Alex Fitzpatrick @alexjamesfitz
June 13, 2016
It may sound silly, but it could be very helpful
Apple has a message for you: Remember to breathe. Later this year, the
Cupertino, Calif. company is adding a new app to its Apple Watch that walks
users through short, deep-breathing programs. The app, appropriately, is called
Breathe.
Wait, what? Who needs an app to remind us to inhale oxygen? Isn t this as silly
as those apps that remind you to drink water when you re thirsty?
Not at all. Medical experts have long maintained that deep-breathing exercises
can provide a wide range of health benefits, from stress relief to
cardiovascular improvements. (During Apple s presentation, the company used a
quote from Deepak Chopra, who has had many of his health claims called into
question.)
I know this from experience. Early in my senior year of college, I experienced
my first real bout of anxiety. It struck suddenly so quickly that I thought I
was having a heart attack and refused to fade. Worst of all, there was no clear
cause. It was generalized anxiety, the sort of thing that probably afflicts
lots of students about to leave the soft, cushy bubble of campus life for the
first time.
For months, I would wake up every day, enjoy a few blissful moments of
normality, then my heart rate would skyrocket. I felt a bit like Bruce Banner,
though I never turned into a hulking green monster. (The experience taught me
that Banner s superpower isn t turning into the Hulk; it s staying Banner.) I
did my best to go about my day before coming home and trying to calm myself
down for a few hours of rest. There were many sleepless nights.
Only three things helped. First, I took full advantage of my university s
mental health professionals, and thank god for them. Second, I started running,
because I figured if my mind was racing, my body might as well too. But what
was most helpful turned out to be the deep-breathing exercises recommended by
one of my professors. It sounds unbelievable that taking a few minutes every
now and then to stop what I was doing to focus on taking nice, big breaths
helped lift me out of a mental health crisis. But with time, it did.
Anxiety is far less of a problem in my life these days, mostly because I m
proactive about controlling it. But when I feel it coming on, deep breathing is
my primary weapon against it. Often I use apps like Headspace or sites like
Calm.com to guide my sessions. But now that I ll have a breathing coach right
on my wrist, it ll make me that less anxious about, well, anxiety.
If Apple s app takes off, it could make many of its users lives much
healthier.