4-7-8 Trick

I came across a post from a blog that taught me something so great, I wanted to share with everyone. However the writing was so painful to read (like fingernails on a chalkboard cringe worthy painful), I didn’t feel compelled to pipe it out on my networks, and did the next best thing: blog about it myself.

The 4-7-8 trick is actually not a trick. It’s a breathing technique used during meditation, yoga, wellness practitioners swear by it, etc. and now that I think about it, I’ve done it many times before during yoga. It never occurred to retain what I learned after leaving the session until now.

If you feel anxious, stressed, or have trouble sleeping, try this. I swear. It works.

1. breathe in through nose for 4 seconds
2. hold breath for 7 seconds
3. exhale from mouth for 8 seconds

The Science

Stress, anxiety → adrenaline pumps through veins → causing heart to beat rapidly = under-breathing.

4 second inhale forces more oxygen intake
↓
7 second breath hold allows oxygen to affect bloodstream
↓
8 second exhale emits carbon dioxide from lungs
↓
above slows heart rate and increases oxygen in bloodstream to relax your heart, mind, and overall central nervous system; almost like a natural sedative.

The human body never ceases to amaze.
To learn more, I think this man pioneered the technique.

Happy breathing!

*Sidenote: not sure how I feel about the first post of 2015 being about some metaphysical mumbo jumbo but whatever, maybe this is a sign I need to think of myself and my well being more? Who knows, not really reading deep into it.