Blog post from our board member Dr. Robert Bacci: The power of breath: How brief daily breathing exercises can enhance your recovery – Courtesy of Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy
Taking a few moments for focused breathing can make a world of difference when it comes to managing pain, stress, and overall well-being. At our physical therapy practice, we introduce patients who are appropriate for breathwork and make it part of our treatment approach.
A recent research study highlighted the measurable benefits that consistent daily breathing exercises can have on both mood and physiology within just 4 weeks.
THE SCIENCE SUPPORTS BREATHWORK
The study, published in Cell Reports Medicine (Reference), randomized over 100 adults into one of four groups. Each group was instructed to practice a specific 5-minute breathing exercise every day for four weeks. The four exercises were cyclic sighing, box breathing, cyclic hyperventilation with breath retention, and mindfulness meditation. Participants completed brief surveys before and after each daily breathing session to assess changes in mood. They also wore a wrist sensor device to continuously monitor heart rate, respiration rate and other physiological metrics.
WHAT THIS RESEARCH ARTICLE TELLS US
After four weeks, all groups showed decreased anxiety and negative mood from before to after each daily breathing session. However, the combined breathwork groups showed greater increases in positive mood compared to the mindfulness meditation group. Out of the three breathwork exercises, cyclic sighing – which emphasizes prolonged exhales – resulted in the greatest improvements in daily mood that continued to increase over the four weeks.
The cyclic sighing group also had the largest reduction in respiratory rate compared to mindfulness meditation. Read more..