Technologies

Sighing Deeply Is Actually Good for You. Here’s Why

A study dives into how deep breaths help our lungs.

Do you feel better after breathing a deep sigh? It’s relaxing. And it turns out there’s a good reason why we feel relief after big breaths, It comes down to a special fluid inside our lungs. The liquid — pulmonary surfactant — helps our lungs work. Without it, we’d be in serious trouble. But researchers at Swiss university ETH Zurich found that deep breaths have an interesting effect on how this fluid interacts with the lungs.

The new research, published in the journal Science Advances, could have meaningful implications for future medicine and therapies.

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‘Magic’ lung fluid to the rescue

For a long time, scientists have been interested in how this fluid helps us breathe. In the 1980s, research into this area resulted in a life-saving treatment for babies born prematurely with underdeveloped lungs.

By extracting fluid from animal lungs and injecting it into those of premature infants, doctors were able to reduce respiratory distress syndrome from developing right after birth. The fluid reduces surface stress in the lungs.

«This surface stress influences how compliant the lungs are,» said ETH Zurich professor Jan Vermant. «The more compliant the lungs are, the less resistance there is to expansion and contraction — and the easier it is to breathe.»

Breathing deep to ease tension

The research team wanted to see how lung fluid behaved when it was stretched and recompressed, so they simulated the movements of normal and deep breaths in the lab.

They measured the fluid’s surface stress in each case and compared the data. The researchers found that surface stress decreases significantly after a deep breath.

The utmost layer of the thin film that the fluid leaves on a lung settles and hardens over time.

«Directly at the boundary with the air, there is a slightly stiffer surface layer,» said Maria Novaes-Silva, a doctoral student in Vermant’s research group and the study’s first author. She said that the pronounced stretching and compression of the pulmonary fluid that comes with a deep sigh actually rearranges the surface layer’s composition.

So, after you let out a deep breath, it becomes easier for you to breathe. That’s why we feel a sense of relief from a deep sigh.

An ETH Zurich spokesperson said that clinical practice has also found that breathing becomes increasingly complex with constant shallow breaths. So, the lab measurements seem to follow real-world observations.

The researchers theorize that this study may contribute to a better understanding of adult lung failure.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Oct. 25

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 25.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the longest one of the week, and some of the answers are tricky. Read on for help. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Sword go-with
Answer: SHIELD

7A clue: Hamburger or Frankfurter, for example
Answer: GERMAN

8A clue: Sticky stuff on bark
Answer: TREESAP

10A clue: Hotel room pricing
Answer: RATE

11A clue: Classic arcade game of hopping between obstacles
Answer: FROGGER

14A clue: The «W» of the W.N.B.A.
Answer: WOMENS

15A clue: Looked after a pup
Answer: DOGSAT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Drill instructor’s rank: Abbr.
Answer: SGT

2D clue: «___ Loss» (#1 album for Drake and 21 Savage)
Answer: HER

3D clue: Fury
Answer: IRE

4D clue: Appears on the scene
Answer: EMERGES

5D clue: Dish layered like this: sheet of noodles, sauce, cheese, repeat
Answer: LASAGNA

6D clue: Genetic screening procedure
Answer: DNATEST

9D clue: «As ___ my last email …»
Answer: PER

11D clue: Subject line abbreviation
Answer: FWD

12D clue: Aussie marsupial, for short
Answer: ROO

13D clue: «No wayyyy!»
Answer: OMG

Technologies

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 25, #397

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 25, No. 397.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. It helps if you’re familiar with the athletes of the Pacific Northwest. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: When you get hurt.

Green group hint: Beaver State.

Blue group hint: Not surnames, but…

Purple group hint: Think oxygen.