If you’ve ever felt like you can’t catch your breath during a stressful moment, or as if your chest is literally closing in on you, you’re not alone. Anxiety often shows itself through the body before the mind can fully name its presence – tight chest, rapid heartbeat, and most noticeably, quick or erratic breathing. In fact, the way we breathe directly affects how we feel. So how do we fix this? There are some simple breathing exercises for anxiety that are effective to calm both your body and your mind. With the right techniques, you can regain control of your breath, and with it, get a sense of calm and clarity.
The Relation Between Emotions and Breathing
We’ve all felt our emotions affect our breathing, whether we realize it or not – that shortness of breath when you’re anxious, gasping for air when you’re scared, and paced deep breaths when we’re relaxed. But how does anxiety cause shortness of breath? It’s because our emotions trigger our body’s instinctive “fight, flight, or freeze” response. And when this instinct kicks in, our heart needs more oxygen to be able to act appropriately, so our pattern of breathing goes all out of whack trying to get more oxygen in.
That’s how our emotional state affects our breathing. But what if we reverse this; surely we can train our breathing to influence our emotions too, right? The answer is yes. And that’s exactly what the ancient practices like Yoga and Tai Chi are based on – balancing emotions and stress just through breathing techniques. (1)
It’s important to stabilize our breathing to calm our stress because the changed breathing patterns controlled by our wild emotions impacts our oxygen intake. Breathing happens with the movement of our lungs, and this movement is controlled by the “diaphragm” muscle. But under stress, when we have shortness of breath, we end up using our shoulders rather than our diaphragm to move air in and out. And this disrupts the balance of gases that we’re inhaling and expelling.
So learning some breathing exercises for anxiety is good for our overall health – managing our emotions, reducing the effect of stress, and ensuring we’re breathing correctly to balance oxygen levels.
Top 5 Breathing Techniques for Anxiety Relief
So now we know the question “does anxiety cause shortness of breath?” has a clear yes. But the better question is: “what can you do about it?” The answer lies in something as simple as practicing breathwork.
The best way to regulate erratic breathing patterns is to consciously retrain your breathing. Here are five proven breathing exercises for anxiety relief and increasing oxygen intake, that will make you feel more in control in just a few minutes:
1. Diaphragmatic Breathing: This is a slow breathing technique that focuses on expanding your abdomen rather than your diaphragm while breathing. It’s like breathing with your stomach. Apart from slowing down our breathing, it assists blood flow and lowers the pulse rate and pressure. (2)
• It’s recommended to lie flat on your back for this
• Place one hand on your chest above the heart, and the other on your belly
• Breathe in (6 seconds) through the nose, expanding your abdomen with the air while keeping your chest still
• Breathe out (6 seconds) slowly through the mouth
2. Alternate Nostril Breathing: This method uses only one nostril to breathe at a time. This is one of the effective breathing techniques for anxiety as it decreases blood pressure and heart rate, bringing it back to normal and helping us calm ourselves. There are different ways of how to do it, with variations about which nostril to block first, when to switch between nostrils, how long to hold breaths, etc. Some methods instruct to inhale and exhale through different nostrils. So one recommended way is: (3)
• Block your right nostril
• Inhale slowly through the left nostril
• Pinch both nostrils to hold the breath for a moment
• Keeping the left one blocked, breathe out gently through the right nostril
• Inhale through the right nostril now, while the left is still blocked
• Pinch both nostrils for a moment
• Release the left nostril and exhale through it, keeping the right one closed
• This cycle repeats about 10 times
3. “4 7 8” Method: This breathing technique can help you relax immediately, anywhere and in any position.
• Breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds/counts
• Hold your breath for 7 counts
• Release through the mouth with a long exhale of 8 counts
• Repeat this 3-5 times
Making your exhales longer than your inhale facilitates the vague nerve , which is key in calming us down by regulating heart rate and maintaining internal balance. (4)
4. Box Breathing: This method involves equal time for inhale and exhale. It requires you to be conscious of and focus on your breathing, so try to be in a quiet environment for this. While reducing your heart rate, box breathing also improves mood and anxiety. (5)
• Slowly breathe in through your nose, counting 4 seconds in your mind
• Hold your breath for 4 seconds
• Release the breath slowly through your mouth over 4 seconds
• Again hold your breath for 4 seconds, before repeating the cycle
5. Pursed Lip Breathing: This technique forces you to put effort into each breath. It not only makes us more aware and conscious of our breathing but also improves control over oxygenation. This method feels more calming and pleasant than the others and can thus evoke better emotional response. (6)
• Take a deep breath in through your nose for about 2 counts
• Pucker your lips into a “O” shape, as if you’re going to whistle
• Gently blow out the air through your mouth for about 4 slow counts
• Repeat for 3-5 breaths
When to Seek Help: Anxiety, Breathlessness, and Medical Advice
While these breathing techniques can be powerful tools in managing stress, sometimes seeking professional support is necessary. If you experience shortness of breath anxiety often or it disrupts your regular daily life, it’s important not to ignore it. And if your breathing issues are accompanied by symptoms like chest pain, dizziness, or fainting, you should consult your doctor or a mental health professional who can help you with what you’re experiencing.
Seeking help is a powerful step towards bettering yourself.
Final Thoughts
So, does anxiety cause breathlessness? Yes – and it does so in a way that feels very real and very physical. But contradictorily, breath itself is your way out of breathlessness. By learning to pay attention to your breathing and practicing simple, science-backed techniques regularly, you give your body and mind a chance to rest and reset. Breathing is your anchor not just to life, but also towards calmness and clarity.
FAQs
Q1. Does anxiety cause shortness of breath?
Yes. Anxiety triggers our “fight or flight or freeze” response, which accelerates our heart rate and our breathing to get more oxygen. This leads to short rapid breaths.
Q2. What breathing exercises are good for anxiety?
Diaphragmatic breathing and the 4 7 8 method are effective for reducing anxiety, as these regulate our heart rate and slow our breathing, calming us down. Diaphragmatic breathing means breathing through your stomach, expanding your abdomen while breathing and keeping your chest still. The 4 7 8 method makes you inhale for a count of four, hold that breath for seven counts, and then exhale slowly over eight counts.
Q3. How do you get rid of shortness of breath from anxiety?
To manage shortness of breath from anxiety, try to consciously calm your breathing. Techniques like diaphragmatic breathing (expanding abdomen while breathing), box breathing (4 second inhale, 4 second hold, 4 second exhale), and pursed lip breathing (inhale through nose and exhale through pursed or puckered lips) can help you regulate your breathing pattern and reduce anxiety.
Q4. What is the 4 7 8 breathing technique?
The 4 7 8 breathing technique involves inhaling through the nose for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 7 seconds, and finally exhaling through the mouth for 8. It’s a relaxation technique that helps reduce anxiety and promotes homeostasis (internal balance).
Q5. How to increase oxygen levels through breathing?
Diaphragmatic and pursed lip breathing are two methods that improve oxygen intake. Diaphragmatic breathing is when you expand your abdomen while keeping the chest still while breathing. Pursed lip breathing is when you inhale through the nose and exhale through pursed lips as if you’re whistling.