Deep sighing is a state of deep and often rapid breathing that occurs during the act of speaking or as a response to emotional distress. Excessive sighing can be your body’s way of crying out for help.
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What is deep sighing?
Deep sighing may be a sign of stress or relief and can indicate an emotional state in need of attention. Sighing excessively is your body crying out for help.
Common triggers for deep sighing include periods of intense concentration, complex tasks or challenges, and emotional distress.
Deep sighing is a sign of stress or relief and often indicates discomfort in the respiratory system. When you are under high amounts of stress (emotional or physical), your body produces adrenaline which causes more air to be drawn into your lungs. This can result in deep breathing as well as increased tension throughout the body. If this happens, then you will sigh to relieve pressure and tension. We all experience a sigh of relief when an anxiety-provoking incident is averted!
If you are experiencing anxiety, then deep breathing can help alleviate your symptoms. Deep breaths allow for better sleep at night by releasing muscle tension. Deep breathing also allows for better oxygen flow to the brain, which can help relieve stress and anxiety.
There are a few ways deep sighing may indicate emotions that need attention:
- Crying out for care or comfort
- Focusing on letting go of something that is no longer needed in your life (emotionally, mentally or physically)
- Deep sighing is the body’s way of telling you that something needs to change.
Recent research into deep sighing has revealed exciting findings as one of the essential reflexes in biology. In this regard, the sighing mechanism is similar to that of ‘flight or fight’. Scientists have just discovered the ‘sigh’ button in the brain stem that controls the reflex.
Two clusters of neurons turn normal breath into sighs when lungs need help. The brain cells called “neuronal clusters” cause sighs when lungs require help. The absence of sighing can result in a collapse of those tiny balloon-like sacs in our lungs known as alveoli.
Sighing brings twice as much air into the lungs as normal breathing, and that’s one of the most efficient ways to make the alveoli open again.
Scientists first became aware of this phenomenon when patients were dying after using early devices to support the lungs in chronic diseases.
Recently, researchers have identified the brain pathways that cause sighing and hope to find drugs that target the pathways of sigh to help control them.
Still, it remains unclear whether emotional sighing behaves in the same way as physiological sighing.
How can you tell if you’re breathing too heavily?
If your stomach is pushed out like a drum when you breathe in deeply, this indicates that you are relying on your muscles to take in larger breaths rather than using your diaphragm.
What should you do? Breathe deeply from the diaphragm, and if necessary, use a physical release like yoga or mindful breathing to ease tension.
What can this deep sighing provide for us?
Deep sighs have the role of releasing stress in the body. They also have a cleansing effect on the mind and can help you release any stagnant energy in your system, which may build up if you’ve been feeling depressed or experiencing anxiety.
Deep sighs aren’t necessarily caused by stress alone; they could also be a result of physiological relief. However, there are other signs that you might be experiencing stress:
- Tension in your jaw and neck muscles when sitting or standing
- Feeling exhausted for no reason; feeling like you can’t catch your breath
- A sense of anxiety or unease about something without any logical basis to explain
What causes deep sighing
The causes of deep sighing can vary. It could be a sign that you’re experiencing stress, or it might indicate an emotional state in need of attention. Stress is one of the most common triggers for this response – and excessive sighing may lead to more severe problems if left untreated.
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