Day 17: Breathing Techniques and Positive Thinking

When you have a hot flash, it’s not just physically uncomfortable. It can also be emotionally uncomfortable. It can make you feel anxious, scared and send your thoughts racing. If you’re not careful, those irrational thoughts can get away from you, making the experience even more distressing.

You’ve probably noticed that when your thoughts are racing, your body is racing. Think about it: your heart’s pounding a mile a minute. Your mind is looping, “Oh my God, I’m going to have a heart attack!” Right? We’ve all been there.

On the flip side, when you’re able to slow and control your thinking, you can feel your body relaxing. In the same way, when you’re able to slow your body’s reactions, your thinking is clearer and more rational. That’s that cool mind-body connection that can be your best friend. And it starts with breathing.

Controlling your breathing is the cornerstone to managing your anxiety and to help you get through your hot flash. In fact, paced breathing has been shown in research to reduce activation of the central sympathetic nervous system, which is where the hot flash is thought to originate from. The pace of your breathing helps to control your heart rate and blood pressure. And it also gives your brain something to focus on besides the hot flash.

Now you might be thinking, “I AM breathing.” And you’d be right. Even rapid, shallow breathing is breathing. What we’re talking about here is that slow, controlled, deep breathing that stimulates your body’s natural relaxation response and also calms the mind.

So how do you do this breathing?

There’s particular type of controlled breathing recommended for hot flashes called paced breathing. Research has found that paced respiration at 6 to 8 breaths per minute can be effective when practiced 15 minutes twice per day and also at the beginning of a hot flash. You’ll be happy to know that practicing this has been shown to help reduce both the frequency and the intensity of hot flashes.

Mindfulness-based breathing is also effective in helping with hot flashes. This type of breathing helps to clear the mind. It’s harder to think of other things when you’re engaged in mindfulness breathing, which can be really helpful for those times you don’t want to dwell on your hot flashes or other worries.

So here’s an idea I’ll leave you with at the end of this lesson: Make it a daily goal to practice mindfulness and paced breathing at least once a day. Make sure you track this goal and complete your log on the app every day so you can measure the impact it has on your hot flashes over time. Under Quick Relief, you’ll find a Daily Mindfulness exercise you can do any time of the day, as well as a paced breathing exercise specifically for when you’re having a hot flash. Start making these exercises part of your daily routine, and see how it impacts your hot flashes over the next few weeks.