The Gift of 4-7-8 Breathing

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! 🎄

ICYMI 👉

• Your Holiday Survival Guide, Part 1: Protecting Your Physical Health

• Your Holiday Survival Guide, Part 2: Protecting Your Mental Health

• How to Care For Your Body with Kindness & Respect

---

To me, the best part of Christmas Day is the nap—the near-catatonic state that follows a frenzied morning of gifts and new gizmos. I learned how to “power nap” during my residency training. Even a brief moment of being horizontal was a lifesaver. If I slept, even better.

The concept is simple: power-down and reboot. However, the execution of rest can be exceedingly difficult.

My advice? Skip the Ambien, Xanax or Clonazepam—and instead try the 4-7-8 breathing technique.

Here’s how to do 4-7-8 breathing:

• Breathe in through your nose, filling your entire chest, for 4 seconds.

• Hold your breath for 7 seconds.

• Exhale through your mouth, pressing air audibly through pursed lips, for 8 seconds.

Practice this regularly, especially at bedtime. I dare you not to feel more relaxed!

This simple trick is based on the yoga practice of pranayama and was discovered by Dr. Andrew Weil who describes the 4-7-8 method as "a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system."

How so? It disarms the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” axis) and activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the calm apparatus).

Today I plan to breathe and rest. I hope you’re able to, too.

Merry Christmas to all. 🎄❤️

Xo, Lucy