Turn Down Anxiety with the Humming Technique

I’m Jason Smith, a hypnotist serving Radcliff and Elizabethtown, Kentucky. I help people move past anxiety, fear, and overwhelm.

In my last post, we discussed how anxiety is like a dimmer switch. If you can turn anxiety up, then you can turn it down. Last week, you learned 4-6-8 Breathing, a useful tool for keying into your nervous system and turning anxiety down. This week, I present you with another technique: humming.

You’ve Carried It Your Whole Life

Babies mumble and make all sorts of noises. Children sing and hum. Somewhere along the way, we grew up and we stopped. Humming is a simple technique that helps extend your exhale without any conscious effort. While 4-6-8 Breathing or other breathing techniques require you to count, humming does not. You can take a deep breath in, and hum on the exhale for as long as you can hold the pitch. When the air runs out, breath again and repeat.

Why Humming Works

A study by Weitzberg and Lundberg (2002) found humming raised nitric oxide in the nose about fifteen times higher than a quiet exhale. Nitric oxide helps open your airways and improve blood flow.

You can also feel the hum. Placing your hand upon your chest while you hum, you can feel the vibration. That vibration becomes a focal point, taking your mind off the worry or nervous feelings.

Step 1: Find your number

Let’s try this together. Read each step, then do it.

1. Sit somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
2. Think of something that makes you anxious.
3. Rate how anxious it makes you on a scale from 1 to 10.
4. Now push the number all the way to 10 on purpose. Notice what your body does. Your chest might tighten. Your hands might curl into fists. Your shoulders might pull inward.

You turned the dial up yourself. Hold on to what you noticed. Next, you turn it down.

Step 2: Hum it Down

This technique tells your nervous system that you are safe.

1. Begin by breathing in for a count of 4.
2. On your exhale, hum until the note fades.
3. Repeat as needed.

Once you’ve practiced doing the humming technique as described above, you can find it’s a simple thing to do it without the counting. When you’re comfortable, give it a go, breathing in a full breath at the perfect rate for you, and then exhale on a long hum. Repeat four times and check in with how you feel.

And when you’re facing that next board meeting, your next flight, or a presentation, you can do this quickly and effectively with just two breaths.

Breathe in, and hum it out. If your hum is pitched low enough, it sounds like you’re thinking. Nobody will know you’re regulating your nervous system. They’ll just think you had a great idea. Practice the two hum technique when you’re calm. It will help you create an anchor to that calm state, which will help you to call it back when you need it most.

Practice these exercises this week. Journal about the experience. If you feel comfortable, share your results by commenting below.