Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Many people suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances that prevent them from getting enough rest at night, and some experts believe that they have an effective way to solve this problem, namely the “4-7-8” breathing technique. .
The “4-7-8” technique is a relaxation exercise that involves breathing in for 4 seconds, before holding your breath for 7 seconds, then exhaling for 8 seconds, Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an assistant professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said by email. seconds.
This technique, also known as “relaxing breathing,” has ancient roots in pranayama, the practice of regulating breathing, but integrative medicine specialist Dr. Andrew Weil popularized it in 2015.
Most sleep difficulties are people with restless minds, said Rebecca Robbins, a professor at Harvard Medical School and an associate scientist in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
“But doing breathing exercises, like the 4-7-8 method, gives you the opportunity to reach a calm phase, and that’s exactly what we need to do before we go to bed.”
Joshua Tal, a clinical psychologist in New York State, notes that this technique does not make you sleep, but it may reduce anxiety to increase the likelihood of sleep.
How does the 4-7-8 plan work?
The “4-7-8” technique requires no prior experience, but when you first learn this exercise, you should be sitting with your back straight, says Weil.
It may help to do this exercise in a quiet place, according to Robbins.
Once you have mastered it through exercise, you can use this technique while lying in bed.
While doing this exercise, place the tip of your tongue against the edge of the tissue behind your upper front teeth, as you will exhale through your mouth around your tongue.
Then follow these steps, as Will says:
- Empty your lungs by exhaling through your mouth.
- Close your mouth and breathe in softly through your nose for 4 seconds.
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
- Exhale forcefully through your mouth for 8 seconds.
Repeat this process three more times for a total of 4 breathing cycles.
And if you’re having trouble holding your breath, you can speed up your workout while keeping the ratio constant for the three phases, and with practice, you’ll get used to inhaling and exhaling more deeply, according to Weil’s website.
What the search shows
And when you’re stressed, your sympathetic nervous system becomes overly active, making you feel overstimulated and unwilling to relax and fall asleep, Dasgupta says.
He added that the practice of 4-7-8 breathing can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system – which is responsible for rest and relaxation – which reduces sympathetic activity, and makes the body in a state more suitable for restful sleep.
However, more research is needed to establish clearer links between the 4-7-8 technique and sleep and other health benefits, according to Tal.
“There is some evidence that the 4-7-8 breathing technique helps reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia when comparing a person’s pre- and post-exercise conditions,” Tal explained, adding that, however, there are no large-scale randomized control trials to test this technique. .
A team of researchers in Thailand studied the direct effects of the 4-7-8 technique on heart rate and blood pressure in 43 healthy young adults.
After measuring these health factors in the participants, along with fasting blood glucose, they performed the 4-7-8 technique in 6 cycles, interspersed with a minute of normal breathing between each group.
Researchers found that the technique improved participants’ heart rate and blood pressure, according to a study published last July.
What to expect
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is relatively safe, but if you’re a beginner, you may feel a little dizzy at first, says Dasgupta.
Dasgupta explained that the more you practice this technique, the better you’ll become at it, and the more your body and mind will incorporate it into your regular list of stress and anxiety management tools.
Some people combine this method with other relaxation practices, such as progressive muscle relaxation, yoga or meditation.