Breathing Exercises to Help You Calm Down

Deep breathing aids in reducing stress due to it sending a message to your brain to relax, which tells your body to also relax. Your heart rate decreases, blood pressure decreases, and your breathing slows down.

Lengthen Your Exhale

The act of exhaling is actually what calms you down. Inhaling many times quickly is actually what leads to hyperventilating, the opposite of being calm. Try exhaling longer than inhaling to relax even more.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

This exercise comes from yoga, and can improve the mind's abilty to focus.

• Start by closing your right nostril with your right thumb.
• Breathe in through your left nostril for four counts.
• Close your left nostril with your ring finger momentarily
• Open your right nostril and breathe out for four counts.
• Inhale through right nostril for four counts.
• Close your right nostril so that both nostrils are closed momentarily
• Open your left nostril, and exhale for four counts
• Repeat the process about ten times until you feel more relaxed.

4-7-8 Breathing

This technique is where you breathe in for 4 counts, hold you breath for 7 counts, and breathe out for 8 counts.