5 breathwork tools for deep rest & better sleep 5 breathwork tools for deep rest & better sleep
Centr Team
01 Jan 2025
You’ve had a stressful day, your mind is racing and your nervous system is setting off flares all over the place… There's no way you're going to sleep well tonight.
There is a way to hit reset: breathwork.
What is breathwork? Quite simply, it’s the use of deep breathing exercises or techniques to control and relax your body and mind. It’s a great way to downregulate after an intense workout, and can have a couple of major benefits for your ability to switch off and sleep, too:
- It calms your parasympathetic nervous system to help you find calm and fall asleep.
- Studies have shown that breathwork can aid melatonin production, helping you fall asleep faster and achieve deep rest.
What is deep rest?
Deep rest involves reaching a state where stress is completely switched off and our body has a chance to recover at the cellular level. This is when your cells can repair the damage caused by stress, and rebuild to maintain crucial bodily functions.
As well as helping you get through a night without tossing and turning, deep rest is "critically important" to healthy aging and healing.
We’ve lined up 4 breathwork techniques to help you achieve deep rest, and wake up feeling energized.
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1. Nasal Breathing with Hold
This breathing exercise is as simple as it sounds – but can be a really powerful tool to downregulate after training or a big day, and let yourself unwind.
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2. Coherence Breathing
Learn to slow and control your breathing in order to activate your parasympathetic nervous system and prepare for sleep.
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3. Four-seven-eight Breathing
Need help winding down? Use this rhythmic 4-7-8 breathing technique: breathe in, hold that breath, then exhale to enter a deep state of relaxation. Maricris will guide you through it.
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4. SOS Breathing
This five-finger breathing exercise uses breath and touch to instantly break the circuit of racing thoughts and shallow breath. Before bed, it can help to calm your mind and make space for rest.
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5. Cyclic Sighing
When stress or anxiety is rising, follow Maricris's lead through a combination of deep breaths and soft sighs to calm your nervous system and restore focus.
