Why Not To Be a Shallow Breather!

When you take a deep breath, the accessory muscles of respiration are brought into action. These are the scalenes, sternocleidomastoids and trapezius. The scalenes are the first muscle to start contracting and gradually the other two muscles are brought into action. These muscles should not contract during regular "belly" breathing. The scalenes are the narrow band of contracting muscle on either side of the neck when lifting the chin slightly to the opposite side.

So what causes shallow breathing?

(1) The shortening of any of the accessory muscles of respiration. Sitting in positions where the chin is close to the chest, watching TV with the head propped up and even sleeping on a pillow with too much loft can cause a shortening of these muscles. The shortening of these same muscles can also cause headaches.

(2) Loss of deep breathing skills

(3) Anxiety

(4) Chronic pain

(5) Restrictive clothing, particularly in the abdominal area

Does anxiety cause shallow breathing, or does shallow breathing cause anxiety? The answer may be both. We may have a chicken-or-egg situation here. Not getting enough oxygen, as in a shallow breath, signals a problem to your brain. You go into a fight-or-flight reaction. More shallow breathing. And anxiety, caused by life's stresses, causes a flight-or-flight reaction, shallow breath. Then shallow breathing can shorten the accessory muscles of respiration, which can then cause more shallow breathing. And so on. See the problem?

How do you breathe? Take one hand and place it on your chest. Place the other hand on your belly. Breathe. Notice which hand is moving as you inhale and exhale. Is it the top hand or the bottom hand? If it’s only the top hand, it’s likely you are a shallow breather who can greatly benefit from a switch to deep breathing.

If you have become a habitual shallow breather, you need to practice deep breathing. Take a few minutes before you start your day and a few minutes at the end of your day to practice. Place your hands on your belly and force your hands up and down with your breathe. Practicing deep breathing will relax you, loosen your shoulders and neck and lessen your feelings of anxiety.

Creating a Corporate Culture of Wellness- How to Develop a Wellness Program

Getting buy in for a wellness program is crucial. This needs to occur from the top down as well as from the bottom up. Leaders in the organization must be role models for the new behaviors that are promoted. This means they need to “walk the talk.” Buy in is achieved from the bottom up by surveying employees to capture their opinions about the health of the workplace, identify behaviors they would be motivated to change, determine what incentives are meaningful to them and outline the supports they believe would be most helpful.

These actions provide a base for creating a culture of wellness. The Wellness Council of West Virginia has developed a Health Culture Audit which is available at http://www.wcwv.org. Their audit instrument is a good descriptor of the areas included in a culture of wellness. This tool is also a potential resource for assessing the current level of wellness in your organization. It may also be used annually to assess the progress made toward developing a culture of wellness.

Culture change requires involvement throughout all levels of the organization. This is typically accomplished by developing a wellness committee. Participation should be voluntary. However, it is also important to identify “wellness champions” within the organization and invite these employees to volunteer for the wellness committee. Wellness champions are employees who “walk the talk.” They are role models for others due to their enthusiasm for an active, healthy lifestyle. Employees who have lost significant amounts of weight or given up a sedentary lifestyle often have a commitment to assist others. The wellness committee will also have ideas for making participation in your program fun by including team challenges and contests. Committee members may also contribute ideas for incentives to include at various levels of the wellness program.

Incentives are important. When employees are expected to change behavior, they are tuned into WIIFM (what’s in it for me). Even though we would like for everyone to view their healthcare benefit as a privilege and not as an entitlement, this is typically not the case. Therefore, employees may not be committed to saving money for their employer. They also may not be motivated to change behavior to avoid future medical conditions. Denial is a common human trait and long held habits are difficult to change, but change is more likely to occur in a supportive environment. Employers can provide a supportive environment that encourages positive lifestyle changes.

Some incentives that produce results include the following:
• Time off work—even if it is just getting to leave early one day.
• Monetary reward—this works well for survey, HRA or bio-metric screening completion.
• Athletic equipment—a gift certificate to put toward walking shoes, pedometer, etc.
• Personal training session gift certificate
• Massage gift certificate
• Healthcare discount for those who complete various levels of the wellness programs.

It is important to be clear about incentives that are being offered. Focus on the behaviors do you want to reward. If cost is an issue, consider entering participants in a lottery for an incentive. The following levels should have incentives attached to them:
• Health Risk Assessment
• Bio-metric screening
• Weight loss contest
• Program completion
• Team challenges
• Unused sick days

Low cost wellness activities can also reinforce a culture of wellness. These include healthy potlucks or healthy recipe contests, walking programs, biggest loser contests and newsletters/wellness tips. Once you start focusing on creating a culture of wellness, you will be surprised at the ideas that are generated by your wellness committee.

Employees want to feel valued and wellness programs send a clear message in that regard. An investment in wellness pays dividends in all aspects of your business!


Our guest blogger this week is Patsy Deerhake, M.ED, Wellness Educator/Coach. She owns Wellness Within Reach. You can reach her at patsy@wwrcoach.com or 614-880-2639.