Health · Mental Health · 1 day ago
Studies link slow breathing with relaxation and lower anxiety
Slow breathing has been linked to measurable changes in the body and to lower anxiety in healthy people.
A 2018 review examined 15 studies of breathing at fewer than 10 breaths per minute.
It found increased heart-rate variability, a sign of greater activity in the part of the nervous system that supports functions such as digestion and heart rhythm.
The studies also linked slow breathing with greater relaxation and reduced anxiety, anger and confusion, but used different methods, so they do not establish one standard effect.
In a 2023 Stanford trial, 108 healthy adults practised one of three breathing exercises or mindfulness for five minutes a day over a month.
A method involving two inhalations followed by a long exhale showed the strongest improvements in mood and resting breathing rate.
The studies did not test a 10-second pause paired with a mental phrase, so their findings do not confirm that this brief technique works; breathing exercises also do not replace professional care for ongoing distress.
A review of 15 studies found that slow-breathing techniques were associated with greater relaxation and lower anxiety in healthy people.
The review found that slow breathing increased heart-rate variability, a measure linked to parasympathetic nervous system activity.
A 2023 trial of 108 healthy adults found that cyclic sighing produced the strongest improvements in mood and resting breathing rate among the practices tested.
Researchers cautioned that studies used different methods and do not establish the precise effects of any one breathing technique.
The studies did not test a ten-second breathing pause paired with a mental phrase.
- Who
- Researchers reviewed studies of breathing techniques and ran a trial involving 108 healthy adults.
- What
- Studies linked slow breathing with measurable nervous-system changes, greater relaxation and lower anxiety.
- When
- The review was published in 2018; the clinical trial was published in January 2023.
- Where
- The review appeared in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and the trial appeared in Cell Reports Medicine.
- Why
- Slow breathing was studied for its effects on the nervous system, mood and anxiety.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
los cuatro grupos redujeron su ansiedad
El control intencional de la respiración produjo mayor beneficio anímico que la atención pasiva al propio aliento
A systematic review of 15 studies on slow breathing was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
A Stanford-led clinical trial comparing breathing exercises with mindfulness was published in Cell Reports Medicine.
The 108 trial participants completed daily five-minute sessions in one of four groups.
- Review size
- 15 studies
- Breathing rate examined
- Fewer than 10 breaths per minute
- Trial participants
- 108 healthy adults
- Daily session length
- 5 minutes
- Trial duration
- 4 weeks
Sources
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