For many years now, we’ve been exploring the impact of stressed breathing patterns on mental alertness and other cognitive functions. I’ve just done a new review of research on this important theme, and the documentation now entirely clear:

When stress and anxiety, time pressure and other stressors tense the natural breathing cycle, the resultant shallow uneven rapid breathing pattern reduces the amount of oxygen that is available in the brain – and this results directly in a reduction in all dimensions of mental performance in the brain.

Curiously, the old adage that too much carbon dioxide (which becomes carbolic acid in the blood stream) reduces mental performance … has been proven wrong. Just the opposite – shallow rapid stress-breathing actually reduces the amount of CO2 in the bloodstream. Good? No – because ample CO2 stimulates an expansion of the blood capillaries, which enables more oxygen to go where it is needed.

• This is a bit complex to grasp for most people, but medical research clearly documents that it’s low stress-caused CO2 levels in the blood that’s mainly responsible for low flow of oxygen and sucrose to the brain.

The New ‘Breath-Break Homeostasis’ Model

What can be done, to get that oxygen to the brain more successfully, when under stress at work? I’m currently addressing this in my new book, and my colleague Heidi Hanna PhD is doing an even more complete survey of the research in her new book – stay tuned.

For now, the short pragmatic how-to answer is this: hopefully once an hour, it’s important to pause for 3 minutes and move through a basic mindfulness or specific Breath Break process, as outlined in my recent books, to allow your organism as a whole to regain its natural homeostasis, or inner balance, related to your breathing and CO2/Oxygen balance.

• No amount of controlled deep breathing will help in this regard – your conscious mind can’t know exactly how to breathe, in order to regain the needed balance.

Our saving grace is that we have a dozen tiny sensors in various parts of our blood stream and spinal column that are constantly monitoring CO2 levels, and sending messages to the brain to change breathing depth and speed etc so as to keep CO2 levels in harmony with present Oxygen needs throughout the body.

But emotional stress overrides this homeostatic system – thus the universal problem at work with reduced mental clarity, creativity, empathy and all the rest that happens when oxygen and sugar doesn’t arrive in the brain in adequate quantities.

What to do? If you’ve been following this site and blog for a while, you already know -

• pause and turn your full attention to the sensation of air flowing in and out of your nose (try it now!) so that you tune into present-moment sensation and let go of too much stressed thinking …

• Expand your awareness to also include the movements in your chest and belly as you breathe …

Stay with this present-moment bodily focus for at least 12 breaths, and use Focus Phrases to help quiet your mind as well … this cognitive shifting of your attention away from past-future stress thinking, toward present-moment whole-body awareness and emotional presence will naturally change your breathing toward a homeostatic balanced rhythm and depth – just what is needed for a quick brain wake-up at work.

Here’s a 3-minute guided video that fully ‘brings you here’

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Posted in Ask John At Work Blog by admin 3 Comments