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Updated: Oct 10, 2025
Investigation into Deep Breathing through Measurement of Ventilatory Parameters and Observation of Breathing Patterns
Published on: September 16, 2019
Single Slow-Paced Breathing Session at Six Cycles per Minute: Investigation of Dose-Response Relationship on Cardiac
Min You1, Sylvain Laborde2,3, Nina Zammit2
1EA 3918 CERREV, UFR Psychologie, Université de Caen Normandie, 14000 Caen, France.
Abstract:
The practice of slow-paced breathing (SPB) has been linked to a range of positive outcomes, such as decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as increasing well-being. Among the suggested mechanisms of action, SPB has been shown to increase cardiac vagal activity (CVA). The present study aimed to investigate whether there is a dose-response relationship modulating the effects of SPB on CVA. A total of 59 participants were involved in this study. In a within-subject design, participants attended the lab five times, and realized SPB at six cycles per minute with different durations (5, 10, 15, and 20 min), as well as a control condition without SPB. CVA was indexed via the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). During SPB, findings showed an increase in RMSSD in all conditions compared to the control condition. However, no differences were found in RMSSD among the different session durations, during SPB or during the resting measurement completed immediately after SPB. Noteworthily, session duration showed an influence on the spontaneous respiratory frequency in the resting measurement occurring immediately after SPB. Specifically, respiratory frequency appears to decrease with session duration, thus potentially contributing to additional relaxing effects.
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