Feel Better In 5
Diabetic Living Australia|July-August 2021
Big changes start with simple steps. Try these ideas to help improve your wellbeing
Karen Fittall
Feel Better In 5

1 JUST… BREATHE

It might sound like a dismissive piece of advice when you’re feeling stressed out but it really does work – provided you breathe in a particular way. Meet ‘diaphragmatic breathing’. That’s the type where you breathe so that it’s your stomach rather than your chest that’s doing the hard work for you. When researchers put the theory to the test they found that diaphragmatic breathing not only lowered perceived stress levels, it zapped actual levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, too.

To make it work, place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage – this will allow you to feel if your diaphragm is moving as you breathe. Next, breathe in as slowly as you can through your nose so that your stomach moves out against your hand, making sure your chest stays as still as possible. Then, to breathe out, tighten your stomach muscles, keep your chest still and exhale through your mouth – again, as slowly as you can. Try doing it for five or 10 minutes whenever you need to relax.

2 IMMUNITY ON YOUR MIND?

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