WHY IS SIGHING GOOD FOR YOU?
The deep inhalation and longer-than-usual exhalation during a sigh increase the surface area of the lungs, and improve gas exchange to remove excess carbon dioxide more efficiently from the body, said Chow.
“Hence, sighing plays an important role in preventing the collapse of the alveoli (tiny, balloon-shaped air sacs in the lungs), and restores our lung compliance (lungs’ ability to expand). It also helps to restore oxygen and carbon dioxide levels when they become too low or high,” she said.
And as it turns out, you may be sighing more than you think. “The average person involuntarily sighs once every five minutes, making that 12 sighs per hour while we are awake,” said Chow.
Furthermore, sighing activates the parasympathetic nervous system and “can lead to slower heart rate, blood pressure drops and improved digestion”, said Dr Yang.
The parasympathetic nervous system works like your body’s autopilot mode. It controls all the bodily functions you don’t have to consciously tell yourself to perform to stay alive. Like blinking, digesting, producing urine, sweating, making your heart beat a certain rate, and of course, breathing.
Your body apparently prefers to operate in this slow, deep breathing mode. “The brake works more healthfully than the accelerator here,” said Professor David Spiegel, the director of the Center On Stress And Health at Stanford University School of Medicine, in the article, contrasting sighing to the sharp, shallow breathing that preps us to fight or flee.
“You’re immediately soothing yourself in a rather rapid way.”
