Deep breathing in actually raises your heart rate and blood pressure. Instead, try two deep breaths followed by a long, slow exhale, like blowing out a candle. The exhale is what calms you down.
If you're having a stressful moment, what's the best advice? Well, you commonly hear people say take a deep breath, but that's actually probably bad advice. When you take a deep breath, your blood pressure and your heart rate actually elevate. Conversely, when you exhale, your heart rate drops, your blood pressure drops as well. So Huberman talks about taking the double deep breath, the— and then having a slow exhale. And the best advice really is probably that slow exhale. So probably it's better to say blow out your candle. If you're having that moment, slowly have a long exhale, and you might find yourself Feeling better.
