According to recent research, if you have mild gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), your breathing could play a role in your overall treatment plan. A small study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology showed that participants who learned breathing techniques to strengthen the diaphragm had less reflux over time than those who didn’t get the training. It’s exciting news, and if you stop to think about it, it’s easy to see the connection. Swallowing air is thought to contribute to reflux, and it can happen through a number of everyday habits, such as gulping your food or taking shallow, quick breaths. Training shows you how to breathe correctly so you are not creating pressure, says gastroenterologist Aline Charabaty, MD, director of the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. And, according to researchers, using these techniques will help strengthen the muscles that surround your lower esophageal sphincter, which controls the flow of stomach contents. More evidence showing that the right breathing can bring GERD relief comes from an Australian study that looked at people with obstructive sleep apnea. The interrupted breathing of sleep apnea can cause nighttime gastroesophageal reflux, and the use of a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine to regulate apnea also seems to ease reflux symptoms because of the positive effect it has on the LES. Learning how to breathe more mindfully and correctly might help reduce stress and anxiety as well as provide relief from GERD. Since stress is a major trigger for bad breathing habits (and a multitude of other health problems), focused breathing can help you break the cycle.
Deep Breathing to Help Heartburn
You don’t need a prescription to try better breathing techniques. Try these ideas to get focused on breathing for heartburn relief:
Breathe more slowly and deeply. When you’re stressed, your breathing becomes shallower. Become more aware of your breathing throughout the day so that you can slow it down when you’re feeling more anxious.Try yoga or meditation classes. Both these disciplines emphasize slow and deep breathing by enhancing your awareness of your breath and your body. You might not always be able to use the exact techniques (some yoga breathing exercises may not be appropriate in the workplace, for example), but you’ll learn tools to strengthen your breathing in general.Learn diaphragmatic breathing. Here’s how to do this healthy deep breathing: Start by sitting up comfortably and breathing normally. Place one hand over your chest and the other over your belly. Breathe deep with your diaphragm so that the hand on your belly moves but the hand on your chest does not. Picture air entering low toward your belly rather than high in your chest.Eat and drink more slowly. This will cut down on the air that finds its way into your stomach instead of your lungs.Don’t smoke. Smoking cigarettes is linked with reflux and makes it hard for you to breathe fully and correctly.
Heartburn relief could be as easy as sitting up straight and learning to breathe a bit more deeply and slowly — an approach that has no side effects. And best of all, you can give it a try right now.
