Normal Respiration Rates: Everything You Need to Know

31 May 2017

Is your breathing “normal”? This might be a question you’ve never asked yourself, but your respiration rate, how fast you breathe, can tell you a lot about your health.

Respiration is a special kind of natural impulse. It’s the only automatic function that can be controlled consciously. In order words, breathing is normally completely unconscious, but when willed, it can come under conscious control. For this reason, understanding normal and abnormal breathing is powerful because you have some measure of control. You can take direct steps to make your breath normal when things are moving too quickly.

Your breath reflects both inner and outer conditions of the human mind and body. It is linked to increases in physical exertion, deep relaxation, fear, and sleep. All of these physical states have distinct breathing patterns associated with them. It is one of the core vitals that medical practitioners document when following the progress of a patient. Your breath is not just a reaction to actions you are taking on the outside – it is a signal of core bodily states.

Understanding your normal respiration rate and paying attention to your breath are important parts of optimizing your health and wellness.

What is Respiration and How Does It Happen?

If you’re like most people, you might assume it’s just a technical term for “breathing,” but it’s more complex than that. Inhaling and exhaling are only one step in the process of respiration.

Inhalation and exhalation are normally controlled by signals automatically sent from a part of your brain. This signal activates muscles around your lungs, telling them to contract or relax. This causes air to be sucked into the body or released. But as we all know, our we can consciously override this part of the brain, and we can get our lungs to breath faster, slower, shallower, or deeper.

Respiration encompasses the whole process of moving oxygen from the outside air to deep in your body’s cells. When you breathe in, air is drawn into your lungs. Your lungs are a series of intricate tunnels and absorbers which take in the air, cleaning it from macro impurities such as dust. Your lung tunnels are interspaced with small blood vessels, where blood cells filter in to come into direct contact with the air that your lungs have just filtered. At this point, your blood cells dump out carbon dioxide, which is a waste product of the body. Then, they absorb fresh oxygen. This process is called “gas exchange.” The blood cells then transport oxygen to cells throughout your body, where the oxygen is used as fuel to power your metabolism.

Interestingly, your lungs don’t fill completely with fresh air every time you take a breath. You only take in about 11 ounces of fresh air per breath, which is diluted with much larger store air sitting in your lungs. This ensures that the blood is getting a consistent amount of oxygen, even if you temporarily get short of breath.

Unfortunately, longer disruptions to your normal respiration rate can upset the equalizing and stabilizing effect of this supply. When your breath pattern drastically changes, either going too fast or too slow, your blood cells will start receiving an inadequate supply of oxygen. They may also cease to be able to properly unload carbon dioxide.

If this unbalance persists, your physical wellness may be adversely affected. What breathing rate should keep you in a healthy spot?

What Does Normal Respiration Look Like?

Chances are you’ve never given much thought to how quickly you breathe. You may not even know how to measure it, or how to tell if your breathing rate falls into the normal range. But measuring your breathing rate is fast and easy – here’s how.

First, sit down in a quiet space where you’ll be uninterrupted for a few moments. Place your hand gently over your chest and focus on its rising and falling motion. Focus. Set a timer for one minute.

Count the number of times your chest rises over the course of one full minute. It’s often better to have someone else do your counting for you, since observing your own breath causes many people to breathe more slowly and deeply, giving an inaccurate result.

When you’ve recorded your breath rate, how do you know if it’s ‘normal’?

What’s normal varies heavily depending on your age, health, and recent activity. At rest, infants below six months might take in as many as 30-60 breaths per minute. At age six to twelve months, this drops to 24-30 breaths per minute. From age one to five years, this doesn’t change much, with children taking between 20-30 breaths each minute.

From age six to twelve years, your breathing rate drops dramatically: down to 12-20 breaths per minute is normal for the ages of 6 to 12. After age 12, most adults continue breath within this range, although 12-18 breaths per minute is preferable. A resting respiratory rate within range is generally considered to be the an accurate measure of a person’s health. For an otherwise healthy person, respiration rates at the lower end of the range is considered best at any age.

What Factors Affect Your Respiration Rate?

If your respiration rate is significantly higher than outlined in the previous section, it’s important to consider the possible reasons why, and take steps to address your fast breathing rate. This may include seeing a medical professional.

The first thing you should examine is your recent activity levels. During and immediately after exercise, a healthy adult may take between 35-45 breaths per minute, and some endurance sports athletes can average even higher, at 60-70. If you’ve just climbed a flight of stairs or engaged in any other physical activity, wait a few minutes before trying to calculate your respiration rate.

Other factors that can alter your respiratory rate include your general physical health. Certain illnesses can increase your breathing rate. For example, research has shown that fevers can affect a person’s respiration rate. Other respiratory afflictions, such as asthma or allergies, may cause your breathing rate to be slightly off. If you’ve got a physical block in your breath pathways, such as a stuffy nose, your breath may be disturbed. None of these are necessarily indicative of serious, underlying issues.

However, a higher breathing rate can signal a strained inner state. Rapid breathing is a symptom of anxiety and stress. This is most apparent during acute episodes of anxiety disorder, which are called panic attacks. During panic attacks, the person affected will hyperventilate heavily, to the point that they become dizzy or disoriented. This is an extreme condition, but chronic milder anxiety can cause modifications to a person’s breath rate as well.

Your breathing rate is even affected by smaller changes in your state of mind. Everyday stress and excitement, as well as periods of calm and restfulness, will be reflected in your rate of respiration. Your respiration rate is a sensitive thing.

How does your respiration rate work into your overall wellness?

The Risks of a Fast Respiration Rate

Breathing too quickly can be indicative of an underlying problem. This might be an illness, stress, or perhaps just poor fitness if you’re huffing and puffing up the stairs. However, having a faster breathing rate can negatively affect your wellness independently.

Breathing too quickly doesn’t permit your body time to send oxygen to your blood cells properly. In the extreme, this can cause discomfort, including dizziness, muscle spasms, and tingling in your arms and legs. You may even feel faint or experience chest pain.

Even if you only have a mild case of hyperventilation, a fast respiration rate can cause difficulty concentrating or thinking. Over time the lack of oxygen can leave you feeling exhausted and can worsen your feelings of stress – which can, in turn, cause health complications down the line.

How To Achieve a Healthy and Normal Respiration Rate

If you find that you’re habitually breathing too quickly, there are things you can do to slow your respiration rate down to a normal level. Breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, and a variety of other practices can train you to breathe more deeply and slowly.

Using Spire can help you become more aware of your breath throughout the day. There may be times when anxiety is mounting and your breath is increasing in speed. Because you are busy or distracted, you may not be able to notice these changes. If you aren’t able to notice your increased breath rate, you won’t be able to take steps to calm yourself down or do breathing exercises to help settle back into a healthy rhythm. Spire accurately tracks your breath, giving you real-time feedback on your breathing, helping you understand when it’s time to take a pause to take care of your breath.

Respiration rate is far more complex and meaningful that most of us realize, but with a little practice and a mindful approach, it’s possible to bring your breathing to a healthy rate and live a more relaxed, calmer, healthier life.

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Exactly What To Do When You Can’t Sleep

30 May 2017

After a long day of work, you’re looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation. Then, suddenly, it’s 3:00 am and you’re still wide awake; you just can’t fall asleep.

Well, you’re not alone.

In fact, 1 in 3 American adults don’t get enough sleep. Unfortunately, skipping out on sleep leads to negative side-effects like moodiness and loss of productivity, and strongly impairs human functions.

Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do when you can’t fall asleep. Try these methods to head into dreamland and get the good night’s sleep you deserve.

Set Up Your Environment

Your environment can have a big effect on your mood. Think of a time you needed to focus – wasn’t it easier to do so when everything was clean and tidy? How about a time where you wanted to relax – didn’t it feel better in a quiet, dark room?

So it makes sense that your bedroom setting has a key role in helping you get to sleep faster.

Here are a few ways to set up your environment for a successful night of sleep.

Change the Sheets

If your mind is restlessly wandering instead of blissfully asleep, try refreshing your linens. You’ll use a bit of that restless energy to change out the sheets and feel better in cooler, clean sheets.

Use Calming Smells

Your brain associates different smells with memory and mood. When you’re finding it hard to relax, try filling the room with calming scents. Lavender has been shown to have a positive effect on managing anxiety. Try rubbing lavender oils on your temples or put a few drops on your pillowcase to get to sleep.

Find the Right Temperature

It’s hard to sleep when it’s too hot or if you’re too busy shivering when it’s cold. Setting the right temperature in your room is a sure-fire way to get your body to relax for sleep.

With pajamas and a blanket, the perfect temperature should be around 60° – 70° F. Use an AC unit, fan, or keep the window open to stay cool.

Keep it Dark

Light is a signal to your body that it’s time to wake up. Your internal clock is used to the rhythm of sunlight signaling daytime and moonlight signaling nighttime.

Keeping your room dark will send that sleeping signal to your internal clock. Turn the lights off. Use blackout curtains to keep the external lights like streetlamps out. Try using low-wattage bulbs in your room to prep your body beforehand.

It’s important to limit the amount of electronic light that comes into your room as well. Light from electronic devices like television sets, laptops, tablets, or cell phones disrupts your sleep. So put those devices in another room and enjoy the darkness.

Listen to Guided Meditation

Forget about counting sheep, listen to guided meditation instead. Meditation will help clear your mind of worries and thoughts that are preventing you from heading off to dreamland.

Follow along this guided meditation for rest, led by renowned meditation guru Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery.

Try Progressive Relaxation

Sometimes we can’t relax because the tension from the day’s stresses are still present in our body.

When that’s the case, using a technique like progressive muscle relaxation will help you get to that place of calm.

Progressive relaxation techniques involve tightening muscles in your body for a few seconds and releasing them to feel de-stressed.

Give it a try with our guide to using progressive relaxation techniques.

Use Breathing Exercises

Don’t take the power of your breath for granted. It’s one of the most powerful tools you have to control your central nervous system. If you can manage your breathing, then it can signal your body to calm down.

Quick exercises you can try are breath counting and the “4-7-8” breath where you breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds.

Mindful breathing exercises are especially effective in helping you to focus on your breath, bring your mind to the present moment, and let go of wandering thoughts.

Use this guide for breathing exercises to get you to sleep.

Get Out of Bed

This one feels counter-intuitive but it will help get your mind off trying hard to fall asleep.

Instead of worrying about not getting enough sleep, get up and take a quick walk to your living room or kitchen. Have a small cup of tea or journal out your worries.

What’s most important is to let the stress of losing sleep go. Get your mind off of your insomnia and you might just find that sleep will come to you naturally.

Maintaining a Healthy Sleep Cycle

The best way to get more sleep is to create healthy sleeping habits. Here are a few simple sleeping habits to adapt, so you can consistently get good sleep.

No Eating or Drinking Before Bed

Big meals close to bedtime have an effect on your sleep because your body is still working hard to digest it. So cut out the big meals before bedtime.

The same thing goes for drinking too much liquid. You don’t want have to get up and pee right after falling asleep. Avoid too much alcohol before bed too. While a small glass of wine can make you drowsy, a large amount of alcohol can prevent you from sleeping and/or disrupt your sleep.

Create a Nightly Routine

Establishing a routine helps prepare both body and mind for bed. When you repeat an action before bed, you can train your brain to associate that action with being sleepy. Some good actions to try are:

Hot showers
Reading a book
Turn down your sheets
Listen to calming music like classical music or ambient sounds

Manage Stress Throughout the Day

Managing stress throughout your day is not only beneficial to your sleep, but your quality of life in general. Take breaks during the day to relax and make some time after work to let go of stress from the day. Spire can help by sending you a gentle reminder to discover calm during your day so you can be better relaxed for your night.

If you still can’t get to sleep, just try accepting insomnia for what it is in the moment. The intense judgments (I should be asleep by now) and heightened emotion (I’m frustrated because I can’t sleep) only create more distraction. Instead, forgive yourself for being unable to sleep and find some positivity in the night.

Does Meditation help with Anxiety

25 May 2017

As a part of the orchestra of human emotions, anxiety is a feeling that affects us all. Especially in today’s fast-paced, results-oriented work environment, anxiety is a daily occurrence for working professionals. It is a state characterized by a mixture of feelings of worry, apprehension, fear, restlessness, and stress. Like all states of mind, anxiety is also reflected as states of body. It can express itself through fatigue, headaches, sweating, shaking, and muscle tension.

Meditation is an ancient practice which has been used across multiple cultures and spiritual traditions. It is a tool used to quiet the mind and enhance focus on an inner state. Many people have been seeking to incorporate meditation into their lives for its psychological and even physical benefits. But can meditation be used specifically to address anxiety? The answer isn’t clear cut, and this article will seek to shed light on the answer.

What is Anxiety

Just like other negative states, anxiety isn’t all bad – in fact, it can be helpful and productive. It can give you that needed pressure to push through that final deadline or complete a task that you’ve otherwise been putting off. It can fire-up a creative impulse. But these are only helpful in appropriate contexts. pasted image 0 1

Which contexts would this be?

The answer lies at the beginning, when humans had to fend off dangerous predators and survive in a rough natural environment. Being anxious in these situations heightened awareness and readied the body for a quick fight-or-flight in response to threats. After all, it would be strange that the human body evolve no emotional and physiological response to the threat of a hungry tiger.

Anxiety becomes debilitating when it occurs in situations which should not warrant feelings of worry, apprehension, fear, restlessness and stress. In today’s world, prolonged anxiety is usually not a reasonable response to most situations. Anxiety is often unwarranted in modern stressful situations.

But with the human mind and body hardwired the way it is, the body will respond with anxiety to situations which it perceives as dangerous, even if that is not the case. So, if you perceive being late to a meeting is a serious and grave situation, your body will respond with anxiety. For the body, fear is fear. It’s not the body’s job to analyze a situation and assess the necessity of producing anxiety. It hinges on what the mind interprets as frightening.

With a work culture that induces high levels of stress and a society provide poor support for alleviating anxiety, the mind is constantly assessing situations as fearful. Partially as a result, anxiety disorders are common in the developed world. Anxiety disorders affect more than 40 million adults in the United States alone. Worldwide, approximately 20% of persons who receive primary health care have anxiety disorders.

Anxiety disorders are affecting women more than men, with 33% of women experiencing an anxiety disorder as compared to 22% men. Researchers theorize that this is due to a combination of hormonal fluctuations, brain chemistry and upbringing: women feel responsible for the happiness of others, and so have an added layer of stress to deal with.

Anxiety disorder can sometimes climax in the form of panic attacks. These are sudden, intense feelings of anxiety and fear that cause a physical fight-or-flight response. Your breathing may heighten; you may feel pain in your chest and vision may start to tunnel. These are all parts of the fight-or-flight response. Excessive anxiety results in an unpleasant state, both of mind and body.

The Effects of Anxiety on Human Wellness

Anxiety disorder has multiple ill-effects on your mind and body. On a physical level, those suffering from excessive anxiety may find themselves afflicted with the following symptoms:

Fast or irregular heartbeat
Sweating or flushing of the skin
Muscle tension
Headaches
Difficulty sleeping
Changes in appetite
Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Emotionally, you may find yourself afflicted with edginess, sadness, depression and/or irritability.

The long-term effects of anxiety disorder include heart disease, early aging, oxidative stress, stroke, and even cancer. Productivity at work is also adversely affected by anxiety.

Dealing effectively with anxiety is important. But how?

There are several medicines on the market which are prescribed for those suffering from high levels of anxiety. Sometimes, these medical solutions are essential. However, if you are looking to take some additional steps to supplement your current treatment, or you are looking to manage anxiety before it gets out of hand, there is a solution outside of the strictly medical context.

And increasingly, people have been turning towards this natural method of stress and anxiety reduction. This promising treatment is the age-old practice of meditation.

The Science Behind Meditation

Meditation is prominently recognized as one of the major practices of Buddhism. Buddha recommended meditation to his disciples as a part of the path to achieving enlightenment. The “8-fold path” to enlightenment involved, in addition to extensive meditation, prescriptions to do good and serve others. Per Buddha, only through meditation was a person able to achieve enlightenment, a complete stillness of the mind and inner peace.

But the Buddha was certainly not the only spiritual leader to promote meditation as part of a spiritual order. Indeed, nearly every spiritual tradition incorporates a practice that can be characterized as meditative or meditation. Meditation is an ancient tradition dating back to over 3,500 years ago – even prayer is a type of quiet meditation.

Despite its longevity, it’s only within the last 50 years that the scientific community has been studying meditation systematically. In this short amount of time, the research has uncovered impressive potential and even stunning feats of meditation.

In one example, Buddhist monks have been recorded controlling their body temperatures through a meditative practice called “g-tummo”. In controlled scientific tests, experienced monks could dry cold and moist sheets placed around their bodies within an hour. Witnesses of the experiment report seeing steam emerge from the sheets as they dried. The monks’ body temperatures were measured to rise as much as 17 degrees Celcius.

How is this possible? No one quite understands the biological mechanisms behind meditation just yet. But study after study are suggesting that meditation has far-reaching benefits, including for pain reduction, addiction and, as described below, anxiety.

Meditation as a Cure for Anxiety?

In 2014, the Journal of the American Medical Association conducted a sweeping review of different meditation techniques’ effects on psychological stress and well-being. The review considered a wide variety of meditative techniques that emphasized mindfulness, concentration, and automatic self-transcendence. Prominently, these meditation programs were mantra and mindfulness meditation. Mantra meditation consists of chanting mantra and focusing on it to achieve a meditative state. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing your awareness on the present moment, while non-judgmentally observing your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

The review include 47 reviews looking at the effects of meditation on 3515 patients. The review is important for anyone considering meditation as a treatment for anxiety.

The results showed that not all meditation types are the same. Mantra meditation programs did not have strong evidence that it improved anxiety levels and anxiety disorders. However, mindfulness meditation programs showed a significant improvement in anxiety, depression, and pain.

These effects can be achieved without spending too much time meditating – the review included studies where participants meditated for as little as 10 minutes a day while still seeing positive effects. Few studies recommended participants meditate fewer than four times a week, however, so it to get the most out of your meditation practice, aim to meditate as consistently as you can.

In conclusion, there is good evidence to support the use meditation for anxiety reduction, but the evidence certainly does not point to a panacea. While a useful tool, it seems that meditation can only be one part of a more complete stress-reduced lifestyle.

How To Meditate For Anxiety Reduction

To start with mindfulness meditation, just follow these steps:

Find a quiet spot, empty of distractions.
Set a timer for the duration you want to meditate. Start with 10 minutes a day and move up from there.
Sit on a chair or on the floor, whichever is more comfortable.
Close your eyes and focus on your breath, on where it feels the strongest. When thoughts enter your mind, don’t reject them. Simply acknowledge them and gently return your attention to your breath.

It sounds simple, but you may find that it is challenging to simply observe breath. The more you pay attention to your breath, the more you may start to want to control it. You may find that simply breathing naturally while observing it neutrally takes practice.

For many, meditating in silence may be too difficult. If that includes you, your practice can be improved by incorporating a guided meditation to carry you through those 10 minutes. These include phone apps, such as Headspace and Breathe, which will not only offer some guidance, but also motivation to keep on going.

What’s great about Spire is that you can see exactly what is going on when meditate. You can observe your heartbeat decreasing, your breath stabilizing and smoothing out, and your focus sharpening. It’s an unprecedented and satisfying way to get feedback on your practice. What’s more, Spire will show your improved states of mind and body as you continue meditating day by day, giving you encouragement to keep on going.

Daily meditation might seem like an impractical use of time. However, in an age of endless distractions and heightened stress, incorporating practices to re-focus your mind is important. Think about the time you waste lost in thought, unfocused, and scatter-brained. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand how meditation yields impressive dividends for a relatively small investment in time. Carve out ten minutes today for your first meditation session. Your mind will thank you!

Using Progressive Relaxation Techniques to Help You Relax

23 May 2017

Using Progressive Relaxation Techniques

One of the biggest ways stress manifests itself is through tension in your body.

More than often, that tension stays with you long after the cause of your stress is gone. Even though your mind is ready to relax, you can feel still feel tension in your shoulders, your back, your joints, your muscles, and elsewhere in your body.

The relationship between mind and body is a two-way street. Tense muscles are not only a result of stress but also source of it.

If you need help releasing that tension and reaching a truly relaxed state, then you should start using progressive muscle relaxation techniques.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a physical activity that uses purposeful contractions to create release for different muscles in your body.

The History of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Therapy

The use of progressive muscle relaxation techniques started in the 1920’s with Dr. Edmund Jacobson. He developed it as a way for his patients to deal with their anxiety from physical traumas. Dr. Jacobson believed that relaxing the muscles would relax the mind too – a process known as biofeedback.

Recently, research has shown that progressive relaxation techniques are beneficial for those suffering from anxiety and depression.

It’s a simple method for relaxation but it does take practice. Additionally, as with all physical exercise, you’ll want to be cautious and make sure to do only what is comfortable for your body.

Ready to let go of the stress of the day? Use these progressive muscle techniques below.

Clenched Fist Exercise

This exercise will help you get in the right mindframe for practicing progressive relaxation techniques.

Start by clenching one of your fists as hard as you can. Feel the tightness of your fingers, the back of your hand, and your forearms. Keep your fist clenched for a count of 10.

Then, let your hand go limp. Notice the difference between the two. Repeat this exercise with the other fist.

Since this exercise focuses on a small muscle group, it’s a good jumping off point before moving to the whole body. Try it out a few more times before heading into the full-body experience.

Full-Body Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Find a comfortable spot to start your full-body progressive muscle relaxation.

Lying down would be best, but you can also sit if it feels better for you. If seated, make sure your spine is straight and shoulders are aligned. Close your eyes.

Take a few deep, relaxing breaths. If you need help bringing your breath to the present moment, listen to this short meditation guide:

You can decide whether to start at the bottom of your body (feet to head) or the top of your body (head to feet). For this guide, we’ll start at the bottom; just reverse the order if you’d like to start at the top.

Focus on your right foot and think about how it currently feels. Then, slowly tense up the muscles in your right foot until you’re squeezing them as hard as you can. Count to 10 before releasing. While you relax your right foot, notice how it feels. It helps to think to yourself that you’re letting go of the tension.

Repeat this process with your left foot.

Now, work your way up through the other muscles of your body in the following order. Make sure to alternate between your left and right side.

Tighten these muscles for 10 seconds before release.

Calves
Knees
Thighs
Hip
Lower back
Abdomen
Upper back
Chest

Once you get to your shoulders, focus on how your hands and arms in their current state. Now, start with your wrist – tense and release. Then do the same with your forearm, elbow, upper arm, and shoulder.

Finally, bring your attention to your head. Tighten and release the muscles in the following order.

Neck and throat
Face
Back of head
Top of head.

The very last muscle you’ll relax will be your eyes. Squeeze the muscles around your eyes for 10 seconds, then release.

Make sure your breath is calm and steady throughout the exercise.

After the last muscle, give your body a moment to stay in this feeling before getting up or moving.

Follow along with an audio guide while you try progressive relaxation with this video below.

Progressive Relaxation Mini-Exercise

A mini-exercise of the progressive relaxation technique is great for when you have a limited amount of time.

What you’ll need to do is combine smaller muscle groups into larger groups when you tighten and release. Here are four large muscle groups to consider:

Legs and feet
Abdomen and chest
Arms and hands
Shoulders, neck, and face

You might find it easier to target these grouped muscles after a few practices of the full-body muscle relaxation. But once you feel confident in your practice, you’ll find quicker relief even if you have only have 15 minutes.

Using “Release Only”

As you become familiar with your body’s response to stress and the tension that forms in your muscles, you may be able to use the “release only” method of progressive muscle relaxation therapy.

It’s as simple as it sounds which is great for instant stress relief. Whenever you feel particular muscles in your body tightening up, simply focus your energy on releasing the tension.

If you have 30 seconds to spare, you can use this guided meditation help:

Progressive Relaxation Techniques and Mindfulness

When you bring focus to your body during stressful times, you’re practicing mindfulness of the body.

In fact, many progressive relaxation guides suggest pairing meditation or mindful breathing with the exercise to further deepen the state of relaxation.

Mindfulness helps you live in the present moment and works with your mind. So, combining mindfulness techniques with progressive relaxation techniques can be a powerful way to truly discover calm and peace in your life.

For the times that you’re too buried in your stressful environment, Spire can help too. Spire will send a gentle reminder to your phone to listen to your body and breath, and to start using these tools to help you manage all of life’s stresses.

How to Stay Calm at Work

18 May 2017

Looming deadlines.

Conflicts with colleagues.
Late nights worrying about that next promotion.

Whether we love or loathe our jobs, these experiences are common among working people.

According to a 1999 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) publication titled Stress…At Work, 40% of workers reported their jobs to be very or extremely stressful and 25% of workers viewed their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. These numbers demonstrate that staying calm at work is becoming a huge challenge. Read more

5 Breathing Exercises for Sleep

16 May 2017

5 Breathing Exercises for Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep can be a tough task. In fact, a Gallup study found that 40% of Americans get fewer than the recommended 7 hours of sleep.

Sleep deprivation can lead to numerous physical health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, and more. Additionally, a lack of sleep has detrimental effects on mood, leading you to be more irritable, less productive, and unfocused. Read more

What is Oxidative Stress?

12 May 2017

Antioxidants…

Inflammation…

Metabolism…

Free radicals…

If you’re interested in health, these terms have at least entered your periphery. They are hard to avoid – during the last few decades, these terms have gained a lot of steam. These terms are popping up in every conceivable space in the health world – from listicles to food labels to instructions coming from your dietitian’s mouth. Read more

Practicing Mindfulness with Thich Nhat Hanh’s Meditations

11 May 2017

If you find yourself lost in past thoughts or thinking ahead to the unforeseeable future, then mindfulness is for you.

Mindfulness is the simple practice of bringing your whole focus to the present moment.

There are many ways to bring mindfulness meditation into your life. One of the best is to follow the guidance of a revered mindfulness leader like Thich Nhat Hanh. Read more

Mindfulness for Kids and Teens

8 May 2017

Adolescence was a tough time for many of us. When we weren’t dealing with weird bodily changes, we had to manage the stress of school, friendships, and self-discovery.

With the modern digital landscape, kids and teens today face even more challenges. Social media, information overload, and new methods of validation all contribute to the stress load. Read more

Meditation Techniques for Anxiety

25 Apr 2017

Most of us experience anxiety from time to time whether it’s tension at work, unease in finances, or difficulties in relationships. It’s normal to feel anxiety and yes, even fear, in uncertain situations.

What’s important is to deal with that anxiety in a healthy way. Read more