by Team@Lotus
Defeat anxiety, welcome sleep. The 4-7-8 breathing method is your ticket to serenity and quickly falling into a restful sleep
In the Indian system of yoga, pranayama has been a key part from time immemorial. Now western medical experts have started finding the use of regulated breathing techniques in a secular setting.
Sliding into a deep slumber after stopping the train of thoughts is not something that could be attained in a jiffy, like saying 1-2-3. However, researchers have discovered a different set of numbers (4-7-8) to accomplish the task of getting our daily necessity of 8 hours of sleep.
The 4-7-8 technique involves breathing in for four counts, holding the breath for seven counts and exhaling for eight counts, as pointed out by Dr. Raj Dasgupta, a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, CNN reported recently.
Also known as the “relaxing breath,” 4-7-8 was first popularized by integrative-medicine innovator Dr. Andrew Weil in 2015.
Generally, people struggle to fall asleep because their mind is buzzing. Rebecca Robbins, an associate scientist in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, suggests, “When we can manage our stress over the course of the day and implement some of these breathing techniques, we can put ourselves in the driver’s seat instead of being victim to events that happen in our lives”.
Joshua Tal, a New York clinical psychologist, clarifies that the 4-7-8 method, “does not ‘put you to sleep,’ but rather it may reduce anxiety to increase likelihood of falling asleep.”
The method doesn’t require any equipment or specific setting, but when you’re initially learning the exercise, you should sit with your back straight, according to Andrew Weil.
During the practice, place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue behind your upper front teeth, as you will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue. These are the steps to follow to practice 4-7-8 as cited by Weil’s website:
- Completely exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
- Close your mouth and quietly inhale through your nose to a mental count of four.
- Hold your breath for a count of seven.
- Exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound for a count of eight.
- Repeat the cycle three more times.
If you have trouble holding your breath, speed up the exercise but keep the ratio consistent for the three phases. With practice you can get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply.
The 4-7-8 breathing practice helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system — responsible for resting and digesting — which reduces sympathetic activity, putting the body in a state more conducive to sleep. Activating the parasympathetic system also gives an anxious brain something to focus on besides “why am I not sleeping?” according to Tal.
There is some evidence that 4-7-8 breathing helps reduce anxious, depressive and insomniac symptoms when comparing pre- and post-intervention. However, Tal points out that there are no large randomized control trials specifically on 4-7-8 breathing known to him.
When one is stressed out, the sympathetic nervous system — responsible for the fight-or-flight response — is overly active, which gives a feeling of over-stimulation, not being ready to transition into sleep, Dasgupta said. He cautions, however, “The 4-7-8 technique is relatively safe, but if you are a beginner, you could feel a little lightheaded at first. Normal breathing is a balance between breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. When you upset this balance by exhaling more than you inhale, it causes a rapid reduction in carbon dioxide in the body.” Low carbon dioxide levels lead to narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. This reduction in blood supply to the brain leads to symptoms like lightheadedness. This is why it is often recommended to start slowly and practice 4-7-8 breathing for 3-4 cycles at a time until you are comfortable with it. You may combine it with other relaxation practices such as progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, mindfulness or meditation.
