P.trembling, excessive sweating, shortness of breath: it happens to experience these symptoms in moments of anxiety. A useful strategy then may be to resort to diaphragmatic breathing. Although we often tend to underestimate it, in fact, the how you breathe can have a major influence on your nervous system, helping the body to find a state of rest. If that is true breathing is an instinctive mechanism which occurs mostly unconsciously, learn how to do it correctly it can therefore have very important health benefits. So what does diaphragmatic breathing consist of? And what are its benefits? We asked the Dr. Giacomo Calvi Parisetti, psychologist of Humanitas Psico Medical Care in Milan and Monzto.
The diaphragm: what it is and how it works
“The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal one and is positioned approximately above the navel – explains Dr. Calvi – is the most important respiratory muscle And consequently also the most important muscle in our body. When relaxed, the diaphragm has an elongated, domed shape, like a sort of inverted smile; when it is contracted, it assumes a more flattened shape ». It is precisely the contraction and relaxation movement of this muscle which ensures correct breathing and deep. In fact, when you inhale, the diaphragm contracts, lowering, facilitating the expansion of the rib cage and allowing the lungs to exploit their maximum capacity, vice versa during exhalation the diaphragm relaxes, facilitating the contraction of the rib cage and consequently emptying the air.
Diaphragmatic breathing and thoracic breathing
Breathe with the diaphragm has undisputed benefits: however, stress and lifestyle lead to little use of this important muscle. «The diaphragmatic one it is a physiological respiration -explains the psychologist – punfortunately, however, it is not the one we usually use. When children are born they use diaphragmatic breathing which they maintain, more or less always, until the age of 3. From the age of 3 onwards it is easier to experience mixed breathing, i.e. partly diaphragmatic and partly thoracic. From 7-8 years of age, especially in the Western world, thoracic breathing becomes prevalent for everyone ». Only when you sleep or are in a state of deep relaxation do things change.
“When we sleep we mainly use diaphragmatic breathing – continues Dr. Calvi – precisely because it is a type of breathing that hypoactivates the body, facilitating relaxation and sleep.
The underlying physiological mechanism
“To understand how diaphragmatic breathing works and how it can help the body to relax, it is useful to know the difference between the sympathetic nervous system, which has the function of hyper-activating the organism, as in emergency situations, and the parasympathetic system, which instead it has the function of hypo-activating, or relaxing, our organism. Diaphragmatic breathing is useful precisely because it can send a signal to the parasympathetic systemthrough stimulation of the vagus nerve, thus causing a hypo-activation»- explains the psychologist again.
Diaphragmatic breathing: you can train to regain calm
Training this type of breathing can therefore be particularly important to cope with states of anxiety or in any case for find your calm when you are in conditions of hyperactivation.
«Diaphragmatic breathing is often used in psychotherapy and in moles stress management interventions to promote emotional regulation and decrease states of hyperactivation – explains Dr. Calvi – or those states that occur precisely when one is, for example, very angry or very anxious ».
Because anxiety increases the rate of breathing
We must consider that breathing is strongly influenced by emotional states and that anxiety and stress in particular have important effects on the respiratory rate, which tends to increase.
“It’s about the fight-and-flight mechanism – explains the psychologist – in front of a threat, real or perceived as such, the body responds automatically to prepare to react. This preparation brings with it a corollary of physical sensations including air hunger, the sensation of suffocation or weight on the chest.: this natural and automatic signal ensures greater oxygenation by increasing bronchial dilation and respiratory rate, which in turn leads to thoracic breathing ».
This also explains why anxiety can lead to hyperventilating states.
“The increase of the respiratory rate and in particular of the inspirations, improve and raise the oxygenation levels but at the same time imply a reduction and inhibition of expirationsleading to one skarst disposal of carbon dioxide – explains Dr. Calvi – causing sensations that can include dizziness, dullness and confusion, as can happen during a panic attack ».
Diaphragmatic breathing: easier for men
There is also an important and little known gender difference in diaphragmatic breathing
“Men have a greater natural predisposition to breathe through the diaphragm – explains the expert – women, on the other hand, due to an anatomical predisposition, tend to have a higher, thoracic breathing. This is because otherwise, during pregnancy, the diaphragm would compress the fetus; in fact, in pregnant women, a spontaneous lifting of the diaphragmatic vault is observed ».
Diaphragmatic breathing: all the benefits
MODEL RELEASED. Young woman with her hand on her chest useful for finding calm in moments of high stresslearning to breathe using the diaphragm can have many others benefits.
“By breathing with the diaphragm we increase lung capacity – explains Dr. Calvi – or we increase the volume of air that enters our lungs, improving oxygenation. Not only that, diaphragmatic breathing has effects benefits also on the cardiovascular system since it allows a better disposal of carbon dioxide. With chest breathing in reverse, we inhale a lot but exhale little and the failure to dispose of carbon dioxide can lead to an increase in vasoconstriction with symptoms such as dizziness or dizziness, with effects also on the cardio-circulatory system “.
When it comes to blocked diaphragm
Finally, are there any cases where the diaphragm can be blocked in some way?
“Technically we speak of a retracted diaphragm – concludes the specialist – Due to stress, anxiety and worry, our breathing tends to rise a lot, sometimes becoming labored and reaching the throat.. If we continue to breathe for long periods at the thoracic level, we stop using the diaphragm which undergoes a sort of atrophy: it stops and retracts because it is used little or not used at all. Again, however, a good re-education can be useful to solve the problem“.
Where to start? In the gallery above we have collected some exercises to train diaphragmatic breathing
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