Before I get those keyboard warriors up in arms, hear me out. The original inspiration for this topic was when having a conversation with my good friend about stress management and how kids don’t get a chance to distress because they aren’t given time to just chill out. He went on to elaborate that he believed one of the reasons he became a smoker as a teenager was because it was a coping mechanism that gave him time away from life to be outside and focus on something else. We went on to dissect it a little bit more, me being a non-smoker and realizing that when you take a smoke break you typically are getting away from the confines of your work surroundings, are outside in “nature” and deeply inhaling for 5-10 minutes. Now don’t go buying a pack of Marlboros, but instead try to give yourself a mental timeout and step outside and do some deep focused inhaling for 5-10 minutes.

Numerous studies have linked spending time outside with an increased sense of well-being, and even some studies have shown that just 20 minutes a day of being outside was a preventative for neural decline. Walking 30 minutes a day has shown a release of BDNF Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor. BDNF plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory.

Short on time? One study out of Japan showed that while sitting at their desk, participants who stared at a pla for just 2 minutes decreased cortisol levels (a hormone marker for stress), and the effects were increased if the plant was sprayed with a little bit of water mimicking rainfall! Breathwork is still being studied and as far as the best recommendations for implementation there isn’t a general consensus yet. However, a study published by Nature showed that multiple forms of decreased respirations per minute breathwork improved markers for anxiety, depression, and well-being. In that study, they compared 5 breaths per minute versus 12 breaths per minute for 10 minutes per day and did not find any meaningful differences between the two. The authors acknowledged that the benefits might be more physiological than psychological, but that wasn’t what they were measuring in this particular study. It should be noted that this was the largest RCT performed to date on controlled breathing, and if nothing else just decreasing respirations improved these significant markers for mental well-being. For those unaware “normal breathing rates” are 12-20 respirations per minute so even the control group was truly focusing on decreased breathing rate.

In short, I hope this has convinced you to go to your boss and request having a smoke break or two throughout the day, just leave the stogies, dubies, pipes, vapes, and cigs behind.