Neuroscientists at Northwestern University recently studied 100 young adults, who were asked to make snap judgments about facial expressions that flashed quickly across a computer screen. Breathing did affect their performance. When people were inhaling through their noses they were able to recognize faces expressing fear faster than when they were exhaling. In another test, researchers looked at the participants’ ability to remember objects flashing on the screen. Here, too, they were more likely to remember objects if they encountered them during inhales, versus during exhales.
When mouth breathing, all these effects disappeared.
The new study is among the first to show that the rhythm of breathing creates electrical activity in the brain.
One of the study’s major findings is that nasal inhaling causes a dramatic difference in areas of the brain related to emotional processing (the amygdala) and memory (the hippocampus), compared with exhaling.
The early explanation for this phenomenon goes back through hundreds of thousands of years of humans developing the “fight or flight” mechanism. Early humans developed instincts to determine danger and reflexively respond to it. Whether it was a saber-toothed tiger then or a car veering out of it’s lane on the freeway today, we spend more time proportionately breathing in than breathing out. On the other hand, in a calm state we breathe out proportionately longer than we breathe in.
Practical conclusions hint that in pressured, dangerous or fearful situations, purposely breathing through your nose, may give you a little more control and the ability to act more quickly.
Those who already devote the time to purposely and mindfully pay attention to breath are ahead of the game. Just taking a minute or two each day to center and get refocused may take you through tough situations more effectively and more comfortably. Practicing focused, slower, in through the nose, out through the mouth breathing will make it easier to remember. Use when: a fear is encountered, such as a panic attack or phobia, public speaking, before and during tough negotiations, feeling overwhelmed while learning something new, meeting people for the first time, etc. Where in your life would you find this little do-able “technique” useful?
Breathe on!
