How to Reduce ADHD Symptoms Using a Breathing Necklace

10/14/2024

Key Takeaways

01. ADHD symptoms are influenced by an under-active parasympathetic nervous system, which hinders the ability to relax and maintain focus, leading many people to wonder how to reduce ADHD symptoms.

02. Those with ADHD often show lower heart rate variability, meaning their bodies struggle to calm down and shift between high alertness and relaxation, impacting their emotional and physical responses.

03. A breathing necklace encourages slow, controlled breathing, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system to promote calmness, reduce restlessness, and improve focus and emotional regulation.

04. While a breathing necklace is a helpful tool, it should be combined with other strategies like physical activity, healthy eating, sleep hygiene, and cognitive behavioral therapy to create a well-rounded approach to managing ADHD symptoms.

Calm the Parasympathetic Nervous System With Breathwork

Living with ADHD can feel like a constant battle to stay focused, calm, and in control of your emotions. And, with over 10 percent of children falling under the diagnosis, more and more individuals are struggling with this battle. The characteristics of ADHD often make everyday tasks more challenging, leaving many searching for answers on how to reduce ADHD symptoms.

One of the lesser-known aspects of ADHD is how much the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) influences these symptoms. Understanding the role of this "rest-and-digest" system is key to learning how to reduce ADHD symptoms and improve overall well-being. By better understanding this connection, we can explore how using a breathing necklace can support the PNS and help mitigate symptoms.

How to Reduce ADHD Symptoms– Understanding the Parasympathetic Nervous System

The parasympathetic nervous system plays a crucial role in how our bodies relax, regulate emotions, and maintain focus. Commonly referred to as the "rest-and-digest" system, the PNS works to lower heart rate and promote a sense of calm. For individuals with ADHD, however, this system tends to be underactive, which means they often struggle with relaxation, self-regulation, and emotional control.

In a typical person, the parasympathetic nervous system and its counterpart, the sympathetic nervous system (the "fight-or-flight" system), work together to keep the body balanced between states of high alert and calmness. However, people with ADHD frequently experience an imbalance between these two systems, often leaning towards an overactive fight-or-flight response while the PNS struggles to counteract it. It’s like constantly being on a rollercoaster and experiencing that adrenaline, but they can’t seem to ever get off the ride and allow their body to calm down. This imbalance not only makes it harder to rest and relax but also leads to challenges in staying focused and managing impulsive behaviors.

The Role of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA)

A key part of this imbalance lies in something called respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of how heart rate varies with breathing. RSA is a useful marker of parasympathetic activity, and those with ADHD tend to have lower RSA in relaxed states, meaning their bodies aren’t as efficient at calming down. This difficulty regulating stress responses can make situations that should be manageable feel overwhelming.

Understanding how an underactive parasympathetic system impacts the condition is key to learning how to reduce ADHD symptoms. This groundwork sets the stage for exploring practical techniques—such as breathing necklaces—that can support the parasympathetic system and provide relief for those struggling to figure out how to reduce ADHD symptoms regularly.

Symptoms of ADHD

When the nervous system is on the fritz, it can lead to a wide range of consequences. Some of the experiences that those with ADHD may have as a result often revolve around difficulty in getting this system balanced.

Here are some of the experiences they may face:

1. Difficulty Relaxing

Individuals with ADHD often struggle to enter a calm, restful state. This is partly because their parasympathetic system, which helps the body relax (lowering heart rate, promoting digestion, etc.), tends to be under-active. This makes it harder for them to wind down, especially in stressful situations.

2. Restlessness and Fidgeting

ADHD can cause people to feel physically restless, constantly needing to move or fidget. This happens because their parasympathetic system isn’t kicking in to help them feel calm and settled, leading to continuous physical and mental agitation.

3. Difficulty Falling Asleep

Many people with ADHD have trouble falling asleep, as the under-active PNS makes it difficult to relax at bedtime. They often feel mentally "wired," even when they are physically tired.

4. Hyperactivity and Impulsivity

The balance between the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic systems is disrupted in ADHD, leading to an inability to calm down after periods of excitement or stimulation. This can make hyperactivity and impulsivity more pronounced, especially in stimulating environments.

5. Increased Sensitivity to Stress

People with ADHD may feel more reactive to stress because their PNS isn’t as effective at counteracting the stress response. This makes it harder for them to calm down in stressful situations, leading to heightened anxiety or agitation.

6. Hypo-arousal at Rest

At rest, individuals with ADHD can experience hypo-arousal, where they feel mentally disengaged or under-stimulated. This is linked to reduced parasympathetic activity, contributing to their difficulty staying calm or focused during restful periods.

7. Struggles with Sustained Attention

ADHD individuals may find it hard to maintain attention during tasks that require focus, partly because their parasympathetic system isn’t helping to regulate their body’s arousal levels, making it difficult to stay engaged without external stimulation.

As you can see, a parasympathetic nervous system out of whack can lead to wide-ranging impacts that significantly interfere with daily life.

How to Reduce ADHD Symptoms With Breathwork

When it comes to figuring out how to reduce ADHD symptoms, one of the avenues is to focus on helping activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Bringing balance back to the nervous system can help mitigate all of the consequences listed above. One phenomenal way to achieve this is by using a tool like The Shift breathing necklace by Komuso.

What is a Breathing Necklace?

mindful breathing. Worn as a pendant, it serves as a constant reminder to take slow, deep breaths throughout the day, much like writing a note to yourself—except this reminder hangs right around your neck.

The pendant itself is often made of metal, resembling a whistle or straw, but durable enough for daily use. It's a tool aimed at encouraging healthy breathing patterns that can help allow the body to calm down. As mentioned earlier, this is one of the issues individuals face, leading them to figure out how to reduce symptoms of ADHD.

How it Works

Breathing necklaces are specifically designed to promote slower, deeper breathing. It’s that simple! You may be thinking, I already breathe on my own- why do I need a necklace to help? That’s true! We take around 23,000 breaths each day without even thinking about it. However, we aren’t taking mindful breaths. Our bodies and nervous systems are running the show, and they don’t always help us breathe in a way that promotes relaxation.

The key to a breathing necklace lies in its ability to physically remind you to slow your breath. By extending your exhalation, a breathing necklace helps reverse the fight-or-flight response triggered by stress, lowering cortisol levels and promoting calm. The slow breathing activates the body’s relaxation system (PNS), improves heart rate variability, and stimulates the vagus nerve, leading to reduced anxiety and better overall health.

By consistently using a breathing necklace, you can train your body to breathe more deeply throughout the day. Not to mention, in addition to emotional benefits, slower, controlled breathing has been linked to physical health improvements like lower blood pressure, reduced inflammation, and fewer headaches!

How to Reduce ADHD Symptoms With a Breathing Necklace

So, you may be wondering, okay but what does this have to do with helping to manage ADHD? By helping balance the body's parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), a breathing necklace makes it easier to stay calm and in control.

Enhances Relaxation

ADHD often makes it hard to relax. A breathing necklace promotes slow, deep breaths, especially long exhalations, activating the PNS to lower heart rate and calm the body. It’s great for calming down before bed or during stressful moments like social events.

Reduces Restlessness and Hyperactivity

ADHD causes fidgeting and restlessness. By slowing the breath, the body shifts from arousal to calm, reducing the urge to move. This is useful for staying still during meetings or school and helps the body learn to self-regulate over time.

Improves Focus and Mental Clarity

A racing mind makes it hard for people with ADHD to focus. Deep breathing increases oxygen flow to the brain, improving mental clarity and helping to stay present and on task, especially during moments of overwhelm.

Helps with Emotional Regulation

ADHD often involves intense emotional responses. The necklace helps slow breathing, which activates the PNS, reducing the stress response and providing more emotional control during frustrating or anxious moments.

With regular use, a breathing necklace can also train the body to activate the PNS more easily, improving emotional control, focus, and stress management over time. Plus, this method simply utilizes the body's natural calming mechanisms!

How to Use a Breathing Necklace

Curious about how to reduce ADHD symptoms using a breathing necklace? What’s great is that it's simple! Here’s how:

Inhale: Take a deep breath in through your nose, focusing on filling your belly with air.

Exhale: Slowly release your breath through the pendant, making sure not to force the air. A slow, natural exhale is the goal.

For best results, repeat this cycle for about 5 minutes at a time. You can also set a timer to remind yourself to use the necklace throughout the day. Practicing this technique regularly can make a noticeable difference in your stress and anxiety levels.

The Best Breathing Necklace

The standout choice in breathing necklaces is The Shift, created by Komuso. This pendant uses an ancient breathing technique—validated by Stanford Labs' physiological sigh research—to effectively calm the nervous system. Designed to slow your exhale to over 8 seconds, The Shift is a wearable reminder to breathe mindfully throughout the day. Its inspiration comes from 17th-century Japanese monks who practiced meditation with a flute called the Shakuhachi, known for its calming technique, “blowing zen.”

Crafted from medical-grade 316 stainless steel, The Shift features colors baked into the metal through a proprietary process, ensuring durability without chipping or fading. While it may seem expensive, we’ve created it with top stainless-steel materials and recycled metals to create a product that is not only elegant and functional but also eco-friendly.

The Shift is more than a tool; it’s an investment in better breathing habits and is a great resource for figuring out how to reduce ADHD symptoms. To enhance your experience, we offer a 30-day risk-free trial, allowing you to determine if it meets your needs.

To help you master the technique, we also provide a comprehensive course, TKM: The Komuso Method. Just like learning to play a guitar requires practice, mastering the breathing technique with The Shift is essential for real change. Our course offers daily practices that combine breathwork and emotional awareness, ensuring you’re not just a customer, but a partner in your journey toward better breathing and well-being!

It Takes a Plan

Figuring out how to reduce ADHD symptoms can seem daunting and exhausting. A breathing necklace is like adding a powerful tool to your toolbox, plus it’s simple and easy to use. It can be a game-changer when it comes to calming the mind, reducing restlessness, and managing emotional dysregulation. But keep in mind, it’s only one tool in the box! You need to utilize other tools to help build a solid foundation for success.

Add your breathing necklace to other helpful strategies like staying active, prioritizing sleep, eating a balanced diet, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), limiting distractions, breaking tasks into smaller steps, or any other action that helps support your wellness and helps mitigate those symptoms. Everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for you. That’s okay! Keep mixing and matching strategies until you find a system that works for you.

Over time, these actions can help you feel more in control and give you power to embrace calm and peacefulness.

You’ve got this!

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The Shift, so much good in one breath.

You've got this!

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