Ep 508 | Reduce Stress Using the 4-7-8 Technique (REPLAY)

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. I want to talk about the 4-7-8 breathing technique because this breathing technique has had a massive impact on me personally specifically in helping me reduce my stress, reduce anxiety, not just at nighttime when I'm trying to wind down, but all throughout the day. I've tried so many different things over the years as an individual that really is, I think, driving pretty hard, or at least trying to drive pretty hard, that's always pushing myself and aspiring to be more. That does not come without some stress, and I'm sure many of you can relate. And so, I'm constantly looking for different ways to change my stress levels, to promote some relaxation, to help me kind of center myself, and just calm the nervous system. And of all things that I've tested over the years, the 4-7-8 seems to be the most impactful, and I thought I'd share it with the No Days Off community here today. So, Dr. Andrew Weil— Dr. Andrew Weil is the one that came up with this 4-7-8 technique, or at least the one that made it popular. And Dr. Weil's a pretty well-known doc out there, a graduate of Harvard in the '60s. And he's really, really well known for his work in this integrative medicine world. Basically, he combined, you know, conventional medical treatments with other complementary therapies to address your body, to address your mind, to address your spirit. He's one of the founding kind of fathers or pioneers of just integrative medicine. And I've been a big fan of Dr. Weil's. He's actually, you know, I'm here in Arizona. He's got a big presence in southern Arizona, uh, at the University of Arizona. And, and he's written a number of bestsellers around spontaneous healing and healthy aging, and he's just a brilliant, brilliant guy. Anyhow, all the things that he's taught I found this 4-7-8 technique to be probably the most important thing, at least to me. So, here's how it works. Here's how the 4-7-8 breathing technique works. It's pretty simple. You're probably gonna sit or even lie down, but sit in a comfortable position during the day. Let's say you're just sitting at your desk and you're comfortable. Now, you take the tip of your tongue, and you press it against the ridge of the tissue that's just behind your upper teeth. So you're taking your tongue and you're putting it to the top of your mouth to the ridge of that tissue just behind your upper teeth, your upper front teeth, and your tongue remains there throughout this whole exercise. Some of you are listening right now, you're probably doing that exact thing. Your tongue is on the roof of your mouth at the ridge of the tissue just behind your upper front teeth. Now, first thing, you're gonna exhale completely. So you're gonna exhale fully through your mouth, making a whooshing sort of sound, like this whooshing sound coming out of your mouth. You're exhaling completely, so you're getting all air out of your lungs. Now, you're gonna close your mouth, and you're gonna inhale quietly through your nose for a count of 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Now hold your breath for 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And now exhale completely through your mouth. Make that whooshing sound again for 8 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 4, 7, 8. Now repeat that cycle for a total of at least 3, 4 breaths. 4 seconds, inhale through your nose, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Remember to keep the tongue to the roof of the mouth. This technique, especially before I go to bed, changes my entire nervous system. Whenever I'm struggling to fall asleep, which does certainly happen from time to time because much like you, I've got a lot running through my head, this technique calms me down and is probably the number one way that I ultimately end up falling asleep. How does this thing work? How does this 4-7-8 breathing technique work? What it does is engage your parasympathetic nervous system. And when you engage your parasympathetic nervous system, it promotes relaxation, which counters the stress-inducing effects of the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetics— what's responsible for fight or flight. So what's the science though behind this? Number 1, you're gonna activate a relaxation response. So when you deliberately control your breath like this, especially with the slow exhale, that 8-second exhale, it stimulates the vagus nerve, which is a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system. And this helps slow your heart rate down. It reduces your blood pressure. And this in turn induces a sense of calm. So on that deliberate, you know, when you deliberately control your breath, but specifically on that slow, 8-second exhale, that ner— that vagus nerve is impacted, and therefore your heart rate ends up slowing, your blood pressure goes down, and there's a sense of calm. Now next, there's an oxygen-carbon dioxide balance that's impacted here. Breathing techniques like 4-7-8 regulate the levels of oxygen and carbon di— di— dioxide in your blood. So when you inhale for 4 seconds, you're going to obviously bring in oxygen. When you hold for 7 seconds, it's going to increase oxygen absorption in the bloodstream. And this allows carbon dioxide to build a little bit, which can actually enhance relaxation and reduce some of that stress-like feeling. And then the slow exhale encourages the release of all the carbon dioxide, which helps you expel the tension and it signals to your body to relax. So number one, you activate the relaxation response. Number two, there's an oxygen-carbon dioxide balance. Number three, you modulate brainwaves. So when you control your breathing, it slows your heart rate, and that's very much linked to your brainwave activity. So as your heart rate decreases, the brain shifts from what we would call these active beta waves, which are what make you alert, to these calmer alpha waves. And those are the waves that are present during relaxation and meditation. So you end up modulating the brainwaves, which leads to number 4. In terms of the science behind it, you end up distracting the mind. Maybe this is the greatest benefit for me. When I start focusing on the rhythm of my breath, the 4-7-8, it occupies my mental bandwidth. And so I end up redirecting my attention away from the, you know, crazy anxious thoughts or the stress, whatever it may be. It's, it's more of a mindfulness aspect, and it plays this kind of critical role in reducing stress for me. So while I think the breathing is having these scientific benefits that I'm describing, just simply distracting my mind in like a meditative sort of way is beneficial. And then lastly, in terms of the science, this 4-7-8 technique is gonna lower your cortisol levels. So when you practice this controlled breathing, cortisol levels, cortisol levels are reduced, and cortisol is the stress hormone. So lower cortisol contributes to a greater sense of wellbeing and improved mental clarity. So in summary, this 4-7-8 technique combines physiological and psychological mechanisms to create this calming effect. And this calming effect, this technique specifically, but the calming effect it creates has genuinely impacted my life and my world as I've managed stress. And I've always looked to get better at managing stress and create more calm in my life. So, this is a regular practice. It helps me kind of condition my body and my mind to respond to stress in a more effective way. And ultimately, I end up achieving a state of deeper relaxation, which helps me a ton in sleep. So, the challenge for you goes without saying. I want you to try out this 4-7-8 technique. There's lots of cool breathing techniques, box breathing, all sorts of things. We've talked about a couple different ways here. But the most effective for me has been 4-7-8. I want to get your feedback. I want you to try this out. I want you to share it with others. Try it today throughout your day, especially if you have something that you need to maybe wind down from, or even at night if you're having a little bit of trouble sleeping. Test it out. Remember, 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Keep the tongue to the roof of your mouth. That's all I have for you today in the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]