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A doctor is going viral on TikTok for sharing his “tool for calmness” that he promises will give you “instant” relief during a moment of stress. Dr. Karan Raj regularly posts informative videos on all things health-related for his 4.6-million followers on the platform and this clip about how to calm down quickly and deal with stress is a big hit.
And the advice is pretty simple. “Try humming for 10 seconds of gargling water in your throat,” Dr. Raj says. “Or just singing.” But why does that work? He explains that doing any of these activates the muscles of the back of the throat and the vocal cords, which are connected to the vagus nerve. And that helps you “access a parasympathetic state more easily,” which then helps you feel relaxed.
Raj points out that as a “bonus benefit” of this technique, it also increases your heart rate variability, which means your body is more capable of adapting to stressful situations. TikTokers are taking to the comments section to share their praise for the doctor’s rec:
- “Tricks like this and breathing techniques have been a blessing for my anxiety,” writes one user.
- Another asks, “Anyone else humming right now?”
- “Anytime you’re stressed just do it like the Disney characters and start singing,” offers a third.
Check out the full article at Cosmo