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How Breathing Exercises Affect Your HRV

#Health

I've tried doing resonance breathing exercises and was very surprised by the effect they produced. They reduce anxiety levels so effectively that I can literally observe it. HRV measurements skyrocket almost immediately.

Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic Nervous System

TL;DR: Certain breathing patterns activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms you down, lowers stress levels and increases HRV.

Stress activates your sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system, which speeds up your heart rate and decreases the variability between your heartbeats (i.e. your HRV). Stress encourages your heart to beat more like a metronome: at a regular, consistent beat.

In contrast, activation of the parasympathetic nervous system drops your overall heart rate and increases your HRV. When your heart doesn’t need to beat fast in order to pump blood to your muscles, it can be more flexible and vary the time between beats.

According to the study of Effect of Resonance Breathing on Heart Rate Variability and Cognitive Functions in Young Adults:

Increased parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic activity were observed after practicing 20 minutes of resonance frequency breathing every day for four weeks. It also improved cognition and reduced perceived stress levels among young adults. It is recommended that young adults should practice deep breathing at the resonance frequency for a few minutes every day. This would allay anxiety and stress, improve their cognitive performance, and also reduce their cardiovascular morbidity.

Further research: Why Breathing Activates PNS

Breathing Exercises

  1. HRV resonant breathing (coherent breathing)
  2. Diaphragmatic Buteyko breathing
  3. Alternate nostril breathing
  4. Box Breathing
  5. 4-7-8 Breathing

References

Other breathing-related studies: