Deep Breathing Can Reduce Stress, Anxiety

01From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report.

02At Myosin Marketing in Austin, Texas, the group employee meeting begins with an uncommon activity for a workplace.

03The members gather on Zoom, and the head of the company, Sean Clayton, leads them through a deep breathing exercise.

04Clayton says the activity helps his employees relax, and to be willing to take creative risks.

05At first, they thought it was really weird, he said, adding that most people turned off their cameras.

06But, after a couple of weeks, there was a change.

07The employees said the deep breathing felt good.

08Studies show that deep breathing can be an effective way to reduce tension or stress at work.

09But people may not think about their breathing while on the job.

10Workers who sit at computers for long periods tend to take shallow breaths as their shoulders slowly rise.

11Workers who spend the day on their feet in retail or health care may be too busy to center their attention on breathing.

12But there is good reason to stop what you're doing and take deep breaths, research suggests.

13Long-lasting stress can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

14Experts at the American Heart Association say it can be as harmful as second-hand smoke.

15Research suggests deep breathing exercises can lower a person's blood pressure and reduce anxiety.

16There are many benefits to deep breathing.

17For starters, it is free.

18It can be done anywhere.

19And, unlike a 30-minute meditation practice, most deep breathing exercises do not take much time.

20Also, it gives you something to focus on.

21Your breathing.

22Experts say that this can help to calm racing thoughts.

23Focusing on breathing for 1 to 5 minutes can help you clear your mind and let you get back to focusing on the one thing you want to accomplish, said Glenn Levine.

24He is a heart and blood system doctor and professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

25A good way to do deep breathing exercises is outside, Levine said.

26However, if that is not possible, doing them at a desk works.

27Instead of focusing on the screen or work, just focus on your breathing.

28If possible, Levine said, close your eyes.

29Even very busy people can find time for daily breathing exercises.

30Lisa Marie Delaveau is a marketing professional and mother of 5.

31She lost her job several months ago and has struggled to find a new one.

32Delaveau wakes early most mornings before her children to do breathing exercises.

33If you set a priority for yourself, you can make the time, Delaveau said.

34With one breathing exercise, she breathes in through one nostril and then out through the other.

35She uses a thumb or forefinger to hold one nostril closed at a time.

36It relaxes my mind.

37It makes my mind so full of ease.

38It brings you back to the present moment, she added.

39To get ahead of anxiety before starting her work day, sales representative Lindsay Carlisle of Michigan does breathing exercises with her 7-year-old daughter during their drive to school.

40They breathe in for 7 counts, hold their breath for 5, and then breathe out for 7 counts.

41They repeat this several times.

42Throughout that process, my shoulders start to drop on their own.

43And it really is calming, Carlisle said.

44Susie Yalof-Schwartz was an overworked magazine editor when her mother-in-law taught her a 3-minute meditation method.

45Yalof-Schwartz says it changed her life.

46She left her career and founded Unplug Meditation, a Santa Monica, California company with a meditation studio, an app, and programs for corporate customers.

47When we slow down our breath, we send a signal to our brain that everything's okay, even when it's not, she said.

48Another 16-second breathing exercise is called box breathing.

49You breathe in for 4 counts.

50Hold for 4.

51Breathe out for 4 counts.

52And hold for another 4.

53Yalof-Schwartz has taught it to people in stressful jobs, including firefighters, police, and doctors.

54It is the best thing that you can do at work before you have a meeting, before you send out an email that you wish you didn't send, before you have a difficult conversation, because it just calms you down, gets rid of your negative energy, she said.

55Employers such as Coca-Cola, Mattel, and Netflix have used Unplug Meditation to teach breathing or meditation.

56It is not always easy for workers to find space for deep breathing exercises.

57For example, salespeople often work alongside their customers.

58Yalof-Schwartz suggests doing breathing exercises when making a sale or organizing items.

59Carlisle, the sales representative, sets a timer on her phone, telling her to breathe deeply.

60She also keeps a note near her computer that simply says, breathe.

61The anxiety is always going to be there, Carlisle said.

62But at least I know I have one small tool.

63It sounds so simple and silly, but it works.

64And that's the Health and Lifestyle Report.

65I'm Ana Mateo.

66And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

67I'm Mario Ritter.

68I'm Mario Ritter.

69I'm Mario Ritter.!

70I'm