I've found breathing exercises to be effective for the duration of the exercise, but I'm more interested in the possibility of training myself to adjust my respiration patterns over sustained durations. Would it be beneficial -- or even possible at all -- to adjust my body's default/subconscious breathing patterns to match those mentioned in the article?
Tangentially related, are there any wearable devices that allow for high resolution respiration monitoring? I'm imagining some measurement of lung expansion over time (probably at least 10 Hz) so that I can quantify the deepness/shallowness of my breaths as well as the phase of inhalation/exhalation cycles.
Parasympathetic nervous activation increased risk-taking behavior? That's interesting/unexpected (at least to me). Also, this part caught my eye:
> The selective impact of prolonged exhalation breathing on reward responsiveness has important implications for clinical contexts, such as anxiety, panic disorder, and depression, given their distinct autonomic signatures and maladaptive reward processing. By enhancing cardiac parasympathetic modulation through prolonged exhalation techniques, individuals may restore reward processing, a valuable pathway for emotional recalibration. Prolonged exhalation harbors the potential for a low-cost, low-risk, easily applicable intervention to be incorporated into therapy or rehabilitation programs, especially to support pharmacological treatments.
It seems counterintuitive on the face of it but when I imagined someone forcing themselves to breath slowly I immediaty saw they are about to do something stupid next.
i developed a health issue that has affected my breathing over the past few years and i am cognitively and emotionally destroyed, it has made me realize that breathing is really important
Weren't 90s of deep breathing supposed to remove all cortisol in the blood? This seems like an opposite result. Also a single prolonged breath was supposed to reset autonomic nervous system. Which research should I trust now?
Slow breathing is also recommended for novices before public speaking, as it helps speakers overcome irrational physiological fear of facing people, the risk-taking shift is useful as it helps you speak more confidently, not more cautiously. Slow breathing can calm nerves quickly; bottom-up regulation: body tells brain “you’re safe”.
I've found a few cycles of <<repeated box breathing + a long breath hold>> works quite well.
Box breathing is 4 seconds inhale, 4 seconds hold, 4 seconds exhale, 4 seconds hold. IIRC you are supposed to take in as much air as you can on the inhale, and let it all out on the exhale.
After you do a few cycles of BB, take in as much air as you can, then hold your breath for as long as you can.
I prefer breathing like a resting dog: deep inhale, immediately relax and exhale (just let it out; it'll be forceful at first and taper off), and take the next inhale when the need arises. Ideally I do this with water and food, too (feast/fast). I find the 4-4-4-4 contrived, but I can see the potential mental-focus benefit.
Also try to make decisions ahead of time too. E.g. figure out what your opinion is before the meeting. Think like a pilot, don't let the plane do something you hadn't anticipated 5 minutes before (or in case of life 5 days 5 weeks 5 months or sometimes 5 years!)
Cant do this for everything but examples are supermarket lists, home viewing (know your price, questions, decision criteria)
The finding certainly chimes with my experience. A few deep breaths each with a slow release taking up to around twelve seconds almost always lowers my blood pressure sometimes by as much as 10 points with the attendant calmness thrown in. Although the BP effect is temporary, by habitually doing it, my BP even drops on a semi-permanent basis. Reports on this routine abound. If the goal here can be achieved, those with a BP problem will immediately appreciate the upside of this approach.
I've been practicing coherent breathing (6 breaths/min, equal inhalation and exhalation) to help with anxiety. I'm mostly going off a study[1] where participants who practiced coherent breathing 20 mins a day reported significantly improved outcomes weeks later.
Does anyone have advice about HRV specifically within the context of anxiety?
I've been measuring my SDNN using a Polar strap, and it hasn't really budged. However, I'm not taking that too seriously. I think my HRV is already fairly good because I bike. Anecdotally, I think the coherent breathing helps, especially if I _remember to do it in stressful moments_, not just in the morning.
You can practice regulating exhale rate in a pool or bath by blowing bubbles. I find it helps with freediving exercises where you fix the number of breaths in between reps.
Slowed breathing with longer exhales makes a noticeable (5-10 bpm) decrease in HR during endurance bike rides. It’s interesting seeing it happen when the power output is the same.
Respiration and metabolism exhaust CO2 and H20 which are sourced from recent biospheric, rather than fossil, sources. That carbon is already in the biosphere, and the net carbon balance is effectively nil.
Until someone comes up with a food-synthesis process based on fossil sources (e.g., petrochemicals, limestone, or the like), this will be the case.
That's not to say that the agricultural food cycle is net thermal-forcing neutral as there are 1) fossil fuel inputs (ICE engines, generation, and Haber-Bosch nitrogen fertiliser fixation most notably), 2) other greenhouse gas emissions (notably methane from livestock), and 3) some carbon emission from ground tillage and release of carbon from topsoil. But none of those will be much affected by your respiratory rate.
25 comments
[ 7.4 ms ] story [ 47.1 ms ] threadTangentially related, are there any wearable devices that allow for high resolution respiration monitoring? I'm imagining some measurement of lung expansion over time (probably at least 10 Hz) so that I can quantify the deepness/shallowness of my breaths as well as the phase of inhalation/exhalation cycles.
> The selective impact of prolonged exhalation breathing on reward responsiveness has important implications for clinical contexts, such as anxiety, panic disorder, and depression, given their distinct autonomic signatures and maladaptive reward processing. By enhancing cardiac parasympathetic modulation through prolonged exhalation techniques, individuals may restore reward processing, a valuable pathway for emotional recalibration. Prolonged exhalation harbors the potential for a low-cost, low-risk, easily applicable intervention to be incorporated into therapy or rehabilitation programs, especially to support pharmacological treatments.
https://www.aolresearch.org/published-research
Box breathing is 4 seconds inhale, 4 seconds hold, 4 seconds exhale, 4 seconds hold. IIRC you are supposed to take in as much air as you can on the inhale, and let it all out on the exhale.
After you do a few cycles of BB, take in as much air as you can, then hold your breath for as long as you can.
You'll feel the results immediately
Cant do this for everything but examples are supermarket lists, home viewing (know your price, questions, decision criteria)
Does anyone have advice about HRV specifically within the context of anxiety?
I've been measuring my SDNN using a Polar strap, and it hasn't really budged. However, I'm not taking that too seriously. I think my HRV is already fairly good because I bike. Anecdotally, I think the coherent breathing helps, especially if I _remember to do it in stressful moments_, not just in the morning.
[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10719279/
The idiocy of thinking calmness leading to optimal results. Usually this comes from people who never accomplished anything.
The paper is the prime example of pseudo science masquerading as science.
Until someone comes up with a food-synthesis process based on fossil sources (e.g., petrochemicals, limestone, or the like), this will be the case.
That's not to say that the agricultural food cycle is net thermal-forcing neutral as there are 1) fossil fuel inputs (ICE engines, generation, and Haber-Bosch nitrogen fertiliser fixation most notably), 2) other greenhouse gas emissions (notably methane from livestock), and 3) some carbon emission from ground tillage and release of carbon from topsoil. But none of those will be much affected by your respiratory rate.
Tokyo's Takashimaya store sold more than 300.
A five quart canister of 95% concentrated oxygen (weighing about six ounces) sells at 11 a can.
[1]: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/ryosuke-takashima/