Lindsay Bira swears by freediving — lengthy stints of underwater diving while holding your breath — as a stress reduction method. When you're stressed at work, practicing a "breath hold" freediving exercise at your desk can help, Bira said on Wednesday at the 2023 NeuroLeadership Institute Summit in New York. It only takes 60 seconds. "You are, physiologically, totally capable" of holding your breath longer than 60 seconds, but your brain starts to send distress signals before you reach the milestone, she added. When you take a second — or 60 seconds — to breath-hold and reframe your thinking in those moments, you're doing something called "reappraisal," Bira said.

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Persons: Lindsay Bira, freediving, Bira Organizations: The University of Texas Health Science Center, San, Harvard Medical School, Boston University School of Medicine, UT Health San, National Library of Medicine, CNBC Locations: San Antonio, New York, UT Health San Antonio