Are you feeling stressed? A doctor has shared how you can calm yourself down in just 30 seconds.
Day in, day out, we've all got just cause to be stressed: maybe it's something at work getting you down, perhaps it's an argument with your partner, friend or family; social media has opened us up to 'doom-scrolling' and everyone gets panicked about money at one point or another.
Everyone responds to stress differently, too. For me, I like to listen to some movie scores, or watch a comfort movie. Other people like to go out a run and clear their head. However, there's an easy step we can all take to beat stress.
Dr. Karan Raj (@dr.karanr), who has more than 4.7 million followers on TikTok, often shares quick tips, bits of advice and fun facts on how to keep happy and healthy.
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In one of his recent videos, he focuses specifically on how our bodies react to stress - and how we can fight back.
He says: "If you want to quickly de-stress in 30 seconds, focus on this one thing.
"Every time you breathe in, your diaphragm moves down, making more space for your heart. It stretches and the heart becomes bigger, and the blood moves more slowly through it.
"So, immediately the brain sends signals to the heart to tell it to speed up.
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"If you think about it, if you're anxious or stressed you subconsciously focus on the breathing in or you hyperventilate, which speeds up the heart rate.
"When you breath out or exhale, your diaphragm moves up, gently squishing the heart and making it smaller, so the blood moves more quickly through it. As a reflex, the brain sends signals to the heart to slow it down.
"When you're stressed, focus on the breathing out bit - long, slow exhales. This slows down the heart rate."
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The video has amassed more than 200,000 views and hundreds of comments, with one user writing: "I needed this. When my kids are stressed we do in for four, out for as long as you like to calm down."
Another commented: "Never rated controlled breathing until I done it properly definitely a game changer."
A third wrote: "Thank you so much, people like you make TikTok a more educational place something we really need."
A fourth wrote: "I've been on the verge of a panic attack when this popped up. Thank you so much."
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Cameron Frew