#15 Brain Bite - Stress Reset Button

One 10 second breath exercise can stimulate the vagus nerve so your clear thinking comes back online when you're perceiving stress. Inside this episode, you get a guided 4‑6 breath, practical ways to train it, and a reminder that breath can lower stress and inflammation.

• the stress cascade: amygdala alarm, cortisol surge, prefrontal dimming
• sympathetic versus parasympathetic: why mode matters
• the vagus nerve as a direct line to calm
• the power of a longer exhale for safety signals
• the 4‑6 breath: how to do it and when to use it

Take on the weekly challenge associated with every Brain Bite episode as you're taking one step towards an Unshakeable Brain. 

If you're loving these episodes, share them on your social media and invite others to join us. I'd greatly appreciate it! 

Note: This podcast episode is sponsored by Dr. Rewire's Brain DNA test. Learn more at Unshakeablebrain.ai. If you're a practitioner and you're interested in adding this at-home lab test to your toolkit, go to Unshakeablebrain.ai/expert.

I, Dr. Kylie, no longer work with clients in any endeavor. If you'd like more support for your health, I recommend working with the physicians at the EllieMD telemedicine platform. To get started, go to https://elliemd.com/?bp=drkylie. For health and wellness experts looking to provide this resource to your clients, get started at https://elliemd.com/join-us/?bp=drkylie.

Thank you for joining the Unshakeable Brain community. Dr. Kylie

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
Welcome to Brain Bites, your quick dose of
science and strategies for anunshakable brain.
I'm your host, Dr.
Kylie, and in the next fewminutes, you'll get a sharp
insight to feed your brain.
This episode is brought to youby Dr.
Rewire's brain DNA test.
Learn more and grab yours atunshakablebrain.ai.

(00:27):
All right, let's dig in.

Picture this (00:30):
you're stuck in traffic, your heart's pounding,
your jaw is clenched, your brainis screaming at you that you're
going to be late, you're goingto look incompetent, and
everything is falling apart.
And then you take one deepbreath, one real breath, deep

(00:53):
into your belly, and somethingshifts.
That's not just relaxation,that's neuroscience.
Your brain has a built-in stressreset button and it's hidden in
the most unexpected place, yourbreath.
Let me explain the science toyou.
When you're stressed, yoursympathetic nervous system takes

(01:14):
over.
That's your fight or flightresponse.
Your amygdala, your brain'salarm system, is firing,
flooding your body with cortisoland adrenaline.
Your prefrontal cortex, the partthat helps you think clearly and
make good decisions, goesoffline.
You are in survival mode.

(01:36):
Here's the beautiful part.
You have a direct line tooverride this.
It's called the vagus nerve.
And it runs from your brainstemall the way down through your
chest and abdomen.
When you take a slow, deepbreath, especially when you
extend your exhale, you activatethe vagus nerve.
Vagus nerve, however you want tosay it.

(01:58):
This triggers yourparasympathetic nervous system.
That's your rest and digest.
Your heart rate slows, yourblood pressure drops, your
cortisol levels decrease, yourprefrontal cortex comes back
online, and in less than 60seconds, you can shift your
brain from threat mode to calm.

(02:20):
But the key is the exhale.
When you breathe out longer thanyou breathe in, you're sending a
signal to your brain that says,We're safe.
Stand down.
It's why stressed people aretold to take a deep breath.
But most people do it wrong.
They breathe in deeply and holdit while that actually increases

(02:44):
tension.
The magic is in breathing outslowly.
Alright, so here we go.
Let's try this.
Breathe in for four counts.
Breathe out for six counts.

(03:06):
That's it.
That extended exhale is yourstress reset button.
Your brain doesn't know thedifference between a real threat
and a perceived threat.
Traffic isn't a lion.
An overflowing inbox isn't apredator, but your amygdala
treats them the same way.
The breath gives you control.

(03:27):
It tells your brain, I've gotthis.
We're okay.
So your stress reset buttonliterally can take 10 seconds.
You breathe in for four counts,and you breathe out for six
counts.
When your brain believes you'reokay, everything changes.

(03:51):
You think more clearly, yourespond instead of react, and
you make better decisions.
One breath.
That's all it takes to hitreset.
Your weekly challenge is this.
I want you to practice thefour-six breath.
Use it before you're infull-blown stress mode.

(04:12):
So maybe you're feeling theheart rate bump up as you're
pulling out your computer, readyto open up your inbox.
And you think to yourself, okay,I'm gonna breathe in for four.
I'm gonna breathe out for six.

(04:33):
You could even set reminders onyour phone.
When the reminder goes off, youstop whatever you're doing and
you take three, four count, andsix count breaths.
We'll call it four-six.
Breathe in for four counts andbreathe out for six counts.
Do it for three rounds.
Do it when you're calm.

(04:53):
Train your brain to access thisreset and button so when the
does when the stress does hit,your brain already knows the
pathway to lower your nerves.
Calm your nerves.
This helps you not just managestress in the moment, you're
actually rewiring your stressresponse for the long term.

(05:14):
Our unshakable brain fun factthe vagus nerve is the longest
nerve in your autonomic nervoussystem.
And stimulating it through deepbreathing doesn't just calm you
down, it actually reducesinflammation throughout your
entire body.
Your breath is literal medicine.
I'm Dr.
Kylie.

(05:34):
Go grab your brain DNA test atunshakablebrain.ai.
If you are a practitioner andyou want to incorporate this
test into your toolkit, go tounshakablebrain.ai slash expert.
And I'll see you next time.