Ever since the search for the Fountain of Youth, people have sought easy, quick fixes to improve how they feel. Researchers now identify simple, evidence-based strategies that can help. These might not turn back the clock, fix a broken heart, or heal clinical anxiety or depression, but they’re effective in calming your nervous system and can become self-perpetuating.

1. Extended exhales. We’ve all heard “take 10 slow deep breaths” when we’re stressed or angry. But 10 breaths take a long time! You don’t need that many. Deep, or belly, breathing, in itself promotes the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system and inhibits the sympathetic (fight or flight—or, perhaps for women, tend and befriend). Deep breathing lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and activity in the amydala, the part of our brains associated with fear.

By extending your exhalations, you get these benefits and more, also increasing heart rate variability (HRV). HRV measures vagal activity and is a proxy for general nervous system health. Even three or five........

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