This 5-Minute Activity Can Improve Your Mood More Than Meditation

So easy, it feels like we’re cheating.

by The Candidly Team

There’s a part of us that always feels a little low-key guilty about the fact that we find meditating so impossibly hard.

The same way we feel bad about forgetting to drink water until noon. Or for choosing to watch another episode of Is It Cake? over dragging our own spongey selves to work out.

And not to disappoint, but we’re not here to tell you that meditation is superfluous. It still holds those stress-reducing, life-enhancing powers we always hear about.

But we do have some good news for those who find it achingly hard to carve out time for it.

It’s an activity that takes five literal minutes. Like mindful meditation, it can reduce anxiety. And a new study from Stanford University researchers showed it to be even MORE effective at improving mood and reducing respiratory rate.

It’s called cyclic sighing.

Cyclic sighing is a type of breathwork, which refers to techniques of controlled breathing designed to help calm your nervous system.

Participants were asked to try one of three different breathwork exercises or a mindfulness meditation practice, and while 90% of them experienced stress relief, those who tried daily breathwork reported improved mood and physiological arousal.

This was especially true of cyclic sighing.

 
 

Here’s how you do it:

  1. Sit down in a chair or lie down if that’s more your speed.

  2. Set a timer for 5 minutes.

  3. Inhale slowly, preferably through your nose. Once your lungs are expanded, inhale once more to maximally fill your lungs. Don’t worry if your second inhale is shorter and smaller in volume.

  4. Slowly and fully exhale all your breath, preferably through your mouth. You can also do this through your nose if needed.

  5. Repeat this pattern of breathing until your timer goes off.

  6. Go back to breathing normally.

And, that’s it!

To quickly see how it’s done, watch the below video:

 
@movement.withzo Cyclic Sighing : Two inhales, followed by an extended exhale The physiological sigh or cyclic sighing is simple, can be done anywhere, and costs nothing. If you’re feeling stressed, take two sharp inhales of breath, typically through the nose, followed by an extended exhale through the mouth. It is recommended to repeat this for 2-5 minutes to reap the full benefits. While breathing is something that happens automatically within our bodies, you can very easily control your breath consciously which then can affect your overall physiology and stress response #cyclicsighing #stressrelief #breathworkhealing #breathwork #breathingexercises #relaxationtechniques #fyp #mindfulmoments ♬ original sound - Zoe Bell
 

Doable, no? Life-changing? Highly likely.

The fact that it takes us less time than any one of our daily stress-inducing obsession sessions means we think we can work it into our schedule longterm.

And if you’re interested in the mind-blowing science behind why this type of breath works, even if you’re just taking a single cyclic sigh amidst a chaotic day, watch the study’s co-leader Dr. Andrew Huberman break it down. Trust us, it’s fascinating!

 
 
 
 
 

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