CEBU, Philippines — Every day, you lose yourself in the stresses and anxieties of modern life. Whether you are still studying or already working, the challenges that you come face to face with, both in your workplace and at home, can be so overwhelming that you find it difficult to switch off and rest at night.
What to do?
With your wellbeing in mind, the sleep experts at Mattress Online are sharing not just tips on how to de-stress at the end of the day but also how to practice a technique called "finger breathing" and make it work for you. It is a quick and easy self-hypnosis that can help you remain calm and reclaim your sleep.
What is finger breathing?
Finger breathing is a form of self-hypnosis that can be used to bring you back into a calmer and more rational state of mind during times of anxiety or restlessness. It involves a combination of touch and controlled breathing, cycling through a series of finger holds and hand movements while focusing on inhaling and exhaling deeply.
Studies have shown that effectively controlling your breathing can not only help you relax mentally; it also promotes the release of melatonin, the hormone produced by the pineal gland in your brain that is responsible for regulating your body’s circadian rhythm and managing your natural sleep cycle.
Leading hypnotherapist at charity Cavendish Cancer Care, Clare Longstaffe, has developed a number of finger breathing techniques to help both patients and their loved ones cope with the impact of cancer.
Mattress Online, through its partnership with Cavendish, explained how you can use finger breathing to bring yourself back into a calmer state of mind during times of anxiety, including at bedtime.
How does it work?
How can finger breathing be utilized to achieve peaceful sleep? Here’s how:
Step 1: Start by laying or sitting down in a comfortable position. Relax your breathing by inhaling more deeply and slowly than you would normally do.
Step 2: Bring the fingers and thumb of one hand together in a relaxed pinched position. Using your other hand, cup and loosely rest your bunched fingertips in your palm. Count five relaxed breaths while keeping your hands in this position.
Step 3: Swap hands and count five breaths again.
Step 4: Next, make a thumbs-up with one hand and then wrap the fingers of the other hand around the opposing thumb. Loosely hold your thumb while you count five relaxed breaths. Then swap hands and count five breaths again.
Step 5: Repeat this process on the rest of your fingers, i.e. wrap the fingers of one hand around your opposing index finger and hold for five relaxed breaths, before switching hands and repeating the process.
A video manual for finger breathing can be viewed in this YouTube channel.
Chloe Angus, Corporate Wellbeing Manager at Cavendish, said: “Our innate fight, flight stress response can cause us to automatically speed up or hold our breath in times of stress or general ‘busyness’ and, most of the time, we do not notice until we start to feel tension. In times of stress, if we can become aware of our breath and focus on slowing down and relaxing into our breath, it can be helpful in moving to rest and digest.
"Creating the habit of giving our breath some attention at different times of day can help to manage emotions and stresses, and give us moments to pause and re-center ourselves in the present moment. We would recommend planning to practice breathing regularly when you are not stressed, if something is familiar to us, we are more likely to remember to use it when we need it most," she said.
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