4 7 8 breathing sleep review năm 2024

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Have you heard of the “4-7-8” breathing method? I hadn’t until references to it kept popping up in my Facebook feed. I ignored them at first, but the positive endorsements from friends and friends of friends (“works for me every time!”, “did it last night and it worked!”) were a siren song that I couldn’t resist.

The 4-7-8 Breathing Method for Falling Asleep

Rooted in yoga, this 3-step breathing technique is intended to slow your heart rate and calm your mind:

• Breathe in deeply through your nose for 4 seconds
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds
• Exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds

I’ve never been a good sleeper so I set my skepticism aside and gave it a try. After a few tries, here’s how it’s been going:

Night 1:

“Okay, let’s do this. 4-7-8, 4-7-8,” I chant in my head. Just as I’m psyching myself up to start… I psych myself out. Bits of a Byrdie article I read on the method pop into my head:

“Do you know the feeling of being put under by anesthesia, where you are conscious, and the next thing you remember is waking up? The technique will effectively slow your heart rate and increase oxygen in your bloodstream, and may even make you feel slightly lightheaded which contributes to the mild sedative-like effect.”

Laugh if you will (I can’t hear you), but I suddenly and irrationally begin panicking that I’m going to die in my sleep. What if I slow my heart rate too much? And there’s something a bit mystical sounding about “4-7-8” that conjures up childhood memories of “red rum” and Ouija boards. My state of mind: not calm! So, I table it for the night.

Night 2:

Realizing how silly I had been the previous night I’m prepared to try again. “Okay, 4-7-8, 4 breaths in, 1-2-3-4, okay…now what again? 7 what? Oh right, hold my breath for 7 seconds, 1-2, 3, 4 (OMG, I’m only up to 4?), 5, 6, (surely, I’m going to die!), 7. Oh, crap! Mouth open or closed to exhale? How many seconds again? 4-7-8. 8! Right!”

I try a few more times with similar results and reach two conclusions: One, I may not be smart enough for this, and two, I may not be fit enough for this. For whatever reason my brain turned rubbery and I couldn’t remember the very simple instructions. And, I seem to have the lung capacity of a newborn gerbil.

Night 3:

I didn’t give up! I decided to get another take on 4-7-8 and watched a video of Andrew Weil, M.D. demonstrating the technique. Although I didn’t find his bright purple shirt calming, he did seem genuinely relaxed as he did the breathing exercise, in front of a crowd no less. On the “8” part he instructs to blow air out forcefully through your mouth making a “whoosh” sound, which I hadn’t done before. Weil describes the outcome of the breathing exercise as producing “a very pleasant state of altered consciousness.”

As soon as I climbed into bed I realized that making a loud “whoosh” sound to exhale was not going to work with a husband already asleep 6 inches from me and my toddler daughter sleeping only a few feet away. I tried to make a quiet “whoosh” and this seemed okay. It helped to have watched Weil do it and I think what I’d really like is an audio recording of him repeating the steps playing in my ear so I could set my brain free from remembering what do to and for how long.

I also became weirdly obsessed with the accuracy of my counting. One Mississippi? One One Thousand? I had no confidence that my 7s weren’t really 8s and vice versa. And maybe it doesn’t matter.

Despite my diminished whooshing and preoccupation with counting, it was somewhat easier this night to get into a rhythm with the 4-7-8 breathing. Did it help me get to sleep? No. I gave up after a few minutes, unable to find my own pleasant state of altered consciousness.

Bottom Line:

This wasn’t an instant success for me. Weil emphasizes that the exercise takes practice so three tries is really just the tip of the relaxation iceberg. I expect a few weeks of practicing might give better results. Or, maybe it’s just not for me!

Mindful breathing aims to help calm the mind and body in times of stress, though due to the many different types of mindful breathing techniques, it may be challenging to figure out which strategy is best for you.

The 4-7-8 breathing method is a popular technique that can offer a variety of benefits such as helping with anxiety, sleep and focus, among other advantages.

Read on for tips on practicing 4-7-8 breathing and learn more about how it may help enhance your life.

What Is 4-7-8 Breathing?

The 4-7-8 breathing technique was developed by Andrew Weil, M.D., the founder and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. The method is based on pranayama, an ancient yogic practice focused on the breath.

4-7-8 breathing is a coping skill used for regulating the nervous system through controlled and slowed breathing, which tells the body’s fight or flight response “to stand down,” explains Billy Roberts, a licensed independent social worker and founder and clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling in Columbus, Ohio.

How Does the 4-7-8 Breathing Technique Work?

Slow and deep breathing works with both the mind and body. When a person is stressed or anxious, their breathing can become rapid, leading to symptoms such as dizziness, perceived shortness of breath, confusion and muscle spasms, among others, notes Anson Whitmer, Ph.D. co-founder of Mental, a mental health app geared towards men. Specifically, the 4-7-8 breathing technique is designed to slow down and moderate one’s breath, prompting the brain to calm the body, and helping to control the response to stress and anxiety, explains Dr. Whitmer.

Calming methods like 4-7-8 breathing intentionally increase the activity of the vagus nerve. This bundle of nerve fibers regulates an array of essential bodily functions including mood, immune response, digestion and heart rate. When the vagus nerve is activated, such as with slow breathing techniques, it can help the body turn down the sympathetic nervous system (which controls the “fight or flight” response) and refocus on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “rest and digest” response.

Learning to take control of how your body responds to stressors requires calibrating responses proportionate to the situation. “When our body has a stress response, it’s responding to what it believes to be a danger,” says Roberts. “However, the intensity of the reaction doesn’t always fit the intensity of the situation, and our bodies can shut down rational thought. Breathing techniques help us manage anxiety by facilitating a sense of calm in the body, getting our thinking brains more in control.”

How to Practice 4-7-8 Breathing

The 4-7-8 breathing method is as simple as its name: inhale your breath on a four-count, hold your breath on a seven-count, then exhale on an eight-count.

Specifically, Dr. Weil, the developer of the method, explains the technique as such:

• Place the tip of the tongue just behind the upper front teeth and hold it there during the inhale and let it rest where it feels most comfortable during the exhale
• Exhale through the mouth, making a “whoosh” sound
• Closing the mouth, inhale through the mouth on a count of four
• Hold the breath for a count of seven
• Open the mouth and exhale to a count of eight, again making a “whooshing” sound
• This is considered one cycle. For effectiveness, one should aim to do four cycles in one sitting.

“The most important component of 4-7-8 [breathing] is that the exhale is roughly twice as long as the inhale,“ explains Amy Mezulis, Ph.D. co-founder and chief clinical officer of Joon, a mental health care company focused on teen and adolescent health. This variability between inhalation and exhalation is believed to be the mechanism that helps the sympathetic nervous system down-regulate.

Roberts advises that the best way to practice 4-7-8 breathing is through consistency in both lower and higher stress environments and situations. While it may seem counterintuitive, practicing the technique in less stressful situations will help build a sort of “muscle memory,” increasing the likelihood that you will use it when the stakes feel higher, he says.

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Possible Benefits of 4-7-8 Breathing

The advantages of 4-7-8 breathing are many and may include:

• Better control of the body’s response to stress and anxiety: Slowed breathing signals our nervous system to calm down, notes Dr. Whitmer, which in the long run can help control future responses for the same stress or anxiety.
• Easing of depression and anxiety symptoms: A very small study of individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) suggests that 4-7-8 breathing may help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depressionPandekar PP, Thangavelu2 PD. Effect of 4-7-8 Breathing Technique on Anxiety and Depression in Moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research. 2019.9;5. .
• A better sense of the present moment: Because attention is on the breath while practicing deep breathing methods like 4-7-8, it requires a person to “be in the present moment,” notes Roberts. Present-moment awareness has been shown to facilitate a better response to stress as it arises.

While there are a myriad of potential benefits to the 4-7-8 breathing method, it’s important to remember that a regular practice can help increase those benefits.

When Mindful Breathing Isn’t Enough

While 4-7-8 breathing can be used as a therapeutic tool, it should be used in combination with other medical advice and treatment, depending on the situation.

“Mindful breathing is just one of multiple stress reduction and emotion regulation techniques that can be helpful in handling stress and anxiety,” says Dr. Mezulis. “If symptoms of stress or anxiety persist, cause problems in your daily life or can’t be fully managed with deep breathing, it might be time to consider other options such as therapy.”

Be Kind To Your Mind

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Does 4

It can be almost impossible to fall asleep when your body is caught up in the stress response. Practicing deep, slow breathing techniques such as 4-7-8 breathing can trigger your body's relaxation response and help you get to sleep.

How many times a day should I do 4

You might feel a little lightheaded the first time you try it. Practicing 4-7-8 breathing at least twice per day could yield greater results for some people than for those who only practice it once.

Does 4

The 4-7-8 breathing technique helps relieve symptoms related to anxiety and stress “by stimulating the vagus nerve to induce your body's natural relaxation response,” Brown explains. In one study, 4-7-8 breathing reduced anxiety in people living with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

What is the best breathing for deep sleep?

4-7-8 breathing, also known as relaxing breath, is a deep rhythmic breathing technique based on pranayama practices. This breathing exercise involves a characteristic pattern of inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling to reduce anxiety and promote relaxed sleep.