If you suffer from stress, you are like the 74% of people in the UK who suffer too. The largest study of stress levels in the UK was conducted in 2018 by the Mental Health Foundation,  with causes of stress reported ranging from housing, debt, health to 60% of 18-24 year old’s and 41% of 25-34 year old’s feeling stressed over the pressure to succeed. It has become so common in our society that in 2011 The World Health Organisation developed emergency guidelines to support GP’s on how to care for their patients who present with stress. 

Body image as a source of stress were also reported in high amounts. Both Men (23%) and Women (36%) reported that they felt high levels of stress relating to their appearance and body image, with 49% of 18-24 year old’s (more than any other age group) said that comparing themselves to others was a source of stress.

Another stress factor in our day to day lives is our mobile technology. Having constant attachments to our phones and smart tech means we are more connected than ever, but this comes with a price. 12% of people in the 2018 study by the Mental Health Foundation said the constant need to message people back instantly was a stressor. 

We are surrounded by stressors every day, but what actually is stress? How does it have such a physical impact on our bodies and how can simply breathing differently change the way out body reacts to it? 

What is stress?

In 1956 Selye used the term stress to define the effect on the human body that threatened to change the internal ability of the human body to function properly.(staying alive, basically.) Whether the threat was real or imagined, this threat is what we now define as a stressor. The way our bodies react to the stressor is our stress response. 

Believe it or not, Stress is not actually bad for us. It forms an integral part of our human biology, that since the caveman days has helped us escape situations which could be potentially dangerous. When working correctly, it is a good indicator of whether you need to ‘fight or flight'- A common phrase you may have heard before. 

When your body starts to feel stressed it triggers your autonomic nervous system- the part of your body which keeps everything functioning without you having to think about it, e.g. breathing and digesting. 

There are two parts of the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system is the one which triggers the stress response so it can react to the danger your brain has just said is nearby. The parasympathetic nervous system is what calms you down after the response. It puts your body into a resting state and allows normal functions to start again. 

Your autonomic nervous system releases hormones such as adrenaline, also known as epinephrine. (Harvard Health Publishing, 2019)  It is preparing for you to have to exert a lot of physical energy, (Stress Management Society, 2019)  This is why you may feel a small adrenaline surge when going into stressful situations. 

You may wonder, if it is all because of how your brain interprets a situation, why do you start to have physical symptoms? Because of the chemicals released when your brain triggers your autonomic nervous system into fight or flight mode, your body is going to start working in overdrive, almost as though you are preparing to physically run away, or start fighting. 

Your blood supply is going to divert everything to your muscles, temporarily shutting down digestion, your heart rate and blood pressure will go up and you will start to breath faster. This response is often useful for when you need to jump out of someone's way or survive a dangerous situation. 

Your body doesn’t need to go into fight or flight mode in response to everyday stressors such as debt or public speaking. For everyday life though, this is an overreaction that can have serious physical consequences. During the stress response your brain function is also reduced and as complex thinking isn’t needed to run away or fight the inability to think straight is a side effect. (Stress Management Society, 2019)

Why are there physical symptoms of stress when it is a mental illness?

Your body’s stress response should turn itself off thanks to the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. But when you’re faced with long term stressors such as debt, housing, long working hours and long term illness, where your body is in a constant state of fight or flight, the physical symptoms are no longer just an increase in heart rate and breathing. 

The Mayo Clinic, a world renown hospital and research facility say that the physical symptoms of stress include headaches, muscle pain, chest pain, fatigue, a drop in libido, upset stomach and sleep problems.

Being in a constant state of stress response, also known as Chronic Stress, can also be damaging to your health. When experienced over a long period of time, your heart and blood vessels take the brunt of the stress reaction. The constant increase in heart rate, stress hormones and blood pressure means that you are more at risk of developing high blood pressure or having a heart attack and stroke. (American Psychological Association, 2019) 

Stress can also lead to mental health problems, just as mental health problems can lead to stress. (Mind, 2017) This is supported by The Mayo Clinic which report that if you suffer from long term stress, you have an increased risk of anxiety and depression.

Just like in short term stressful situations, where the brains thinking functions are reduced, chronic stress also affects the part of the brain responsible for creative thinking and problem solving. (Harvard Health Publishing, 2019). Which is why you may feel ‘foggy’ or lack the motivation to work and be creative.  

How can breathing change your reaction to stress?

Breathing, we all do it every second of every day. It’s second nature. As part of our autonomic nervous system- the same part of the body which sends out our bodies stress response to the rest of the body- we do it without even having to think about it.  

How can something so basic help us in our mission to reduce our bodies reaction to stress? The good news is that the effects of stress on the brain are reversible and reducing your stress now means that you're limiting the damage it can do on your body later. 

A Study on Reducing Stress through Deep Breathing found that ‘Deep breathing helps to relieve the stress by activating the nervous system activity by facilitating the oxygen supply.’ The simple explanation for why it works? When you’re stressed you breathe faster, taking in oxygen in a rapid short rate. You’re not using your lungs to their full potential. 

By breathing deeply you change the rate your heart is beating by consciously activating the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system, allowing more oxygen into the blood supply of the body, which in turn helps to provide blood to areas of the body which are normally cut off in the stress response, including the brain and stomach, reducing the amount of ‘brain fog’ and stomach upset that stress causes.  

there is a wrong way and a right way to take a deep breath. 

The wrong way? Breathing deeply by expanding your rib cage outwards is the wrong way. Diaphragmatic breathing is the right way. A study on the ‘Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing on physiological and psychological stress in adults’ (2018) showed that by breathing deeply, so that you are expanding your lungs down into your diaphragm is the best way to breath for stress. They also found that this way of breathing helps the physical symptoms of stress as well as psychological stress. 

Diaphragmatic breathing slows your breathing rate using counting breaths while breathing in through the nose, pausing, and exhaling slowly to the point your lungs are empty through the mouth. It's a completely free and easy way of reducing your stress reaction as soon as you identify that you’re in the middle of a stressor. 

Follow these steps to start off with as you learn how to breathe using your diaphragm. 

1. Lie down on a flat surface, this can be the floor or your bed (wherever is more comfortable). You can use a pillow under your head for support. 

2. Bend your knees and put one hand in the middle of your upper chest and one hand just below your rib cage. 

3. Breathe in through your nose, making sure your hand on your chest remains still and doesn’t move up as you breathe in, but the hand on your belly does.

4. Tighten your core and as you breath out through your mouth, feel your hand on below your ribcage move down. 

Once you are familiar with how this feels and know how many counts you can use while breathing in and out, you can start using it in your everyday life to help you take control of your autonomic nervous system when you feel the symptoms of stress taking over. Make it part of your routine on the commute to work in the morning, or after you get into bed before falling asleep to get the full benefits. 

Have you used breathing as a way of helping reduce stress? Did you find it an effective way of combating stress or were you left just taking a big breath and still feeling stressed? 

Written by Rachael Mole