Ben MortonLeadership Trainer, Coach and Speaker

The psychological sigh

8 Jun 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:59

In this brief instructional segment, Ben Morton describes how stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increased heart rate, narrowed thinking, and heightened reactivity. He contrasts this with the calming influence of the parasympathetic system, which can be engaged through specific breathing practices. Morton introduces the "physiological sigh," a lesser‑known technique that involves taking a deep nasal inhalation, followed by a shorter second inhalation, and then a long exhalation that mimics a sigh. He explains that performing this pattern deliberately triggers one of the fastest possible calming responses in the nervous system, helping to quiet mental noise, improve focus, and promote a sense of presence.

Chapters

And when we're under pressure, our sympathetic nervous system fires up. Our heart rate rises, our thinking narrows, we become much more reactive. But by using some of these breathing techniques, we can activate the parasympathetic system, which quietens some of the noise in our head, enables us to think more clearly and become more focused and present. I've got one lesser-known breathing technique to share with you. It's called the physiological sigh, and here's how you do it. You take one long, deep breath in through your nose, completely filling your lungs. Then you take another shorter breath in through your nose before doing a big exhale, making a sigh as you do it. Done deliberately, it creates one of the fastest calming responses your nervous system is capable of.