It seems that the breathing exercise is no longer exclusive to yoga devotees, spiritual seekers and “health nuts”. In fact, everywhere lately there are new findings about the beneficial effects of certain types of breathing. Now it seems that our breathing may even be one of the keys to a longer life.
A recent study by the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA, and the University of California, San Francisco, reveals that breathing exercise, along with other lifestyle changes, can increase levels of a substance called telomerase.
Telomerase is a critical enzyme involved in the repair and rebuilding of telomeres, packages of DNA at the end of chromosomes that control how our cells age. As a telomere shortens, its structure breaks down, and the cell ages and dies. In a sense, telomerase acts like the legendary fountain of youth, helping to lengthen telomeres, keeping cells healthy and vibrant.
Telomere shortening is recognized as a risk factor for disease and premature death from many types of cancer. In the study, 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer made lifestyle changes that included diet, nutritional supplements, exercise, stress management with relaxation techniques, and breathing exercises. After three months, the participants showed an average increase of 29 percent in telomerase levels.
Of course, breathing exercises were only one aspect of a significant lifestyle change for this research and there is no way to judge their effect alone. However, there are many other cases in which the benefits of breathing exercise, or more specifically, slow breathing, were Measured alone and the findings taken together have a broad impact on overall health and longevity. These findings have to do with stress levels and blood pressure.
Stress was once considered a primarily psychological state with only fleeting physical symptoms, such as sweating or palpitations. But it is now well known that chronic stress can have devastating health consequences. Just one of the many hormones produced by the body under stress is cortisol. Cortisol is beneficial at normal levels, but high levels caused by stress contribute to brittle bones, decreased muscle mass, high blood pressure, and eventual heart disease, among other things.
Stress also affects telomeres. In fact, it’s one of the key culprits that shortens them. Dr. Oz, Oprah’s resident physician, demonstrated how stress damages telomeres and shortens life on a show in July 2008. With his usual enthusiasm, he explained: If you want to live longer, you better check up! your stress!
So how do you control stress? Of course, there are many ways to do this, but one of the oldest, and now scientifically proven, ways is through breathing. A racing heart and increased blood pressure along with hyperventilation is the classic physical response to stress and they are all connected. Slow down and calm your breathing and the heart will follow. This connection between the respiratory and circulatory systems has been known since ancient times.
A second significant way that breathing affects our health and life expectancy is through its effect on our blood pressure. Using a method called slow breathing for 15 minutes a day has been shown to reduce high blood pressure in at least a dozen rigorous clinical trials. Many thousands of people have demonstrated the same thing through the real life practice of slow breathing. The method is undoubtedly one of the most effective and completely safe natural ways to reduce blood pressure.
Maintaining a healthy blood pressure not only improves health and lengthens life in the most obvious way: by preventing death from heart attack or stroke. It also greatly improves quality of life by keeping arteries healthy and flexible. The high pressure on the walls of our blood vessels creates resistance, making them harder and thicker. Thick, stiff blood vessels restrict blood flow, further increasing blood pressure. This leads to a condition called ischemia, the lack of blood supply. The end result is that the organs, indeed the entire body, age and die more quickly.
Slow breathing (it’s a disservice to call it exercise, since it’s actually quite enjoyable) is just one of many lifestyle and other natural methods for managing stress and lowering blood pressure, thus improving and extending life. But it surely has proven to be one of the most important factors, especially when it comes to blood pressure control. It’s not called the “breath of life” for nothing.