Maryland study explains:
Michael Miller
Center for Preventive Cardiology
Maryland University
This report is also available to read in our Clinical Results and Articles pages.
Nitric oxide also plays a direct role in stress control...
Mounting evidence suggests that any number of soothing emotional experiences can improve our physical health. . .We now believe that the body produces more nitric oxide when deeply relaxed, and that this molecule acts as an antidote to cortisol and other potentially toxic stress hormones.
Newsweek
27 September 2004