Find Yourself in a Stressful Situation? (Three Tactics to Immediately Lower Your Anxiety)
Legendary in 3.5 min
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When you think of icons and the greats, do you ever think about them panicking or losing control in high-pressure situations?
I don't.
Instead, I always picture them being calm, even when everything around them is going to hell. That's what makes them legendary isn't it?
Me? I have two little kids who throws tantrums, screams and make all sorts of demands. Yes, little terrorists who negotiate through confusion and pure sensory overwhelm.
So I'm constantly put in situations where my resolve and ability to remain calm is tested. I do remember some work situations that were intense, but truthfully, nothing like what my kids can deliver.
Recently I came across an old video clip that got me down a research rabbit hole.
It might seem irrelevant at first glance, but you'll soon understand.
It's a scene in a movie.
One highly successful man and another seeking some advice. The older gentleman starts to pound his chest and makes a low rumbling hum. He then invites the other man to do the same. (Watch the short clip here.)
It was such an iconic scene and when I dug in more, the humming and chest thumping is actually a routine to help Matthew McConaughey get centered and calm before any scene. Leonardo DiCaprio was so fascinated by it, he got Martin Scorsese to put it in the scene in the movie Wolf of Wall Street. (Read more here.)
This got me thinking:
What are some other ways we can reduce stress and anxiety?
Turns out, there are a few key tactics proven through research.
BASE PRINCIPLE
Control your physiology to control your stress.
WHAT IF?
What if you were able to immediately get out of fight or flight mode? What if you could calm your nerves when you wanted to? What if you never be riled up by your crazy kids again? (Ok this last one is mostly for me.)
Here are the four tactics to instantly reduce stress and anxiety levels:
1/ Perform cyclic sighing (aka physiological sigh)
In a Stanford research study, 111 healthy volunteers were randomized into four groups:
Mindful meditation
Breathwork - cyclic sighing (exhale focused)
Breathwork - box breathing (equal inhale and exhale)
Breathwork - cyclic hyperventilation (inhale focused)
They were then asked to perform these exercises 5 min a day for a month. Each day, they answered online questionnaires about their feelings and anxiety.
These Stanford researchers found that breathwork was 33% better than meditation at decreasing anxiety and negative mood. In fact, cyclic sighing outperformed the other two methods and the effect increased as time went on.
Instructions for cyclic sighing: Breathe in through your nose. When you've comfortably filled your lungs, take a second, deeper sip of air to expand your lungs as much as possible. Then, very slowly, exhale through your mouth until all the air is gone.
This has to do with fully expanding your lungs and offloading as much carbon dioxide as possible.
Watch Andrew Huberman demonstrate here
2/ Hum (aka Bhramari Pranayama)
Humming does three things for us physiologically:
It increases nasal nitric oxide (NO). This neural transmitter increases oxygenation and reduces blood pressure.
It stimulates our vagus nerve. Because the nerve runs through both the larynx and pharynx in your throat, the vibration activates it and increases our parasympathetic nervous system (resting and digesting state).
It improves our heart rate variability. As a result of our parasympathetic activation, we move out of fight or flight stress mode into relaxation.
In a pilot study with 23 participants, humming generated the lowest stress index, outperforming physical activity and sleep as stress relievers.
Instructions for humming: Sure you could do the Matthew McConaughey technique, but a humming breath is inhaling for up to three to four seconds followed by an exhalation of about six to eight seconds while making the humming bee sound or Bhramari Pranayama sound.
Watch a demonstration here (she starts at the 1 min mark)
3/ Adopt an open posture
Neuroscience research has shown that our muscles, our adrenal glands (the gland that releases adrenaline, the stress hormone) and brain all talk to one another and influence our mental wellbeing.
There are so many studies that link posture to improved moods, and the most famous was one from Amy Cuddy's lab where students in 2 minutes of power poses had an increase in testosterone by 20% and decreased cortisol (stress hormone) levels by 25%.
While the power pose is fantastic for preparation/ behind the scenes work, having your hands on your hip during an intense situation might seem combative so an open posture works best. (View Amy's viral Ted talk here.)
Instructions for open posture: Stand up straight with your head up and shoulders back and relax your muscles. Your neck, chest, and wrists are visible (these are vital parts of your body, exposing those signal
You are now armed with 3 tactics to immediately reduce your stress levels. I'm going to be putting them to good use.
Live your legend 🤘🏽,
Sources:
Balban, Melis Y. et. al., Brief Structured Respiration Practices Enhance Mood and Reduce Physiological Arousal, Cell Reports Medicine, January 17, 2023 - LINK
Trivedi, Gunjan., Humming as a Stress Buster: A Holter-Based Study to Analyze Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Parameters During Bhramari, Physical Activity, Emotional Stress and Sleep, Cureus, April 13, 2023 - LINK
Clear, James, How to Be Confident and Reduce Stress in 2 Minutes Per Day, James Clear Blog - LINK
Santos, Romano, The Secret Health Benefits of Humming, Vice, October 26, 2022 - LINK
Zomorodi, Manoush et. al., Stressed Out? It Might Not Just Be in Your Head. How Your Muscles Affect Your Mood, NPR, October 24, 2023 - LINK
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