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Are you stressed about the midterm elections? The New York Times advises that you “breathe like a baby.”
As part of their live updates for Election Day, the outlet published some advice for dealing with the “anxiety” that comes “hand in hand” with elections.
On Tuesday, the paper tweeted five recommendations to soothe “election stress” in a Twitter graphic, which includes the recommendation to breathe like a toddler.
“Elections and anxiety often go hand in hand. Here are some evidence-based strategies that can help you cope,” the paper tweeted.
If your are just too stressed on Election Night, the New York Times stresses that you “try five finger breathing,” “cool down,” “move,” “breathe like a baby,” and “limit your scrolling.”
To limit the scrolling, set “specific times when you will look for election updates.”
The most significant recommendation appears to be reverting back to a baby, but it’s understandable if you don’t fully remember those days of crawling and learning to talk.
If you don’t remember quite how to breathe like a toddler, the New York Times recommends, “focus on expanding your belly as you breathe, which can send more oxygen to the brain.”
Besides that, you can schedule the time you check for election updates and walk around your block to center your mind. If those don’t help, you should “plunge your face into a bowl with ice water for 15 to 30 seconds” or trace the “outside of your hand with your pointer finger.”
“When you trace up, breathe in, and when you trace down, breathe out,” the Times helpfully recommends.
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