When we are sad or stressed, it is easy to let out a deep sigh almost automatically, which draws a lot of attention to those around us, who immediately understand that something ‘bad’ is happening to us. And it is not because there is a lack of oxygen, nor is it a reflex from the lungs, but rather it has an origin that could be in the amygdala of our brain.
What do we know? Recently, the neuroscientist and popularizer Nazareth Castellanos pointed out to amygdala hypertrophy as one of the causes of these stress-related sighs. And here the bibliography agrees when it comes to saying that our brain ‘gets fat’ due to stress and forces us to sigh, although with some nuances.
The amygdala It is nothing more than a small almond-shaped structure that acts as a large threat radar in our brain, and is responsible, for example, that we are afraid. Under normal conditions, its activity is perfectly regulated, but in the face of chronic stress and constant anxiety, its function and structure are altered, causing any slightest thing to cause anxiety.
And although the term “tonsil hypertrophy” is a great informative formulation To understand what is happening, science allows us to talk about an increase in activity and its volume, as was seen in different imaging studies which pointed out that an increase in volume in the first years of life is directly linked to a greater intensity of symptoms.
The sigh. But… What does the increase in the amygdala have to do with breathing if they are elements that are very far away? To understand it, we must keep in mind that when the amygdala increases its functions enough, it has a function of “hijacking” the emotional responseand one of its first hostages is the respiratory system.
Because? According to researchers and popularizers, in a state of anxiety the amygdala causes an abnormal prolongation of the pause we make just after exhaling the air. It is a kind of “induced apnea” or temporary respiratory block. And to compensate for this imbalance and that pause that exists after expelling the air, the body rebalances and It physically translates into a long, deep sigh.
In this way, it is not that we are short of breath when we are stressed, but rather it is the overactive amygdala directly influencing respiratory patterns related to mood. And this is something that is not literally found in a neurology manual, but it does have an important scientific basis to point out that hyperactivation of the amygdala alters our breathing.
Images | freepik
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