Breathing is more than just automatic—it's a powerful tool to ease tension and calm your nervous system. Cyclic sighing, a method involving deep inhales and long, slow exhales, offers a quick and effective way to lower stress and invite calm into your day.
- Deep inhale through the nose and slow, extended exhale through the mouth
- Calms nervous system and lowers breathing rate to ease anxiety
- Rooted in traditions and backed by clinical research at Stanford
What happened
Dr. David Spiegel, a leading psychiatrist at Stanford University, shares a breathing method called cyclic sighing that helps calm the nervous system and ease stress. This practice involves inhaling deeply through the nose, filling the lungs completely, followed by a slow, extended exhale through the mouth. The exhale is longer than the inhale, which plays a key role in promoting relaxation.
The technique is guided by research and clinical evidence showing that cyclic sighing slows your breathing rate, which in turn reduces anxiety and improves blood flow to the brain. This method is now featured on the Happiness Break podcast to bring simple relaxation tools to a global audience seeking mental wellness.
Why it feels good
Breathing is unique as it sits right between conscious and unconscious control, meaning you can actively influence your emotional state simply by changing how you breathe. Cyclic sighing works by balancing oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood, which helps regulate your level of arousal, stress, and anxiety.
When you take slow, mindful breaths like cyclic sighing, your nervous system receives signals to downshift from its stress response to a calmer state. This shift can be felt physically as muscle tension decreases and mental clarity improves, creating a soothing and refreshing sense of calm.
What to enjoy or watch next
For those interested in exploring more mindful practices, the creators of the Happiness Break podcast offer related guided exercises such as mindful breath meditations and humming techniques, which also promote relaxation and nervous system regulation.
Listeners can engage further by sharing their experiences with cyclic sighing via social media with the hashtag #happinesspod or by joining the conversation through the podcast’s channels. Additionally, Dr. Spiegel’s clinical research and the Reveri app offer resources for deepening your understanding of mind-body breath control.