{"id":357019,"date":"2025-08-19T14:34:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/357019\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:34:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:34:14","slug":"dr-daniel-amen-shares-easy-breathing-trick-to-fight-stress-and-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/357019\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Daniel Amen shares easy breathing trick to fight stress and anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Anxiety can creep up at any time, in any place.<\/p>\n

But one small practice can help calm the body and mind<\/a>, according to experts.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Daniel Amen \u2014 psychiatrist, brain imaging specialist and founder of Amen Clinics in California \u2014 recommended a simple way to reduce anxiety<\/a> in a society that is “chronically stressed.”<\/p>\n

MAKING THESE 11 LIFESTYLE CHANGES COULD WARD OFF ALZHEIMER’S, EXPERT SAYS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“These high levels of cortisol [from stress] really damage your brain and put fat on your belly,” he warned. “So having a stress management program is absolutely critical.”<\/p>\n

The easiest approach to reducing anxiety, according to Amen, is diaphragmatic breathing, a deep-breathing<\/a> technique that fills the belly with air and contracts the diaphragm. (See the video at the top of the article.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"woman <\/p>\n

Having a program for stress management is “absolutely critical” in today’s world, Amen said. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Below is a breakdown of the breathing pattern.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Inhale a big breath for four seconds.<\/li>\n
  2. Hold it for a second and a half.<\/li>\n
  3. Breathe out for eight seconds.<\/li>\n
  4. Hold your breath out for another second and a half.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    By taking twice as long to breathe out, it triggers an “automatic relaxation response,” Amen noted.<\/p>\n

    “It increases something called parasympathetic tone, which is telling your body the opposite of fight or flight \u2026 \u2018Things are OK, we’re safe. Let’s calm down,\u2019” he said.<\/p>\n

    \"woman <\/p>\n

    Taking twice as long to breathe out than in triggers a relaxation response in the body. (iStock)<\/p>\n

    In addition to calming the mind<\/a>, heart rate variability improves significantly with this breathing technique, slowing the heart rate and improving cardiovascular health, according to Amen.<\/p>\n

    “All told, it’s about 15 seconds, and if you just do that four to six times, you’ll notice that your whole body begins to relax and feel calm,” he said.<\/p>\n

    CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    Many people who experience anxiety episodes like panic attacks tend to leave the situation, whether it happens at the grocery store or at a party, Amen noted.<\/p>\n

    But the expert said that when experiencing a panic attack, it’s best to “never leave” \u2014<\/strong> otherwise, the anxiety will begin to control you.<\/p>\n

    \"man <\/p>\n

    When experiencing a panic attack, it’s best to “never leave” \u2014<\/strong> otherwise, the anxiety will begin to control you, an expert said. (iStock)<\/p>\n

    Instead, he recommends staying, breathing deeply and “killing the ANTs,” also known as the “automatic negative thoughts” that come to mind.<\/p>\n

    For more Health articles, visit\u00a0foxnews.com\/health.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    “There\u2019s nowhere in school where people teach us not to believe every stupid thing we think,” he added.<\/p>\n

    “Whenever you’re sad, mad, nervous or out of control, just write down what you’re thinking and ask yourself, \u2018Is that really true?\u2019”<\/p>\n

    Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Anxiety can creep up at any time, in any place.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[105,624,388,218,125766,37390,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-357019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthy-living","10":"tag-lifestyle","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mind-and-body","13":"tag-stress-and-anxiety","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115055930670378563","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}