How to find calm and rest in stressful times

Summary

Post Reports Podcast Summary

Episode Title: How to Find Calm and Rest in Stressful Times
Release Date: April 18, 2025
Hosts: Martine Powers and Richard Seema
Publisher: The Washington Post

The April 18th episode of Post Reports, hosted by Martine Powers and Richard Seema, delves into practical strategies for finding calm and rest amidst today’s pervasive stress. The discussion intricately weaves together personal experiences, scientific insights, and actionable advice on breathing techniques and napping to enhance mental well-being.

Navigating Stress in the Modern World

Martine Powers opens the conversation by addressing the high levels of anxiety and stress prevalent in today’s society, citing recent events such as fluctuating markets and severe weather disturbances. “There is a lot to feel anxious and stressed out about these days,” Martine remarks (02:08). This sets the stage for exploring effective methods to manage stress, emphasizing the necessity of finding moments of calm in an increasingly hectic world.

The Power of Deep Breathing

The discussion transitions to the fundamental practice of deep breathing. Richard Seema introduces the concept of breathwork, explaining its profound impact on mental clarity and stress reduction. “It's remarkably powerful and maybe subtle how much a few deep breaths slowing your breath down can help you feel better and go about your day maybe with a clear mind” (00:45). This simple yet effective technique is demonstrated live on air, encouraging listeners to engage in a guided breathing exercise.

Understanding Napping: Myths and Benefits

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to demystifying the act of napping. Initially, Richard expresses skepticism about napping, categorizing it as an activity for the weary or those with nothing better to do. “So the only acceptable forms of napping are if you are jet lagged or if you have a new baby... it’s way overrated as a concept” (03:53). Martine counters this viewpoint by presenting research that underscores the cognitive benefits of napping, such as enhanced memory, increased vigilance, and improved mental processing speed (04:26).

The Neuroscience of Napping

Richard delves deeper into the neuroscience behind napping, highlighting the role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation. “Research has shown that when we sleep, our brains are actually replaying some of our memories in the hippocampus... There’s more activation in the hippocampus after a nap, which indicates that maybe a nap is restoring some of the functions of the hippocampus” (05:25). This explanation underscores the biological underpinnings that make napping a beneficial practice for cognitive health.

Optimal Napping Practices

The conversation addresses the critical aspect of nap duration. Richard emphasizes that shorter naps, typically 30 minutes or less, are more beneficial and less likely to result in sleep inertia—a state of grogginess upon waking. “Shorter naps... tend to be more beneficial... longer naps could be a sign that there’s something wrong” (07:04). Martine and Richard discuss practical tips for optimizing naps, including maintaining good sleep hygiene by keeping the environment dark, cool, and quiet, and scheduling naps to avoid disrupting nighttime sleep (10:22).

Breathwork Techniques for Everyday Calm

Post advertisements, the focus returns to breathwork. Richard Seema explains the concept of box breathing, a technique involving inhaling, holding the breath, exhaling, and holding again, each for a set count. “One really common breathing pattern is known as box breathing... inhale, hold, exhale, and hold” (17:22). He guides listeners through an exercise, highlighting its immediate relaxation benefits. “I would say it was relaxing now. Probably have to do it more than one time” (19:00). Richard emphasizes that consistent practice can significantly enhance the body’s ability to shift from a stress response to a state of relaxation.

The Science Behind Breathwork

Further exploring breathwork, Richard discusses how intentional breathing patterns influence brain activity. “Breathwork... practices where you are very intentionally controlling how you breathe, how fast, how deep... alleviate stress and improve our mood” (14:15). He explains the oscillating effect of breathing on the brain’s neural activity, particularly in areas responsible for emotion and cognition, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (15:12). This scientific insight reinforces the tangible benefits of integrating breathwork into daily routines.

Practical Implementation and Takeaways

The episode culminates with actionable advice for listeners to incorporate both breathing techniques and napping into their lives for enhanced mental health. Richard underscores the importance of posture and environment in optimizing these practices. “Make sure to try to sleep in the afternoon, not too close to bedtime, and reopen up the curtains, like turn on bright lights just to help me feel more vigilant” (10:22). Martine encourages listeners to explore additional breathing exercises through provided resources, ensuring they have the tools to continue their journey toward greater calm and resilience.

Conclusion

Post Reports successfully blends expert insights with practical methods for managing stress, offering listeners evidence-based strategies to cultivate calm and rest in their daily lives. By exploring the neuroscience of breathing and napping, Martine Powers and Richard Seema provide a comprehensive guide to enhancing mental well-being in today’s demanding environment.

Notable Quotes:

• “A few deep breaths slowing your breath down can help you feel better and go about your day maybe with a clear mind” – Richard Seema (00:45)

• “The only acceptable forms of napping are if you are jet lagged or if you have a new baby... it's way overrated as a concept” – Richard Seema (03:53)

• “Box breathing... inhale, hold, exhale, and hold” – Richard Seema (17:22)

• “It was relaxing now. Probably have to do it more than one time” – Richard Seema (19:00)

For those interested in exploring more about breathing exercises and enhancing their ability to find calm, the episode provides valuable resources and encourages ongoing practice.

Transcript

[Martine Powers]

Hey, it's Martine here. So if you listen regularly to post.

[Richard Seema]

Reports, you know that I haven't been hosting lately.

[Martine Powers]

That's because I've been covering the White House for the Post. It has been an amazing opportunity so.

[Richard Seema]

Far, and also it's been a little bit stressful.

[Martine Powers]

That's why I am so excited to be in your feeds today with a conversation that is refreshing and relaxing.

[Richard Seema]

Maybe we should all just take a beat and take a deep breath. Would you like to do that with me?

Sure.

So sit with your butt firmly on the chair, your feet firmly on the ground.

[Martine Powers]

Okay, give me a second here.

[Richard Seema]

Sit up nice and straight. And then through your nose, thick and nice. Nice, slow, deep breath in. One, two, three. And out slowly. It's remarkably powerful and maybe subtle how much a few deep breaths slowing your breath down can help help you feel better and go about your day maybe with a clear mind.

[Martine Powers]

This is Richard Seema. He reports on the neuroscience of everyday life for the Post, and he recently sat down with me to talk about breathing.

[Richard Seema]

So, Richard, is this what you do all day? You just think about how to breathe in and out?

I thought you were gonna ask, is this what I do all day? Breathe? And I listen to say yes. But then that's true.

I mean, I would hope so.

I do think about it a lot now. I got really fascinated with how something so simple, something we don't really think about much, can be something that we use more consciously to make ourselves feel better when maybe we're feeling anxious or stressed out.

And I probably don't have to tell.

[Martine Powers]

You that there is a lot to feel anxious and stressed out about these days. This morning, after a week of shaky markets and tariff whiplash, President Trump is hesitant to rule out a recession.

[Richard Seema]

In 2020, measles cases are most likely being under reported in the US that's.

[Martine Powers]

According to a powerful storm system makes its way across the country. Tornado watches and warning.

[Unknown]

2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4.

[Martine Powers]

Lately, Richard has been really leaning into simple practices that can help calm our minds. Breath, work and also taking a nap.

[Richard Seema]

It's very common in other cultures. You know, the siesta in Spain or like taking some time in the afternoons in Italy. But, you know, the research is really starting to bear out. That could be something that you do to be more productive.

[Martine Powers]

From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post reports.

[Richard Seema]

Martine.

[Martine Powers]

I'm Martine powers. It's Friday, April 18th. Today, my conversation with Richard about how to take a better nap and why finding calm and rest in stressful moments is so good for our brains. Richard, I'm excited to talk to you.

[Richard Seema]

About more about breathing. I understand. We're also going to talk today about napping. But I have to admit to you.

[Martine Powers]

My feelings about napping.

[Richard Seema]

Do you want to hear them?

Oh, yeah, Lay it on me.

So the only acceptable forms of napping are if you are jet lagged or if you have a new baby. And other than that, napping is just for when you're feeling lazy or when you don't have enough to do. And that even when you nap, you wake up feeling kind of horrible anyways, that you're just more tired and more groggy and more adverse than you were when you started the nap. Those are my feelings about napping, that it's way overrated as a concept.

Yeah, I think a lot of people, especially here in the US have those exact same feelings. A lot of the research does show that actually it might be a good way to boost your productivity if that's what you're keen on doing. It makes us more vigilant, improves our mental processing speed, our memory, and so it has all these great cognitive benefits.

I'm open to being persuaded.

I admit I, I love naps, so maybe I'm on the opposite spectrum, but I, you know, I learned a lot about how to take my naps a little better.

Well, yeah, let's, let's start by talking a little bit more about the napping part of things. Because as you said, you have according to your reporting that naps are, scientists say this way to sharpen your cognition and your memory. Tell me more about that science. Like what? Really?

Yeah, you know, sleep is beneficial to us and naps are just another form of sleep. You know, research has shown that when we sleep, our brains are actually replaying some of our memories in the hippocampus, which is a core essential memory part of the brain. It helps us store new memories. It's on the sides in the temporal lobe of the brain that's actually shaped like a curved tube, kind of like a seahorse, which is how it got its name. It's seahorse in Greek. So it's on the sides of your brain. You have two of them, one on each side. And yeah, that's where your initial memories are being encoded before it's shipped off to storage long term in your cortex. We're also seeing that this happens after napping, that there's more activation in the hippocampus after a nap, which indicates that maybe a Nap is restoring some of the functions of the hippocampus.

I'm interested in what you said earlier about how well napping is good for you because sleep is good for you. And I think that gets at an assumption that I have about napping, that when I think about a good night's sleep, that and the restorative benefits, it's like having that, that REM cycle going and you know, getting those eight hours and really being dead to the world and that a cat nap like just isn't the same thing. I hear you when you say that there are these benefits. But like what, what makes that difference between that good nap experience and that bad nap?

Yeah, there's research showing that the length of the nap might matter. So shorter naps, about 30 minutes or less tend to be maybe more beneficial. There's sort of a paradox in the amount of sleep or napping we get. Basically the more time people spend napping in general, it's correlated with more like adverse health risks. But when they looked at people who napped for less than 30 minutes, those risks were not there. And it's not necessarily that the longer naps are causing this worse health, but it's maybe a signal that something else already was going wrong in the body that they're napping to compensate for poor health.

Interesting. Like if you're taking a 90 minute nap or two hour nap, that that might be a sign that there's something wrong.

It could be, it could be, it could be something you could bring up with a sleep doctor if it's something that you're not planning on napping that long for examp, and also for the longer naps, you are more likely to go into deep sleep. So we first go light sleep, deep sleep, and then through REM sleep and then we cycle back through to light sleep again. But after about 30 minutes or so, that's when we start going into that deep sleep phase of the cycle. And when you're there and you come back and you wake up immediately through that, you're more likely to feel groggy, feel like you have no idea what's going on. And you know, this is called sleep inertia because just like in physics, a body at rest tends to stay at rest.

And yeah, that is my napping problem, that my body at rest does in fact tend to stay at rest.

Yeah, but if you keep your naps shorter, you're less likely to suffer that sleep inertia, that grogginess. It could still happen, but it's less likely to be Severe and less likely to be as impairing in terms of.

A nap actually compensating for a bad night of sleep. Like, is there a one to one there? I mean, will a good nap make up for bad real sleep?

I think in the short term the research shows that it can at least compensate for your cognitive performance somewhat. Like there were studies showing that it could bring your, you know, attention or memory out to baseline. Maybe not quite, but in the long term, it's still not a replacement for actually getting your full night's sleep. I would also like to add that naps are great even if you do have a full nights of sleep, but you still feel tired for whatever reason or you need a little bit of boost. Studies show that it does still improve people's memories, even if they are well rested from the night before.

So, thinking about your own successful naps, what is some of your advice for how to have a good nap and like the circumstances around your nap? I mean, how do you set up the right vibe for a quality nap?

Yeah, so because naps are still a form of sleep, good sleep hygiene is really important and it might be even harder during the day, but you know, keeping things dark, cool and quiet, you know, I draw the shades, I bring out my eye mask, I have earplugs in. And also making sure I give myself the time to fall asleep. If I really need a nap, I'm usually out in five to 10 minutes. So I build that in with when I set my alarm. And you know, I make sure to try to sleep the afternoon, not too close to bedtime because I don't want to disrupt my nighttime sleep. And then when I wake up, you know, reopen up the curtains, like turn on bright lights just to help me feel more vigilant and get restarted with my work. And for the people who find it difficult to nap, I think it's also important to note that even just taking those minutes to yourself by closing your eyes can be very restorative as well.

Or perhaps breathing could be another way to use that time.

Yes, yes, that is also a perfect use of your time.

[Martine Powers]

After the break, we breathe and talk.

[Richard Seema]

About the power of breathwork. We'll be right back.

[Tom Sytsima]

My name is Tom Citsama and I am the food critic for the Washington Post. I think a lot of great restaurant meals are like great books, films or concerts. You don't necessarily need them to live. But don't they make life more worth living? I see myself as sort of a reader advocate going in there, spending the Post money coming back and giving you the green light, yield sign or a stop sign. I like to be seen as sort of the best friend who happens to eat out a lot more than they do. I eat in about 10 restaurants a week, and I like creating memories for people and helping them create memories, whether those are first date, a 50th anniversary, grandma's 90th birthday, if you have special needs, whether they're dietary or otherwise. When you subscribe to the Washington Post, you support this kind of journalism. Learn more at subscribe.washingtonpost.com I'm Tom Sytsima, and I'm one of the people behind the Post.

[Unknown]

Think about why you listen to podcasts. It's like having a friend who makes you think or can help you wind down, right? Well, the Washington Post has a lot of people you can turn to at any hour. You can read the most important and interesting stories. We can help you cook something delicious, give you advice on a tricky friendship. Rave about a movie or book that you shouldn't miss. When you become a Washington Post subscriber, you have a companion for whatever part of your day needs it most. Get it all for just $4 every four weeks. That's for an entire year. After that, it's just $12 every four days. Weeks. Cancel anytime. Go to washingtonpost.com subscribe. That's washingtonpost.com subscribe.

[Richard Seema]

So, Richard, let's talk about breathing and breath work, which I gather is what you had me do at the beginning was. Yeah, take a very intentional, deep, long breath in and out. Explain to me, like, what is breath work and what were we doing there?

Yeah, breath work. Are these practices where you are very intentionally controlling how you breathe, how fast, how deep. And many of these practices have been shown to have the power to alleviate stress and improve our mood. The research is really fascinating here because with every time we breathe in, you know, our pupils and our eyes, like, dilate a little. Our reaction times are slightly quicker. We're a little better at remembering information. You know, our response to emotional stuff is a little heightened and we are less likely to move. And every time we breathe out, the opposite is the same. So, like, our behavior is oscillating with our breaths, and at the same time, so is our brain activity, too.

What's happening in your brain when you're taking these deep breaths?

Yeah, if you think about it, our, you know, our breaths are this, like, beautiful pattern of in and out. And, you know, that gives a signal to the brain that you could see in the hippocampus, which Again, is important for memory. You know, when neuroscientists record activity there, they see that it also oscillates as we breathe, while we sleep and while we're awake. And the breath also influences the neural activity in parts of the brain that are important for emotion and cognition. This includes the amygdala, which is known as the fear center of the brain. But it's important for many emotions as well as the prefrontal cortex, which is important for a lot of our executive cognitive functions.

So given all that, how do we breathe better and with more tranquility and restorative benefits?

Many of us, you know, breathe pretty shallowly, and we actually breathe pretty rapidly, too. You know, the research suggests that Most people breathe 12 to 20 times a minute. And what a lot of the researchers on breathing told me is we should be aiming for more around six breaths a minute.

[Martine Powers]

Six breaths a minute?

[Richard Seema]

Yeah. It's quite slow.

It feels highly rationed. I feel like I would take six breaths in 20 seconds and be like, oh, my gosh, I ran out of breaths for the rest of this minute.

Well, I mean, that's actually the basis of why a lot of these breathing exercises, you know, give you these counts for how long you do each step of a breathing cycle. It's, you know, really slowing down your breathing rate. And that seems to be why people's mood or, you know, feelings of anxiety change.

So talk to me about some of those exercises. Like what. What when you. When you talk about a breathing exercise, like, what does that mean other than just like, breathe slower and only six times in a minute?

Well, that's just the magic number that one of the breathing experts, Paul Allegan, told me. But one really common breathing pattern is known as box breathing. And so basically, there's four stages of our basic breath cycle. We inhale, we hold that inhale, we exhale, and then we hold that exhale. And for each of those steps, we could hold it for three or four seconds. So if you want, we could do one pass through this.

Yeah, yeah, let's do it.

[Martine Powers]

Let's do it.

[Richard Seema]

One thing to keep in mind is, you know, mind your posture. Breathe, like, as softly and as smoothly as possible. And, you know, try to feel that you're not just breathing through your chest. You're breathing, like, let your belly come up with the breath. It might help to put a hand beneath the sternum above your belly button to just feel that it's expanding as you breathe in and that it's going down as you breathe out.

[Unknown]

Inhale 2 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2,. 3, 4.

[Richard Seema]

And how did that feel?

I would say it was relaxing. I feel relaxed now. Probably have to do it more than one time.

Yeah, no, for sure. Like, even five minutes can help, you know, sort of reset this sympathetic, parasympathetic balance, you know, this sympathetic fight or flight parasympathetic rest or digest mode. Because breathing sends a signal through the vagal nerve to our brains. And slow breathing is an even more potent signal that sort of tells you to, you know, literally take a beat. And what you did right there, if you kept on doing for a minute, that box, breathing for 4 seconds each step already would slow your breathing rate down to less than four breaths a minute.

[Martine Powers]

Wow.

[Richard Seema]

Okay. Well, I'm. I'm well on my way then.

I think that's one of the really powerful things about breathing is, you know, it's with us from birth, and it's something that we could always call upon to, you know, help us when we need it, if we remember that we have it.

Richard, thank you so much for sharing all of your insights on this.

Oh, yeah. Thank you so much for having me. This was a pleasure.

[Martine Powers]

Richard Seema writes the Brain Matters column for the Post. If you want to learn more about other breathing exercises, check out the link in our show notes. That's it for Post reports. Thanks for listening. Today's episode was produced by Alana Gordon. It was mixed by Shawn Carter and edited by Lucy Perkins, with help from Maggie Penman. Thanks also to Anjuman Ali. Our team also includes Rena Flores, Ted Muldoon, Ariel Plotnick, Rennie Svirnovsky, Sabi Robinson, Emma Talkoff, Peter Bresnan, Laura Benshoff, Renita Jablonski, and Elahi Azadi. I'm Martine Powers. We'll be back on Monday with more stories from the Washington Post.

[Christina Quinn]

Okay, real talk, we're all kind of hooked on our phones. It's full of shiny apps designed to keep your attention captive forever. But there's real life stuff to do other than scrolling. And I'm here to help. I'm Christina Quinn, the host of Try this, a podcast from the Washington Post. The show explores solutions for life's common problems. And this season, we're learning to tame the dopamine beast and reclaim our attention tension in this noisy and distracting world. So let's tame the beast together. Find Try this from the Washington Post. Wherever you listen.