Since then, I’ve become more cautious about calming back down after exercise, mainly because that pounding feeling I had made me feel like I was running a marathon under my desk. Reducing stress has become a prominent talking point in the fitness community too, and the theory of ‘down-regulating’ has become a buzzy way to relax after intense sessions.

I first heard the term on The Huberman Lab podcast, where Dr Andrew Huberman and Dr Andy Galpin discussed why you shouldn’t just “hi-five and walk out of the gym”. They advocated for doing something that calms you down – namely, lying on your back and breathing with your eyes closed. It makes sense that this would help you de-stress – we all know that meditation and breathing is good for us. But studies also show that five minutes of slow breathing can immediately reduce heart rate and blood pressure while enhancing the activation of the parasympathetic system (helping us relax).

What is down-regulation?

According to Dr Rachel Taylor, a neuroscientist and founder of the (Un)broken platform: “Down-regulation is the process in which your body produces less of something to bring you back into a homeostatic state.” After exercise, this means gently decreasing levels of cortisol and adrenaline to bring us out of our heightened state.

Recovery Clinic: is ‘down-regulating’ enough to save us from stress?