Long Exhales - The Secret Tranquilizer

In as little as 2 MINUTES you can naturally stimulate your body's ability to induce a relaxation response.

By simply focusing on extending your natural exhale, you can hack your nervous system, reduce stress and sleep better. The easiest and most effective way to practice this kind of breathing is to count your inhales and exhales. Using a 4-8 ratio, with the exhale twice as long as the inhale, you are able to maximize this calming effect. With practice you can add a retention (holding your breath) between each inhale and exhale, using a 4-8-8 ratio: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 8 seconds, and then slowly exhale for 8 seconds.

Image Source: WikiVisual/CreativeCommons

Try this breathing techniques before bed to help slow down and get ready for deep and restorative sleep! It is key to understand the link between proper breathing and optimal health - if you suspect sleep apnea, or breathing interruptions during sleep please read our post about how EverSleep can screen for breathing-related sleep disorders as possible root-cause for other chronic diseases. Ready to give the gift of better sleep this year? Go ahead - start today!