According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), nearly 93% of older adults have at least one chronic medical condition. Dealing with health problems can already be challenging enough, and on top of that, many seniors experience mental health issues too.
When so many things add up, this can detract from your quality of life. And it can be disheartening, as you deserve to have the best golden years possible.
So as part of improving senior wellness, you should do deep breathing meditation to see a major difference in life. This article will go over the benefits that seniors in Kansas City, MO can get from this practice.
When you're stressed out, this triggers your body to have a fight-or-flight (sympathetic) response. But deep breathing can take you away from that and facilitate the "rest-and-digest" (parasympathetic) state instead.
This is because the deep, slow breathing increases vagal activity and reduces physiological arousal, which consists of:
As a result, you'll get stress relief. Even better is that if you do deep breathing meditation regularly, it can make daily stressors feel less overwhelming. In the short term, just 3-10 minutes of paced breathing can immediately reduce feelings of tension and anxiety.
When you're doing mindful breathing, it can sharpen your attention and boost your short-term cognitive performance. In fact, it's likely that you'll be better at learning and retaining new tasks!
This is thanks to the following mechanisms:
You can also pair these breathing exercises with other wellness activities to stay fit, such as chair yoga and tai chi. Or you can do them before a cognitively demanding task to improve your performance. The short reset can reduce mental clutter and increase clarity.
Do you struggle to fall or stay asleep? Well, you're not alone. According to WebMD, almost half of seniors say they have at least one sleep problem. While it's true that our sleep patterns change as we get older, we still need adequate sleep to stay refreshed and recharged.
Luckily, deep breathing meditation can help with that. It can calm the body and mind, which then makes it easier to fall asleep. In addition, it improves your sleep quality.
For better results, consider combining slow breathing with a body scan or guided relaxation. The resulting slower respiration can:
While deep breathing meditation mainly involves your respiratory system, it has measurable cardiovascular benefits too. Some exercises can reduce systolic blood pressure, and they can even improve vascular function.
Plus, it can lower your heart rate, as well as reduce your cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Ultimately, this means a lower burden on your heart and blood vessels. So if you have hypertension, you should discuss adding a breathing program to your plan with your doctor.
Our lung capacity naturally decreases with age, so it's natural for breathing to become a little harder in our older age. But there are ways to improve your breathing efficiency and lung function, such as through deep breathing exercises.
This is because deep diaphragmatic breathing does the following:
This means that older adults who have mild mobility limits can exercise their respiratory muscles and improve ventilation without overexerting themselves. Just make sure that if you have a diagnosed lung disease or use supplemental oxygen, you first check with a respiratory clinician for the best techniques and pacing.
One of the best benefits of slow, resonant breathing is that it increases your heart-rate variability (HRV). This may not sound like much, but it's a marker of flexible autonomic regulation and, more importantly, resilience to stress.
Higher HRV is associated with:
What's promising is that there's already a noticeable reduction in anxiety and anger after a few sessions of deep, slow breathing. So even if you start slow, you'll see results fast.
Now, you may be wondering what relaxation techniques are available in this space. Here are a few easy and safe breathing exercises you can start with.
This is a foundation exercise that everyone should know. It's also known as belly breathing and can train your diaphragm while improving lung expansion and relaxation.
You'll place one hand on your belly and one on your chest. While inhaling slowly through your nose for 4 seconds, you should feel your belly rise under that hand, and your chest-hand should move less.
Then, exhale slowly through your nose or slightly parted lips for 6 seconds while feeling your belly fall. Repeat this 6-10 times for about 1-3 minutes.
Here, you're aiming for even breathing to maximize HRV and to get the calming vagal effect.
Basically, each inhale and exhale will be 5-6 seconds each, so one full breath is 10-12 seconds. You should practice for 5-10 minutes, once or twice a day.
If you find yourself getting dizzy (over-breathing symptom), start with shorter sessions first.
Deep breathing meditation requires no money or equipment to do, and as you can see, it has several benefits for older adults. For example, it can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as improve sleep quality and cognitive processing.
In addition, the exercises are easy to learn, and you can do them in the privacy and comfort of your own home. So take control of your life and well-being. By incorporating a few techniques into your daily routine, you can see a significant difference in overall health.
Would you like to learn more about independent senior living in Kansas City, MO? Then get in touch with us now. Garden Village has a Gordon Ramsay-trained chef on staff who prepares fresh meals daily.