Sighing is healthy

I let out a deep sigh. My colleague across from me (the one I share my wardrobe with, yes) looks at me in surprise and asks what's going on. ‘Just enjoying a nice sigh,’ I whisper through my typing. And what turns out? It's not weird at all. There are people who do it continuously and people who do it sporadically when they just don't feel like doing the laundry. Are you a sigher? Then consider yourself lucky, because you are anything but a drama queen. On the contrary; you are actually very healthy.

 
But sighing not only keeps you physically well, it also keeps you mentally balanced. And if that one annoying colleague gets irritated with you again because you let out a sigh, just hold up a mirror to him or her. We all sigh an average of ten times an hour. Belgian scientists have discovered that sighing keeps the breathing pattern flexible. A sigh allows our respiratory system to reset so that the body can better respond to changing oxygen needs. Think of it as a reset for your body. Sighing turns out to be vital. It is actually an important reflex that keeps our lungs healthy. Researchers from UCLA and Stanford University have found a spot in the brain that converts normal breaths into sighs when our lungs need it.

 
Besides the fact that sighing is good for the lungs, it is also an ideal means of communication. Sighing when you can't open a jar of pickles , when you are annoyed with your annoying little brother, or as frustration when that parking space is just too tight. An incredibly handy way to express your emotion or to grab someone's attention. Just enjoy a nice sigh. Preferably as deep as possible and with a long exhale.

 
But the most important reason we need to let out a sigh every now and then is that it just feels incredibly relieving. It almost feels like a liberation. A liberation from worries, stress, or because you just had to blow your nose hard. The old saying holds true for a reason: a sigh gives air (to a heart full of sorrow). Another case of: mom was right.