USE YOUR BREATHING TO CONTROL YOUR HEART RATE I’ve taught a lot on the Huberman Lab podcast about the physiological sigh, which is a natural pattern of breathing you can do intentionally as well, whereby you inhale deeply through your nose until your lungs are full and then quickly inhale again through your nose to maximally fill your lungs, and then exhale through your mouth until your lungs are completely empty. This quickly shifts your autonomic nervous system toward a more parasympathetic mode (more relaxed mental and physical state). You can also use your breathing to become more alert by emphasizing the vigor and duration of your inhales. So when you hear about "breathwork" or different respiration tools to achieve specific states of mind and/or body, think about these basic mechanics involving the diaphragm, your heart rate, and your nervous system. For you aficionados: yes, inhales adjust (down) the activation of the vagus nerve to thereby increase heart rate (more so than by sending a "speed-up" signal), but that’s an oversimplification, too. I’ll get into some more nuanced aspects of the relationship between breathing and heart rate, but here, you have the tools you can apply in everyday life, regardless of your background. Thank you, @sciepro, for this incredible animation. Everyone: I highly recommend giving SciePro a follow as they have a ton of valuable tutorials on human physiology and anatomy. And if you like this description of tools and science, let us know in the comments. SciePro are wizards who can animate any number of different topics and tools. Please put your questions in the comments section below this post, and as always, thank you for your interest in science! #breathing #science #heart #neuroscience #hubermanlab #andrewhuberman #scienceeducation #vagusnerve #breathwork