Deep breathing is common advice for taming stress and anxiety. It comes up in many mind-body practices—yoga, meditation and martial arts, to name a few.
Using breath to manage stress
There are a lot of ways breathing can help you relax. Simply focusing on the length of your breath, or how it feels can distract you from stressful thoughts. It can also counter your body’s natural stress response.
Stress and breathing
When you feel stressed, it’s natural to take fast, shallow breaths. That may disrupt the balance of gases that you breathe in and out. And it can make you feel more anxious. Deep breathing may help in the moment to calm some physical symptoms of stress.
When breathing exercises aren’t enough
Some people with panic attacks or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may have differences in their breathing patterns all the time—not just when they’re stressed. They may breathe in more air than their body needs for the level of activity, making symptoms more likely.
For people with this issue, standard deep breathing exercises may not help. What may be more effective: an FDA-cleared treatment that teaches them to regulate their breathing patterns.
How Freespira works
Freespira is more than breathing exercises. Over 28 days, the system takes you through a series of guided treatment sessions. The device provides real-time feedback that helps you learn what healthy breathing patterns feel like.
At the end of the 28 days, there’s no need to use the device anymore. Up to 89% of patients found that their symptoms were already improved or stopped.¹
Want to learn more? To find out if Freespira is right for you, talk to an advisor or complete the online screener today.
