How to Control Stress in Real-Time | Huberman Lab Quantal Clip
00:00:00.000 | [upbeat music]
00:00:02.580 | An ability to control your levels of stress in real time
00:00:12.620 | is extremely powerful.
00:00:14.700 | It turns out you can do this
00:00:16.140 | using physiology and neuroscience.
00:00:19.140 | Your breathing can directly impact your heart rate
00:00:22.100 | and your level of stress or calm.
00:00:24.500 | Here's how it works.
00:00:26.100 | When you inhale, your diaphragm moves down.
00:00:30.140 | This creates more space in your thoracic cavity
00:00:32.780 | and your heart actually gets a little bit bigger.
00:00:35.660 | As a consequence, the rate of blood flow
00:00:37.700 | through that larger heart volume slows down.
00:00:41.500 | A signal is sent from a group of neurons on your heart
00:00:44.140 | called the sinoatrial node.
00:00:46.180 | That signal goes up to the brain
00:00:47.980 | and your brain sends a signal to speed the heart up.
00:00:51.300 | In other words, inhaling speeds your heart rate up.
00:00:55.500 | The opposite is true as well.
00:00:57.260 | When you exhale, your diaphragm moves up.
00:01:00.460 | Your heart gets a little bit smaller
00:01:02.020 | because there's a little bit less space
00:01:03.660 | in your thoracic cavity.
00:01:05.340 | As a consequence, blood flows more quickly
00:01:07.800 | through that smaller volume.
00:01:09.420 | The sinoatrial node registers that
00:01:11.700 | and sends a signal to your brain
00:01:13.920 | and the brain sends a signal to slow the heart down.
00:01:17.380 | So in other words, inhaling speeds your heart rate up,
00:01:20.460 | exhaling slows your heart rate down.
00:01:22.780 | So if you want to speed up your heart rate
00:01:24.500 | and be more alert, inhale more
00:01:27.500 | or make those inhales more vigorous, more intense.
00:01:31.500 | If you want to calm down, you can do that quickly
00:01:34.480 | by making your exhales slightly longer than your inhales
00:01:37.880 | or making them more vigorous.
00:01:39.900 | This doesn't require any breath work.
00:01:41.460 | This is something that you can do in real time.
00:01:44.160 | And that's what's called respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
00:01:47.620 | That's the technical phrase.
00:01:49.060 | It's also the basis of what's called
00:01:50.700 | heart rate variability or HRV.
00:01:53.320 | But all you need to remember is inhaling deeper and longer
00:01:56.860 | will speed your heart rate up.
00:01:58.460 | Exhaling longer and more intensely
00:02:00.920 | will slow your heart rate down
00:02:02.240 | and will allow you to calm down in real time.
00:02:04.780 | (silence)
00:02:06.940 | (silence)
00:02:09.100 | [ Silence ]