If you’re living with anxiety, you may have found bedtime can often be the worst. You’re trying to get a solid eight hours, but just as you’re hoping to nod off, your anxiety rears its ugly, infuriating head. It can be exhausting.
Expert Dr. Andrew Weil has a technique for coping with this, and says it can relieve mild to moderate anxiety immediately. It’s called the 4-7-8 breathing technique, and he refers to it as a ‘natural tranquilliser for the nervous system’. And it certainly sounds like a handy technique to have down.
He says, ‘Use it whenever anything upsetting happens – before you react. Use it whenever you are aware of internal tension. Use it to help you fall asleep. Use it to deal with food cravings.’
So how does it work? Luckily, there’s a handy ‘how to video’ on YouTube where Dr Weil explains.
Before you start, putt the end of your tongue up against the inner ridge of your upper front teeth. You should keep it there throughout the exercise.
FYI, you can do the exercise in any position, so whether you’re standing or sitting, it can work. But, if you’re sitting, Dr Weil says you should have your back straight and feet flat against the floor.
He says you’ll need to learn to ‘breathe in through your nose quietly, and out through your mouth, making a sound’. So you’re basically blowing the air out, and it helps if you purse your lips.
Once you’ve got that down, here’s how to do it.
- Breathe in through your nose quietly to a count of four.
- Hold your breathe for a count of seven.
- Then, exhale through your mouth while counting to eight.
- This is one “breath cycle”, and you should repeat it three times, completing four cycles in total.
