This is the first part of a multi-part series that will cover different regulation techniques for stress and anxiety. These will be short posts that will give you ideas for building up the tools inside your anxiety toolkit.
The first time I hummed trying to calm myself down (“ohhmmmmmmmm”), I felt like a real goofball.
I had been busy all morning working from home, hopping from meeting to meeting, and I was supposed to meet a buddy for lunch.
I was running a little late, racing to get to First Watch on time, and I noticed while I was driving just how anxious I was.
I felt like I couldn’t take a full breath.
My chest was tight.
I remember thinking, “I could just turn around and tell him I was too busy with work and reschedule.”
Right then I thought to myself, “Andy, you write about this stuff constantly. Use your tools.”
So here I am, driving down the highway in traffic humming out loud.
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Ohhhhhmmmmmmmm. Ohhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I did this for about five minutes straight, focusing on my breath to ensure full and deep hums.
No music or any other sound playing in my car.
When I arrived, I took inventory of how I was feeling.
The tightness in my chest had been drastically reduced.
I was able to take a full, deep breath.
I felt less anxious overall, more grounded, and ready to connect with my friend.
Why Humming?
While I was driving trying to figure out how to relax myself, I thought back to some research I'd recently done on nervous system regulation.
I had read a bunch about the vagus nerve and how it was a core component of the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” piece of the nervous system).
Humming happens in the throat, where part of the vagus system lives. And vagal activity is what tells the body it’s safe to relax.
Small studies on humming-based breathing (Bhramari pranayama in yoga) have shown it raises heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of how well your nervous system bounces back from stress.1
One thing to keep in mind: The studies are small and mostly on healthy volunteers rather than people with anxiety disorders. So, nobody has fully sorted out whether it's the vibration from humming or the long, slow exhales that brings the benefits. It quite possibly could be both.
It’s a promising signal that humming works, but it’s not been completely proven yet scientifically.
So, the next time you’re feeling stressed out or anxious, play around with slowing your breath down and humming.
(Here is a good video if you’d like to practice yourself)
If that works for you, you’ve just added another tool to your anxiety toolkit.
What are your favorite tools for managing moments of anxiety? Let me know in the comments.