國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L215: 修煉呼吸法，五分鐘迅速消解壓力 Five Minutes of Breathwork Can Slash Your Stress

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國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L215: Five Minutes of Breathwork Can Slash Your Stress
Highlights 主題摘要

• Scientists say just five minutes of daily breathwork can deliver immediate stress relief and measurable long-term health benefits.
• Slow, deep nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, directly countering the body's stress response.
• Evidence-backed techniques like cyclic sighing and box breathing can cut anxiety and sharpen focus within minutes.

Breathing is the first and last thing we do in life, yet most of us rarely give it a second thought. A fast-growing body of research now suggests that paying closer attention to how we breathe — even for a few minutes — can deliver measurable stress relief and long-term health benefits. Rooted in traditions ranging from Indian pranayama to Chinese qigong, breathwork is enjoying a modern renaissance as scientists begin mapping the mechanisms behind its effects. "I like to describe it as an ancient practice resurging as the new mindfulness hack," says Abbie Little, a researcher at Griffith University in Australia.
呼吸是生命中最初也是最後一件事，但多數人從不多想。如今，越來越多研究指出，只需稍加留意呼吸方式，每天幾分鐘就能明顯紓壓，長期下來也有益健康。從印度調息法到中國氣功，這門古老智慧正在現代重新獲得科學驗證。澳洲格里菲斯大學研究員艾比．利特爾（Abbie Little）形容：「呼吸練習是一種在現代復興的古老技法，堪稱新時代的正念捷徑。」
Chronic stress drives many age-related disorders, as well as anxiety and depression. Elevated stress hormones like cortisol can worsen prognosis in people battling cancer, and research shows abnormal diurnal cortisol patterns can even predict survival time. Stanford psychiatrist David Spiegel notes that many people habitually hyperventilate — taking more than 15 breaths per minute — and breathe through their mouths, both of which compound the body's stress load over time.
慢性壓力是許多老化相關疾病的主要成因，也與焦慮、憂鬱等心理健康問題密切相關。皮質醇等壓力荷爾蒙濃度過高，會使癌症患者的預後惡化。史丹佛大學精神科教授大衛．斯皮格爾的研究發現，異常的皮質醇日夜分泌模式甚至可以預測患者的存活時間。他也觀察到，很多人在日常生活中不知不覺地呼吸過快，每分鐘超過十五次，再加上習慣用嘴呼吸，長期下來都會加重身體的壓力負擔。
The science centres on the autonomic nervous system, which governs unconscious functions from heart rate to digestion. Shallow, rapid mouth breathing activates the sympathetic fight-or-flight response, while slow, deep nasal breathing engages the parasympathetic system, calming the body and lowering stress hormones. Guy Fincham of Brighton and Sussex Medical School adds that slowing to fewer than ten breath cycles per minute — coherent breathing — synchronises breathing with the heart's natural rhythms, boosting heart rate variability, a key marker of resilience.
呼吸練習的科學基礎在於自律神經系統，負責調控心跳、消化等無意識的生理功能。淺而快的口式呼吸會啟動交感神經的「戰或逃」反應，讓身體持續緊繃；緩慢深沉的鼻腔腹式呼吸則能啟動副交感神經，使身體趨於平靜，壓力荷爾蒙隨之下降。英國布萊頓與薩塞克斯醫學院的呼吸研究室主任蓋．芬查姆（Guy Fincham）指出，將每分鐘呼吸次數放慢至十次以下的「諧和呼吸法」，可讓呼吸節律與心跳的自然韻律同步，提升心率變異性，這是衡量壓力調適能力的重要生理指標。
Among the best-evidenced techniques is cyclic sighing: two consecutive nasal inhales followed by a prolonged mouth exhale. A 2023 randomised controlled trial found that five minutes daily improved mood and anxiety over a month, outperforming mindfulness meditation. Spiegel explains that a slow exhale signals the heart to slow down, whereas inhaling alone increases its workload. Box breathing — equal four-second intervals of inhale, hold, exhale, and hold — sharpens focus under pressure, while the 4-7-8 method has shown clinical benefits for anxiety. Researchers agree: even three to five minutes of consistent practice is enough to produce measurable change.
目前實證最為充分的技巧之一是「循環嘆息法」：連續做兩次鼻腔吸氣，再緩緩從嘴巴將氣完全吐出。2023年一項隨機對照試驗顯示，每天練習五分鐘、持續一個月後，情緒與焦慮的改善幅度甚至超越正念冥想。斯皮格爾解釋，緩慢吐氣能向心臟發出「放慢節奏」的訊號，若只是單純深吸一口氣，反而會加重心臟負擔。另一種「箱式呼吸法」以四秒為一單位，依序吸氣、憋氣、吐氣、再憋氣，常被軍事人員用來在執行高壓任務前穩定心神、提升專注力；4-7-8呼吸法在臨床上也已證實能有效緩解焦慮。研究人員一致認為，養成習慣才是關鍵，每天三到五分鐘，就足以產生可測量的改變。
Keyword Drills 關鍵字

1. Diurnal cortisol [noun phrase, the natural daily cycle of cortisol production that rises in the morning and falls at night]: Abnormal diurnal cortisol levels can affect how long cancer patients survive.
2. Hyperventilate [verb, to breathe faster than necessary, reducing carbon dioxide levels and causing dizziness or anxiety]: Anxious people often hyperventilate without realising it.
3. Fight-or-flight [noun phrase, the body's automatic stress response that raises heart rate and prepares for action]: Shallow breathing can trigger a fight-or-flight response.
4. Coherent breathing [noun phrase, a technique of taking fewer than ten slow, rhythmic breaths per minute to calm the nervous system]: She practised coherent breathing before her presentation.
5. Outperform [verb, to achieve better results than something else in a direct comparison]: The new approach outperformed the standard method in every trial.

Reference article: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260513-how-5-minutes-of-breathwork-can-lower-your-stress