Breathing - more than just "catching your breath"?

Breathing is closely linked to mental and physical processes. These can be "visibly" influenced by the breathing pattern on the one hand and by the way we breathe on the other. >Breathing< influences both our health and our performance.

Breathing

How do changes in breathing patterns affect the mind and body?

Particularly slow and even breathing of around 3 - 6 breaths per minute has a particularly strong rhythmizing effect on the cardiovascular system, which can be reinforced by muscle contractions in the breathing rhythm. This phenomenon is closely linked to neurophysiological processes that are involved in a number of health-related processes such as the regulation of emotions, blood pressure and our immune system.

► Tatschl et al. (2020). Implementing mobile HRV biofeedback as adjunctive therapy during inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation facilitates recovery of depressive symptoms and enhances autonomic functioning short-term: A 1-year pre–post-intervention follow-up pilot study.

► Tatschl, J. M., & Schwerdtfeger, A. R. (2022). Squeeze the beat: Enhancing cardiac vagal activity during resonance breathing via coherent pelvic floor recruitment.