文章大意:本文是一篇说明文。这篇文章主要讲述了一项最新的研究结果,将叹息的意义从传统的忧郁、沮丧的表达转变为缓解压力的方式。研究发现,通过缓慢呼气对自我平静和减轻压力效果更好。研究还发现,与冥想相比,各种呼吸方式更能提高积极情绪和改善焦虑,其中通过周期性叹息的方式效果最显著。
Sighs have long been seen as a sign of depression, frustration or even despair, leading us to ask the sighing person, “What’s wrong?” A recent study turns that belief on its head. Instead of seeing sighs as sadness or annoyance, recognize them for what they accomplish—stress relief, said Dr David Spiegel. “People think taking a deep breath is the way to ease stress,” he said. “But it turns out that exhaling(呼气)slowly is a better way to calm yourself.”
Spiegel and his team conducted a study, comparing three different types of deep breathing with mindfulness meditation(冥想). The goal was to see whether a breathing technique might be as effective as meditation in reducing stress. Researchers sorted 114 people into four groups and asked them to practice mindful meditation or one breathing exercise—box breathing, cyclic hyperventilation or cyclic sighing—for five minutes a day for 28 days. Box breathing requires a person to breathe in, hold, breathe out, and pause equally to the count of four. In cyclic hyperventilation, a person breathes in deeply and out quickly—the inhalations are much longer than the exhalations. In cyclic sighing, a person inhales through the nose until the lungs are halfway full, then pauses briefly. The lungs are then filled completely with another breath, and then the breath is slowly exhaled out of the mouth.
The team then assessed moods, anxiety levels and sleep behavior after each breathing or meditation session. Sleep was not affected, the study found. All forms of breathing and meditation increased positive mood and improved anxiety. However, breathing was more effective than meditation, with cyclic sighing making the most difference, the study found.
Deliberately taking a slow, deep breath, holding it, and then letting it out slowly activates the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for controlling how the body rests and digests, Spiegel said. Heart rate slows, blood pressure drops, digestion is improved and the mind begins to wind down and relax.
“We believe breathing is a pathway into mind-body control,” he added. “It’s part of the autonomic system like digestion and your heartbeat, but unlike those body functions, you can easily regulate breathing.”
8. What is the common belief concerning sighs?
A.They help reduce stress. | B.They bring bad luck. |
C.They represent calmness. | D.They reflect bad moods. |
9. What’s paragraph 2 mainly about?
A.The research procedures. |
B.Four breathing techniques. |
C.The differences between deep breathing and meditation. |
D.The effect of breathing techniques on stress reduction. |
10. What can be learned from the experiment?
A.Deep breathing increases anxiety levels. |
B.Meditation is useless at increasing positive moods. |
C.Cyclic sighing can improve anxiety most effectively. |
D.Mediation affects sleep more obviously than deep breathing. |
11. What does Spiegel intend to express in the last paragraph?
A.The automatic system of human body is hard to regulate. |
B.Breathing is as an important body function as heartbeat. |
C.Mind-body control is of great importance to mental health. |
D.Controlling breath is an easy way to benefit our health. |