'Breathing Room' Reduces Stress
2020-04-12
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2If you are feeling nervous or stressed, a simple thing can help.
3Take a deep breath.
4Deep breathing can calm your nerves and lower the chemicals in your body that can lead to stress.
5If one of your friends is stressed, you can calmly tell them, "Try to take a deep breath."
6We sometimes describe these as deep cleansing breaths.
7A long, deep breath feels as if it is cleaning out your body.
8American English has some expressions that use breath or breathing in them.
9One expression is breathing room.
10This may sound like a room used especially for breathing.
11But it is not.
12"Breathing room" gives you time or space to do something, finish something or get relief from something.
13It is what the online dictionary Merriam-Webster defines as a "buffer of time, space or money that allows for freedom of movement or relief from a given source of pressure or stress."
14So, time, space and money can all give us breathing room.
15First, here is an example related to time.
16If you have a big work project or school project that is due in one month, you should start immediately if you can.
17This will give you some breathing room.
18If something goes wrong, you will have time to deal with it.
19Or if something fun comes up, like a party, you will have enough breathing room to be able to enjoy yourself.
20If you wait until the very last minute to start your project, you have no breathing room.
21And that can cause you to feel very stressed.
22Now, let's talk about how money can give you breathing room.
23When a country experiences a recession or depression, people who live paycheck-to-paycheck may find themselves in a tough situation.
24Living paycheck-to-paycheck means you have little money in savings.
25You need your next paycheck to pay your bills.
26However, if you have some money put aside, you might feel less stressed.
27For example, having enough money in the bank to pay six months of your rent, would give you some breathing room if the economy took a turn for the worse.
28Sometimes breathing room refers to actual space around you.
29For example, let's say you witness a car crash.
30The driver struggles to get out of the car as people gather around to see if he is okay.
31You step in to make sure there is enough space between the injured driver and the crowd of people.
32"Step back! Step back! Give him some breathing room!" you shout.
33Here is another example.
34Let's say you must stay at home because of bad weather, or because of an illness, or because a new virus has turned into a pandemic and is forcing the world inside on a stay-at-home order!
35You may find that after a few days -- or even weeks -- you need more breathing room.
36In other words, you feel like you need more space -- away from those you live with.
37So, you can think of it this way: Breathing room reduces stress.
38It gives you the time, money or space to get something done or to just feel relaxed.
39And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
40Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2If you are feeling nervous or stressed, a simple thing can help. Take a deep breath. 3Deep breathing can calm your nerves and lower the chemicals in your body that can lead to stress. If one of your friends is stressed, you can calmly tell them, "Try to take a deep breath." 4We sometimes describe these as deep cleansing breaths. A long, deep breath feels as if it is cleaning out your body. 5American English has some expressions that use breath or breathing in them. One expression is breathing room. This may sound like a room used especially for breathing. But it is not. 6"Breathing room" gives you time or space to do something, finish something or get relief from something. 7It is what the online dictionary Merriam-Webster defines as a "buffer of time, space or money that allows for freedom of movement or relief from a given source of pressure or stress." 8So, time, space and money can all give us breathing room. 9Time 10First, here is an example related to time. 11If you have a big work project or school project that is due in one month, you should start immediately if you can. This will give you some breathing room. If something goes wrong, you will have time to deal with it. Or if something fun comes up, like a party, you will have enough breathing room to be able to enjoy yourself. 12If you wait until the very last minute to start your project, you have no breathing room. And that can cause you to feel very stressed. 13Money 14Now, let's talk about how money can give you breathing room. 15When a country experiences a recession or depression, people who live paycheck-to-paycheck may find themselves in a tough situation. Living paycheck-to-paycheck means you have little money in savings. You need your next paycheck to pay your bills. 16However, if you have some money put aside, you might feel less stressed. For example, having enough money in the bank to pay six months of your rent, would give you some breathing room if the economy took a turn for the worse. 17Space 18Sometimes breathing room refers to actual space around you. 19For example, let's say you witness a car crash. The driver struggles to get out of the car as people gather around to see if he is okay. You step in to make sure there is enough space between the injured driver and the crowd of people. "Step back! Step back! Give him some breathing room!" you shout. 20Here is another example. Let's say you must stay at home because of bad weather, or because of an illness, or because a new virus has turned into a pandemic and is forcing the world inside on a stay-at-home order! 21You may find that after a few days -- or even weeks -- you need more breathing room. In other words, you feel like you need more space -- away from those you live with. 22So, you can think of it this way: Breathing room reduces stress. It gives you the time, money or space to get something done or to just feel relaxed. 23And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. 24Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 25Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 26In the Comments Section, practice using "breathing room" or any other words and expression in this story. 27_____________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc. 30calm - adj. not angry, upset, excited, etc.: calmly - adv. 31relief - n. the removal or reducing of something that is painful or unpleasant 32buffer - n. something that lessens the harmful effects of (something) 33allow - v. to permit (someone) to have or do something 34rent - n. money paid for the use of another's property 35take a turn for the worse - expression : to become worse 36relaxed - adj. set or being at rest or at ease