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A sigh is just a sigh, or is it?



Remember the song ‘As Time Goes By’ by Herman Hupfeld? It was a 1931 song originally sung by Frances Williams. It became famous when the character Dooley Wilson sang it in the 1942 movie, Casablanca, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

The first part of the lyrics of ‘As Time Goes By’ are:

This day and age we’re living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension.
Yet we get a trifle weary
With Mr. Einstein’s theory.
So we must get down to earth at times
Relax, relieve the tension
And no matter what the progress
Or what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed.

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

I  was reminded of this song by two things: (1) my recent visit to Morocco (even though the movie Casablanca was not filmed in Casablanca, but wholly in the Warner Bros. studio) and (2) sitting in a cafe near a repetitive sigher. He was sighing about his Internet connection and work-related matters. It might have helped him to sigh repeatedly, but it was distracting me. And then I thought, is a sigh just a sigh?

By definition, a sigh is an audible long deep exhalation of breath in weariness, relief, yearning, or contentment. When repetitive it is suggestive of frustration.

Why do people sigh? Some pyschologists indicated that people do it subconsciously to regulate their breathing. A series of studies at the University of Oslo in Sweden, by KH Teigen in 2008, examined two aspects of sighing: when it occurs and how it is perceived by others (Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49).

The researchers distributed questionnaires to participants to explore ‘emotional’ words associated with sighing, which included active and passive words, and intense and subdued words. Participants were also asked how frequently they sigh, and whether they sigh when they are alone or in the company of other people.

The results showed that sighs were associated with a negative mood – to emit disappointment, defeat, frustration, boredom, and longing. The first three were definitely the sounds of the sigher sitting near me. However, in addition, participants in the study reported that they sigh in public as often as they do in private, suggesting that it may not be a form of communication, per se.

The University of Oslo’s second study asked participants to imagine 4 scenarios: (1) someone sighing in a group of people eating in a cafeteria, (2) sitting next to someone on a bench who sighs, (3) watching a person open a letter then sighing, and (4) hearing your friend sigh during a telephone conversation (on the other end of the phone, when you cannot see the person). Each participant was asked how they perceived each scenario. The researchers also asked participants to compare feelings associated with themselves sighing versus others sighing.

The results showed that, in each of the four scenarios, participants imagined people to be sighing due to negative feelings ten times more often than for positive reasons. When others sigh, it is perceived as sadness, but when it is themselves sighing, it is perceived as frustration.

In the third University of Oslo experiment the researchers presented the same participants with one of two puzzles: one solvable but difficult, and the other impossible but seemingly simple. Participants were instructed to work as long as they wanted and they could give up any time they wanted – i.e. no time limit, no stress. While the participants were solving the puzzles, the researchers counted the number of sighs during observations.

The results showed that participants sighed – a lot. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of participants sighed, with an average of 4 sighs per person. Most sighs occurred during breaks between unsuccessful attempts at solving the puzzle. When asked how they felt, the vast majority of participants expressed frustration. Most actually denied sighing at all – they simply had not noticed that they were doing it, even when told that they were.

The summary of the series of studies is that a sigh is not just a sigh. A sigh is an expression of resignation and frustration. But depending on who is sighing – and the context – it can be perceived differently by the people hearing the sighing.

Why do people sigh ? E. Vlemincx at the University of Leuven in Belgium in 2010 suggested that sighing acts as a physical and mental re-set button (Biological Psychology, 84-1). The researchers studied breathing patterns of participants for 20 minutes while sitting quietly, doing nothing. Researchers found that during the time before a sigh, breathing starts to vary, changing speed or shallowness. When breathing for too long in the same way, the lungs become stiffer and less efficient. Intermittently, adding a sigh to the normal pattern, breaks the pattern, and stretches the lung’s air sacs (alveoli). This feeling may give a sense of relief.



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