I have changed my tune on meditation in the last year. I used to think it was a nutty new-age practice. Since taking up meditation with the Calm app, I have learned it is completely different than what I thought it was. And it is awesome.

What is meditation? What is it like?

Meditation is a relaxation-based practice. I used to think that you were supposed to “empty your mind”, but it turns out that the opposite is true. Meditation is a way to stay focused on the present. This is called mindfulness.

Here is how I would define mindfulness: I am present rather than being carried away by inner dialogue/daydreams. You know what I’m talking about. How often have you been driving and all of a sudden realize, “Oh crap! How did I get here?” That is perfect example of not being mindful. Being mindful is taking in the experience and awareness of every part of that drive in a calm and joyful way.

Over time, mindfulness meditation trains your brain to recognize when it’s getting carried away by inner dialogue and snap back to reality. Meditation also helps you to be less reactive. It teaches you how to not “strain” as much in life trying to change things that you have no control over.

Meditation sessions can be any length you choose, but I usually aim for 10-20 minutes each day. You may meditate with eyes open or close, sit or lay down, whatever floats your boat. I like to lay down with my eyes closed. Sometimes, I lay on a bolster to release my psoas muscles while I meditate.

The Calm app has Day 1 of it’s series “7 days of Calm” for free on YouTube. It’s a good one to check out to get an idea of what meditation is like.

What are the benefits of meditation? How does this relate to POTS/ME?

POTS and ME may have an autoimmune or inflammatory cause. Meditation has been shown to be more effective at modulating inflammation than other forms of relaxation. One possibility of how meditation reduces inflammation is by reducing reactivity to stress. Meditation teaches “non-reactivity” which basically means not freaking out and ruminating over things. Non-reactivity has a positive effect on the nervous system which translates to a positive effect on the immune system.

POTS and ME patients often have an overactive sympathetic (fight or flight) response in the brain. This response exacerbates symptoms and is part of the etiology of these diseases. Meditation improves parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system activity, which combats the overactive sympathetic response. Heart rate variability is an indicator of parasympathetic activity and has been shown to improve with meditation.

Meditation has been shown to create functional neuroplastic changes in the amygdala. This means that meditation can change the pathways in your brain to be less “stuck” in sympathetic functioning. Some people have had great success in using the principles of neuroplasticity to treat certain chronic illnesses. I have not tried the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) that I linked there, so I cannot speak to its effectiveness. I am using it as an example to demonstrate the potential benefit of neuroplasticity to chronic illnesses such as POTS and ME.

Is my POTS or ME better because of meditation?

It is tough to answer that. I have changed so many things since I began meditating that it is difficult to scientifically pin down what has been impactful. Also, meditation is definitely a “long-game” strategy. Building new neural pathways can take months or even years. So, I have no clue how meditation has impacted me physically, but I feel that meditation is useful to me in having the healthiest life I can with chronic illness. Here are the things I notice meditation helping me with:

• “Snapping” out of things faster. I will catch myself holding tension in my abdomen almost immediately nowadays. I will also “snap” out of ruminations quicker.

• Calming myself down quicker.

• Conserving energy better. Because I can identify tension and calm myself down easier, I don’t waste as much precious energy on stress, nervousness, random adrenaline surges, etc.

And no, this doesn’t mean I am some zen-master that never gets worked up. It just means I am better than I used to be.

Is it religious or spiritual?

No, meditation is a non-dogmatic mental exercise. It’s possible that some meditation teachers go that route, but I have not found that to be my experience with the Calm app.

Calm app

I cannot recommend the Calm app highly enough. It is awesome. I have been using it since the beginning of 2019. It taught me to meditate and how to apply this brain training to my everyday life.

I have used several of the series within the app and they are all excellent. My favorite so far is the 30 day Learn to Meditate with Jeff Warren. Jeff is hilarious and down to earth. His realness resonates with me. If you are new to meditation, definitely start with that series because he teaches how to do it in an easy to understand way.

The Calm app also has sleep stories. Generally, I sleep great, but every once in a while I will lay in bed imagine all the embarrassing things I’ve ever done in my life. And if you know me at all, there’s a lot of memories to work with here. All I have to do is turn one of the sleep stories on, and bam, I am asleep in less than ten minutes. They are crazy effective.

There are several other features within the app that are useful: masterclasses, deep breathing timer, kids meditations, music, stretches, etc. The options are endless as they continue to add new meditation series regularly. I have been using the app daily for almost a year and feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface.

Other Apps

Here are some other meditation or meditation-ish apps that the Mayo Clinic recommends:

Happify

Headspace

The Mindfulness App

Pause

The Breathing Zone

Podcasts

These are nice because they are free. My favorite is the Meditation Minis Podcast. It is hypnotherapy-based, which is super calming to me.

Have you tried meditation? What benefits have you noticed?

I also love deep breathing for relaxation and parasympathetic nervous system activity boosting. I will sometimes incorporate it will meditation and do it randomly throughout the day. To read about that visit my post on deep breathing.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

Compression has not been a “slam dunk” POTS treatment for me. However, compression garments can be very life-changing for other people, so it is worth mentioning as a treatment for POTS. Different strategies can have very different outcomes for different people.

Disclaimer: Although my doctors have recommended compression garments to me, I am not necessarily a prime candidate given my brand of POTS. I explain more about this below. So, take my review for what it is worth.

How compression can help

Compression works by increasing venous return- pushing blood back upwards towards the heart. If blood is pooling in your extremities, it is just loitering there and not oxygenating the rest of your body. Compression addresses this issue. Practically speaking, compression may improve lightheadedness, fatigue, fainting, and brain fog. Some people may be able to tolerate more upright activities using compression.

There are a few scientific articles, such as this one, that discuss the benefits of compression. It also looks like there is a clinical trial that will wrap up next year studying the hemodynamic effects of compression in POTS. Part of this study will be to compare the efficacy of leg compression vs. abdominal compression, which would be interesting to see. The body of evidence in support of compression as a treatment of POTS is growing.

What kind is recommended

My neurologist recommends medical-grade, 40-60 mmHg, waist-high compression support hose for POTS. Some people opt for a less intense route and still reap benefits. It is worth trialing various types of compression and seeing what works best for you.

Where to buy them

Places I have purchased them from:

• A pair of knee-high socks from Amazon (linked below)
• A pair of waist-high support hose through Brightlife Direct
• A pair of knee-high socks from Vim and Vigr (specific product link below)

Michelle from the blog Living with Bob (Dysautonomia) has a lot of experience with compression and writes about where to purchase them in this post. She is in Australia, but she mentions US companies in the second half of the article. Michelle also has several other posts about compression that you can check out.

How to rock compression

Athletic-style compression tights can be worn like athletic leggings with sporty tops/tunics. Knee-high athletic compression socks can be worn with athletic shorts or under pants.

If you use medical grade waist-high compression hose, you have a few more options. You could wear them like pantyhose/tights with outfits. There are sheer and opaque compression hose options in nude, black, etc. You could hide them completely under pants. If you want to get creative there are even options of colorful and patterned compression hose. Check out Michelle’s instagram page for inspiration.

What I have tried

I have tried a 20-30 mmHg pair of compression socks from Amazon. There was no benefit to these except it reminded me of the knee-high white socks I used to wear all the time in middle school. $5 shorts and tank-top outfit from “Rave“- check, knee high white socks- check, brown leather sandals– check, and polish the look off with some excessive roll-on glitter from Art Stuff by Bath and Body Works- check.

I also tried these toe-less compression socks by Doc Miller. These compression socks are definitely more legit. I purchased them on Amazon after I saw another POTS patient recommend them. They have 30-40 mmHg compression. That is what the manufacturer claims, at least. I don’t know how regulated claims of compression strength are. However, I can attest that these have much more compression than Zensah calf sleeves and the other socks I tried from Amazon. I don’t think they provide any worthwhile benefit POTS-wise for me, but I still occasionally wear them because they make my leg muscles feel better.

I have a pair of nylon 30-40 mmHg compression socks from Vim and Vigr and like them. They feel comparable compression-wise to the Doc Miller ones. I like that these aren’t super tight on the feet. However, if you have a lot of blood pooling in your feet, that could be a negative. As with the Doc Miller socks, I can’t say that these make a difference for me POTS-wise, but they also make my leg muscles feel better on long, standing work days. Compression in general is not comfortable for me and they roll a bit at the top of my calf, so I would not choose to wear them every day. But, they fit the bill for the occasional wear that I use them for.

At an appointment with my neurologist, she urged me to try waist-high compression because “knee-high compression is useless” in her opinion. So, I purchased these waist-high 30-40 mmhg compression hose, and it’s a no. I find them to be very uncomfortable, binding, suffocating, and irritating to my skin whilst providing no benefit. I am glad I revisited this, though, because you never know. Remember, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you. Everyone is different.

Are they really hard to get on and off?

For me, yes. Sometimes I would have to take a break in the middle or ask my husband for help. You will want to keep this in mind if you pursue compression as treatment option. You will have to be patient and possibly enlist help.

Why compression hasn’t been a “slam dunk” for me

I have not experienced any significant POTS benefits when I have worn compression. I do not think I am the prime candidate for it. My blood pressure is pretty stable and normal. I occasionally get blood pooling in my feet and lower legs, but it is temporary and infrequent. When I stand, I get lightheaded, but my body regulates fairly quickly and the sensation subsides. I have a mild-ish brand of POTS.

Also, I find compression to be quite restrictive and uncomfortable. I am picky about this. Movement has been very useful to me in my POTS and ME journey, so I make a point to not regularly wear clothes that interfere with my natural movement.

Other POTS blogs that discuss compression

These blogs have excellent in-depth insights about compression garments.

Chronically Siobhan

Chronically Salty

Have you tried compression to treat POTS? How has it worked for you?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

Ah, brain fog. It is a common issue with many chronic illnesses. It is hard to explain until you have experienced it. I like to call it the “reverse Phenomenon”.

Update- 06/2020– Since I wrote this several months ago, my brain fog has significantly improved. I asked my husband if he would concur and he says, “Yes, you have been downgraded from a brain fog to a brain haze”. He cracks me up. I’ll take it! There hasn’t been any one thing that I could put my finger on and say “Aha! That’s the magic bullet”. It has taken a lot of intention to consistently do the things that I mention in this post.

The Reverse Phenomenon

Do you remember that movie Phenomenon with John Travolta? He was a small-town bumpkin who stumbles out of a bar, witnesses a cosmic flash of light, and wakes up with newfound intelligence and abilities. Brain fog is the reverse of that. Let me draw the parallels for you.

First of all, the main character wakes up and is suddenly a genius. With brain fog, you wake up one day upon the onset of illness and find out someone stole 99.9% of your brain cells.

John Travolta’s character learns Portugese in 15 minutes. With brain fog, you feel like this guy trying to spit out a sentence in English.

John Travolta’s character solves complex scientific problems. Meanwhile, this is me trying to get the kids ready for school.

What causes brain fog?

Dysautonomia International states that brain fog could be due to a lack of blood flow to the brain or the hyperadrenergic state of POTS. This would make sense. When I am more “potsy” (more lightheaded when I stand indicating a lack of blood flow to the brain), my brain fog is worse. These are just theories, though. The cause of brain fog is unknown and there are very few specific and meaningful studies so far.

The Mayo Clinic believes brain fog is the result of fatigue, pain, and stress- not disease or injury. They also recognize that there is frontal brain atrophy in patients with ME. Their thought is that this atrophy occurs because of a lack of stimuli from being sick.

I think Mayo’s opinion is partially valid, meaning they address part of the issue. There is no doubt that being sick and sick behaviors perpetuate brain fog. However, many of us had brain fog before illness ever slowed us down. I woke up one day and was like “WTH is wrong with my brain?”. It was a dramatic overnight situation. I think many others can relate.

How to treat brain fog

• Steady nutrition– If you are running on E from blood sugar crashes, that will just exacerbate brain fog. Maintaining a steady blood sugar means eating filling, nutrient-dense meals. You may need to eat salty/mineral-rich snacks in between as well if you have POTS. These will keep your body and brain on more of an even keel.
• Healthy fats– My nutritionist says that Omega-3 fatty acids are useful for brain fog. I can’t remember why anymore, which is ironic. I asked her about MCT oils like Brain Octane Oil. She said I would probably get more mileage from Omega-3’s. I still like Brain Octane and put it in the smoothies I make for breakfast. I also will add flax, hemp, or chia seeds, which are all rich in Omega-3’s.
• Ginseng– Ginseng helps energy, and more energy means less brain fog.
• Reading– Reading is excellent for stimulating our brains. You may find reading to be harder than it used to be. Don’t sweat it, just start where you can. I have gotten into biographies for this reason, they are easy to read and interesting. I like to read while I do the recumbent bicycle. If reading is a no-go, trying Podcasts or audio books, you can expand your mind through those as well.
• Learning new things– This stimulates brain activity and helps with brain fog. I had this in mind when I started this blog. I was on a steep learning curve because I am not the most tech-savvy person. The writing and idea organization involved in this blog has also been brain stimulating.
• Socialization– Reverses frontal lobe atrophy.
• Brain stimulating activities like Sudoku, coloring, puzzles, crosswords, logic puzzles, etc. These stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain. I have not been proactive about doing these lately. I had a 1000 piece puzzle started months ago with my sister-in-law. My older son was throwing himself a touchdown pass and dove into the puzzle table. RIP, puzzle. I have little motivation to redo the parts with 46,758 microscopic trees.

• Exercise– Exercise stimulates the brain. However, if you have ME, be aware exercise may actually worsen brain fog due to post-exertional fatigue.
• Caffeine– My neurologist recommends this for brain fog. Take caution, though, because everyone reacts to it differently. For me, caffeine just causes the jitters. For some others, it is significantly useful for cognition.
• Language learning– I don’t have any hard facts to back this up, but based on the benefits I have heard of learning a new language, this could be useful to stimulate the brain to improve brain fog. I was a Spanish minor in college, but have become very rusty. So, I listen to podcasts in Spanish such as the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. The Duolingo one is perfect if you’re rusty, it is slow and someone chimes in in English for context.
• Avoiding crashes– I discuss this in my post on Working Within Your Energy Envelope. In my experience, avoiding crashes as much as possible helps me avoid the worst brain fog.

Self-consciousness

Brain fog can make you feel like you are at a deficit and make you self-conscious in social situations. Here is what I have learned along the way that has helped me be at ease about it:

• People are generally too busy worrying about their own faux pas to notice your flubs.
• Most of the time, brain fog is undetectable. Usually the only ones who can tell are those closest to you, and they certainly aren’t going to be judgmental because they know your situation. We are our own worst critics.
• It can be a positive as you relate to others. For example, my friend who is pregnant was telling me about something and she lost her train of thought and said, “Ugh, sorry, I have the worst pregnancy brain this go around.” She was funny and real about it and it made me like her even more. Likewise, if we are real and lighthearted about it, we will relate well to others.
• No one sits around after an interaction and ponders how weird you are. It’s just not a realistic scenario. Can you imagine anyone wasting their time doing this?
• Have a sense of humor about it. If you laugh, they will laugh.

So, be kind and patient with yourself. Nearly every one you encounter will be patient and kind about it. And if they aren’t… is that really someone you need to concern yourself with anyway?

What helps you with “brain fog”?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

I have recently noticed the benefits of spending time in nature. I figured it was due to vitamin D, but I ran across this article and it seems there are several health benefits of spending time in nature. Chronic illness demands us to get every boost we can, so why not spend more time in a natural environment?

Boosts short-term memory

Raise your hand if your memory is trash. I think to some extent everyone has memory issues. Every once in a while I pull a Dory and say something to my husband that I just said minutes ago. It cracks us up. It usually happens when I am having a rougher day with brain fatigue.

The article references two studies in which people performed a memory test after either walking around an arboretum/forest or a city. People did significantly better on the memory test after walking in a forest which may demonstrate nature’s ability to improve short-term memory.

Reduces stress

The article mentioned a few studies where people’s cortisol (stress hormone) levels were lower after spending time outside or even looking outside a window. This may be meaningful for people with POTS/ME where there is a hyperadrenergic state. When cortisol levels are reduced, the hyperadrenergic state is reduced. Our brain perpetuates the state our bodies are in. So, if our body is in a hyperadrenergic state, our brain lays neural pathways to perpetuate it. If we combat that hyperadrenergic state by doing activites that decrease it like being outside, deep breathing, and meditating, we may reap both short-term and long-term benefits due to the way the brain works.

Reduces inflammation

The article references two studies indicating that spending time in nature may reduce inflammation in the body. The studies show decreased levels of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in the groups that spent time in nature vs. a city. Both inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress are shown to be increased in people with ME. These types of indicators also perpetuate autoimmunity. Research continues to show autoimmunity as a potential cause of POTS. It seems that being outside may impact certain factors that are involved in the pathogenesis of ME and POTS.

Improves mental energy and concentration

The article mentions a few studies indicating that being in nature or viewing nature improves mental energy and concentration. It seems that part of the mechanism of why this helps is due to the restorative nature of being in an environment without hustle and bustle, having to scan for cars, etc. This mechanism reminds me of how the nervous systems in POTS and ME are oversensitized. It seems like a restorative environment would be useful for brain fog.

Boosts the immune system

The study the article links about this is fascinating. People who spent time in a forest had improved Natural Killer (NK) cell activity. NK cells kill viruses and tumors. That improved NK activity continued for 30 days after being in the forest. That’s encouraging to me that every small effort of spending time outside is worth it.

How I incorporate the outdoors

I live in a rural area so the scenery is pretty natural. In the summer I play outside with the kids in the afternoon. I feel like that is enough. On the weekends we like to go for “adventures” and either walk outside of town or go to a forest.

Now that the weather has started getting colder and I keep getting sick, I haven’t been as good about getting outside. My plan is to either play outside with the kids after school or go for a walk each day. Our winters get very bitter cold and windy, so I will have to figure out how to not become a human popsicle in the process.

How do you incorporate time outdoors?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.

Deep breathing is one of my favorite ways to improve life with POTS. I learned this strategy from the Mayo Clinic during the Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia class I attended shortly after I was diagnosed with POTS and ME. Deep breathing has a positive effect on the nervous system both in the immediate present and in the long-term due to neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways to compensate for disease or injury.

How does deep breathing help?

Mayo teaches that the brains of people with POTS and ME are in a state called “central sensitization” in which the sympathetic or “fight and flight” part of the nervous system is overactive. Deep breathing is a way to counteract that excessive sympathetic nervous system activity. Deep breathing stimulates the vagus nerve which promotes parasympathetic or “rest and digest” nervous system activity.

Our bodies cannot be in a sympathetic and a parasympathetic state at the same time. So, by deep breathing you are setting your body in the parasympathetic state. Over time, because our brains are neuroplastic, they become accustomed to that parasympathetic state and will default to it easier.

Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous system states

Sympathetic:

• “Fight or flight”
• Uses a lot of energy
• Releases adrenaline and noradrenaline
• Makes digestive system run slower
• Dilates blood vessels
• Increases heart rate

Parasympathetic:

• “Rest and digest”
• Promotes digestion
• Calming
• Produces saliva and tears
• Decreases heart rate

As you can see, basically all the things we DON’T need more of with POTS are involved in the sympathetic state and the beneficial things are in the parasympathetic state.

If POTS benefits from a calmer nervous system, does that mean it is a psychological disorder like anxiety?

There is no shame or stigma about mental health. However, let me be clear because too often the POTS and ME communities have fought against psychosomatic labels. ME and POTS are NOT psychological or psychosomatic disorders.

Here is a study that demonstrates that POTS patients do not have more anxiety than controls. A doctor at Mayo showed me a slideshow of studies demonstrating the physical changes that occur in ME and it was astounding. I wish I could remember even half of them, but it was a blur at the time. One study that stuck out to me was that people with ME makes more waste metabolites (ex. lactate) from movement. It’s like our bodies have run a marathon but all we’ve really done is walk across the room. There are numerous physiological changes that occur in ME.

ME and POTS are neurological disorders and deep breathing has an effect on the nervous system. I like to view deep breathing as a “nervous system hack”.

How to do deep breathing

Deep breathing is very easy to learn. As long as you are inhaling for more than 4 seconds and exhaling for more than 4 seconds, you are stimulating the vagus nerve and putting your nervous system in a parasympathetic state. To learn how to deep breathe visit this YouTube video or download the free app Breathe2Relax. The YouTube video’s animation is super creepy and will haunt my nightmares but it does the job. The app is instructive and you can use it to do deep breathing sessions with calming music and breathing cues.

How I incorporate deep breathing in my life

I like to incorporate deep breathing in a few ways. I do a few minutes of deep breathing prior to my daily meditation practice.

I also deep breathe randomly throughout the day. Whenever it pops into my head, I will do a quick session for a few minutes using one of the techniques I detail below. I also make a point of doing a deep breathing session when I feel that I am carrying tension (I notice it most in my abdomen). For example, I have two little boys. They love to climb things and jump off things that freak me out, but I know that I need to let them be… enter deep breathing. I think this trains my brain to handle stress in a calmer way, which is healthy whether you are ill or not.

Different types of deep breathing

There are many ways you can deep breathe, which is great because you can mix it up when you get bored of one type. These are the types I have tried and enjoy:

• Equal breathing- Breathing in and out deeply for the same amount of time.
• 4-7-8 breathing- Inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath in for 7 seconds, and then breathe out for 8 seconds.
• 4-4-8 breathing- Inhale for 4 seconds, hold in for 4 seconds, and then breathe out for 8 seconds.
• Square breathing- An example of this would be breathe in for 4 seconds, hold in for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, hold out for 4 seconds.
• Ujjayi breathing- This is my personal favorite type of deep breathing. This video on Youtube explains it well. It is a way of deep breathing where you create a tension in your throat to make an airy sound. Deep breathing this way keeps me focused on breathing and the breath sounds like the ocean so it is even more relaxing. In the first half of the video she does it with her mouth open to help you learn, but in the second half of the video she shows you how to do it with your mouth closed. I definitely do it the mouth closed way so I don’t scare people.

Side note- Is central sensitization the definite cause of POTS?

Central sensitization is a theory. The cause of POTS is not completely understood. Another theory is that POTS is an autoimmune disease. Researchers have found antibodies to adrenergic receptors present in POTS patients. Adrenergic receptors mediate the effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline, substances which increase heart rate. The studies on antibodies in POTS are small but still impactful on our understanding of the syndrome. I asked my neurologist who also does research on dyautonomia, “Is POTS an autoimmune disease?” and she said “We’re working on it.” She also mentioned that the underlying cause can be multifactorial and vary from person to person.

We don’t know for certain what causes POTS and ME but parasympathetic nervous system stimulating methods like deep breathing seem to address part of the mechanism involved. I feel this is a great strategy for everyone including healthy people. Modern living as it is puts our brains in an unnaturally overstimulated and oversensitized state. We could all use some parasympathetic stimulation.

Does anyone else do deep breathing? Have you noticed any effects from doing it?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Statements on this site are not meant to be taken as medical advice. These statements reflect my personal experiences having mild-ish post-viral POTS and ME. Due to the wide spectrum of these diseases, comorbidities, and everyone being different, your experiences may be very different than mine.

Note: If you post a comment, this site does NOT have a feature to notify you of responses to your comment. I have not found a good solution for that yet. However, I usually respond to every comment in a timely manner, so be sure to check back.