Take Hold of Your Nervous System with Intentional Breathing

Everyday stress affects many people worldwide, and research indicates they may both be increasing.¹ While stress definitely can impact your mental and emotional health, it can affect your physical health too—and it’s actually a root cause of hair thinning.

Breathing is one of those things that is effortless—until you start thinking about it. Believe it or not, the average person takes about 22,000 breaths each day.² That gives you a lot of opportunity to practice intentional breathing, which has a host of benefits for your mind and body.

Intentional breathing (sometimes called “breathwork”) practices have emerged as effective, accessible tools to improve overall well being, because they can rapidly bring your mind to the present moment, helping reduce stress.³

When you practice slow breathing, it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which sends your body into a “rest and digest” zone.⁴ Deep breathing also helps bring more oxygen to your brain, which can slow your heart rate and stabilize your blood pressure, leading to reduced stress, better focus, and an energy boost.⁵

You don’t need anything to practice intentional breathing, but having an app can help give you some guidance if you’re just getting started. Because we believe in the power of intentional breathing, we’ve partnered with Headspace to provide Nutrafol customers with complimentary access to their full library of meditations and breathwork.

If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you may have already practiced a form of intentional breathing called “pranayama.” Some versions of this practice include single-nostril breathing and deep belly breathing. But even if you’ve never tried yoga, there are many forms of intentional breathing practices—and the good news is, you can try them from almost anywhere. Here are two versions to get you started.