【動悸の犯人】不安や心配、緊張すると、なぜドキドキするのか。そのメカニズムと動悸がした時の対処法を解説。

Summary: Everyone has probably experienced their pulse speeding up and their heart beating faster when they feel nervous, anxious, or worried. At the same time, breathing also speeds up and they feel short of breath. But why does our heart rate speed up and palpitations occur when we are under such stress? Our pulse speeds up when we run or exercise because exercise increases the body's need for oxygen. But why does our pulse speed up when we feel nervous or anxious, even when we're not moving? When we are under stress, our brains try to find a way to relieve those feelings of stress. It's our brains that do the thinking. The brain demands oxygen and nutrients. The more we think, the more our brains demand oxygen and nutrients. To deliver oxygen and nutrients to the brain, they must be transported by blood through blood vessels. We humans live our lives standing on two legs. Gravity is constantly acting downward. The brain is located at the top of our heads. To deliver oxygen and nutrients to the brain, blood must overcome gravity and rise upward. To do this, blood pressure must increase. Blood vessels constrict, increasing pressure, and the heart increases its rate, pumping more and faster. This is what causes palpitations. When blood pressure rises, pressure inside the heart also increases, putting strain on the heart. Furthermore, the lungs increase the rate of breathing to increase the oxygen concentration in the blood. This is what causes shortness of breath. Imagine entering a haunted house. You walk slowly through a dark room, but you're under the stress of anxiety and fear, knowing that something might happen or surprise you. Your brain tries to deal with these stressful feelings in various ways. It demands oxygen and nutrients in proportion to the stress. So, even though your body isn't moving vigorously, stress alone can cause your heart rate to increase, causing palpitations, and your breathing to increase, resulting in shortness of breath. Stress also leads to excessive secretion of stress hormones, which can impair your ability to make rational decisions and trigger negative associations, creating a vicious cycle. Furthermore, palpitations and shortness of breath can further increase your emotional composure. Stress that has an end or an exit, like a haunted house, is fine because it's short-term. However, the problem with the stress we experience in our daily lives is that it involves multiple stressors that cannot be resolved immediately, such as interpersonal relationships, work, income, and caregiving. If this stress persists for a long period of time, the sympathetic nervous system becomes constantly tense, further increasing the secretion of stress hormones. This leads to consistently high blood pressure, which can lead to heart failure if the heart is strained. If blood vessels rupture, it can even cause cerebral hemorrhage. It also makes breathing more rapid, leading to a constant feeling of shortness of breath and hyperventilation. It is the sympathetic nervous system in the autonomic nervous system that raises blood pressure and speeds up breathing. As I've mentioned in other videos, deep breathing can reduce this sympathetic nervous system excitement. And it's fast-acting. Some people may have experienced high blood pressure during a health checkup, where they were told to take a deep breath. After taking a deep breath, they remeasured their blood pressure and found that it dropped by about 10 mmHg. This is because taking deep breaths forcibly suppresses the excitement of the sympathetic nervous system. So, if you experience palpitations and shortness of breath when you're anxious, worried, tense, or angry, try calming down and taking two or three deep breaths. As you do so, try to focus your attention on your breathing as you take those deep breaths. Feel the sensation of oxygen filling your chest and then slowly exhaling it all using abdominal breathing. This focus on your own sensations (five senses) is called "mindfulness." It involves clearing your mind of distracting thoughts and focusing on the present moment. Taking two or three deep breaths and calming yourself down can quickly relieve the palpitations and shortness of breath you've been feeling. It has an immediate effect. You may feel anxious or angry about something. If you experience palpitations or shortness of breath at those times, remember that taking deep breaths and concentrating on your breathing are ways to shorten the duration of these discomforts and make them more comfortable. #palpitations #deep breathing #mindfulness #breathing exercises #hyperventilation #heart palpitations #sympathetic nervous system #autonomic nervous system #stress #anxiety #tension #doctor