A sigh is the air we have left over for someone we lack

They say that a sigh is the air we have left over for that person we are missing.. It is a daily act that seems to allow us to relieve the pain of sorrow, like someone who lets the weights of the soul escape trying to find relief, a fleeting consolation when they hurt too much.

Now… are sighs really the physiological catharsis of our emotional problems? Only in part. People sigh when we feel stressed, frustrated or when sadness grips us with its ashen veil. That’s when Our subconscious, almost reflexively, seems to look for that reset button to oxygenate ourselves.to momentarily free ourselves from pain.

We could therefore assume that people carry out this biological act as a simple emotional release. However, this is not always the case, in fact, if the human being did not sigh, he would die. Because A sigh is a very specific type of breathing that we carry out throughout the day and involuntarily.

With every breath of air we let out sonorously, we restart the cycle of life. It is something as curious as it is beautiful that we want to share with you.

The involuntary sigh, the vital breath

There are voluntary sighs and involuntary sighs. The latter actually provide vital support for the health and maintenance of our lungs. The way this reflex works and is orchestrated in our body obeys a fascinating sequence of steps that are worth knowing.

According to work carried out at the “School of Medicine” at Stanford University (United States), our brain “chooses” what type of breathing we need at any given moment. However, Those who carry out this delicate task are two very specific types of neurons housed in the brain stem, and which scientists have familiarly called as “sigh buttons”.

This information is very curious: There are times when our alveoli collapse. When this occurs, our lungs’ ability to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide is severely compromised. Solution? This is when the “sigh buttons” come into action, giving the order to sigh in order to open those alveoli, thus allowing double the conventional volume of air to enter for a normal breath.

It is a survival mechanism that we carry out without realizing it about twelve times every hour.. Incredible and wonderful, there is no doubt.

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Emotional sighs: what we are missing

Karl Teigen is a famous scientist at the University of Psychology in Oslo, awarded precisely for his studies on the so-called “emotional sighs”. Throughout 2010 he carried out various investigations where he was able to demonstrate the following:

People are very receptive to other people’s sighs. We empathize almost instantly with someone who lets out a deep sigh. However, and here comes the most interesting part, this “connection” is so intense because we generally associate this act with emotional pain. Voluntary sighs They are interpreted by our brain as a release from frustration, disappointment, sorrow, defeat, for someone we are missing or for longing. Hence, almost instantly we ask that “What’s wrong with you, what are you thinking, what’s worrying you?”

People empathize much more with the pain of others than with moments of happiness.. It is an instinctive and subtle mechanism that has always served our species to survive as a social group. Because knowing how to read needs is vital to be able to provide support.

Sigh to reboot ourselves mentally and physically

We already know that sighs are vital to maintaining our life cycle in the lungs. An intimate and perfect connection between our brain and the respiratory system. Now, according to work carried out at the University of LeuvenIf throughout the day we looked for various moments to relax and simply sigh, we would notice great benefits.

This information is neither new nor strange. The science of slow, deep breathing undoubtedly threads many relaxation techniques, yoga and exercises related to Mindfulness. According to the authors of this work, it would be interesting if we put the following into practice:

Find a quiet place to rest mentally. Sit with your back straight. Bring your chest forward and rest your hands on your lap.Take a deep breath through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold it for four more seconds and then release a long, loud sigh that lasts 7 seconds.

This simple exercise, in addition to promoting relaxation, allows us to be more present, improve our cognitive abilities and turn off the annoying mental noise.

Thus, and as we can see, a sigh undoubtedly contains fascinating dimensions that define what we are, how we function, what we feel and even how we interact with the environments that surround us. Do not hesitate to sigh every day and every moment to restart the wonderful cycle of life and happiness.

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