Dr Michael Mosley has shared a technique which can help people overcome a health problem which can cause people to eat almost 400 extra calories a day resulting in weight gain. The dieting guru behind his versions of the 5:2 and Fast 800 eating plans spoke about the benefits of breathing exercises on his Instagram account, and explained how they can help you to lose weight.
He explained how breathing exercises can have a great impact in terms of helping sleeping, as well as a host of other benefits. He said today: “Breathing exercises can be used to improve your physical, mental and emotional health.
“When it comes to breathing exercises there are many ancient cultural and religious practices, such as Pranayama, and modern techniques developed by doctors and other practitioners. While more complex practices exist, many easy, quick exercises can be worked into your daily wellness routine.”
READ MORE: The subtle changes to your hands and fingers that could be warning signs of a silent killer
“If you’re not sure how to get started, The Fast 800 programme has a library of guided meditations, along with lots of tips and articles.” Dr Mosley said sleep deprivation can be terrible for people putting on weight, Wales Online reports.
He explained: “Sleep deprivation has been associated with the consumption of an extra 385 calories on average each day. This is because the areas of the brain associated with reward become more active when deprived of sleep - motivating you to seek out unhealthy foods to give you quick energy.”
A simple breathing technique can help people get to sleep, Dr Mosley has previously explained - he suggests the 4-2-4 method where you breathe in counting to four, hold it for two and then breathe out again for four. “I recommend belly breathing. It’s a great way to calm things right down if you’re struggling to get to sleep.
“It works by tapping into a tiny cluster of cells deep in the brain – collectively called the locus coeruleus. Despite its tiny size, the locus coeruleus has a striking influence on our entire brain function. If sleep isn’t coming and your mind is racing, it’s the locus coeruleus that’s active – spraying a hormone called noradrenaline (the wake-up chemical) all around the brain.” He said that it was possible to use breathing to slow down the locus coeruleus.
For belly breathing, he said: ”Put one hand on your chest, and the other just below the rib cage. As you breathe in you should feel the hand on the belly rise, while the hand on your chest remains relatively still. It’s a great way to calm things right down if you’re struggling to get to sleep, or have woken up with your mind racing in the middle of the night.”
He said breathing can also help with stress - which when raised can lead to higher levels of hormone cortisol and can act to increase appetite and reduce the ability to make healthy food choices. He said: “Meditation has been shown to improve blood glucose and insulin sensitivity. Meditation could also decrease levels of cortisol improving blood sugar levels as a result.”
Responding to the post Dr Louise Olivert said: “Absolutely agree. Changing how you breathe changes your physiology. One thing that often gets missed is how you breathe whilst asleep matters. To sleep well breathing whilst asleep needs to be in and out of the nose, slow, quiet and using the diaphragm. If it isn’t like this an individual can re-train their breathing pattern consciously whilst awake.”
