Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis

Summary & key facts

This 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled data from 223 studies to see if voluntary slow breathing (VSB) changes heart rate variability that reflects parasympathetic (vagal) control of the heart. The authors found that VSB increased vagally-mediated heart rate variability during breathing sessions, right after a single session, and after multi‑session interventions. They note these results support the idea that VSB may influence the parasympathetic nervous system and suggest it could be a low‑tech, low‑cost option with few expected adverse effects, while presenting a summary of existing studies rather than specific clinical rules.

Key facts:

• The review screened 1,842 abstracts and included 223 studies in the analysis.
• Of the 223 included studies, 172 reported measures taken during the breathing session (DURING), 16 reported measures immediately after one session (IM-AFTER1), and 49 reported measures after a multi-session intervention (AFTER-INT).
• Across these groups, voluntary slow breathing (VSB) was associated with increases in vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV).
• Vagally-mediated HRV (vmHRV) is an index of parasympathetic (vagal) control of cardiac function, meaning it is used to measure activity of the body's parasympathetic nervous system on the heart.
• The authors describe VSB practices with keywords such as abdominal breathing, diaphragmatic or deep breathing, cardiac coherence, and HRV biofeedback.
• The paper was published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews in 2022 (PMID: 35623448; DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104711).

Abstract

Voluntary slow breathing (VSB) is used as a prevention technique to support physical and mental health, given it is suggested to influence the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). However, to date, no comprehensive quantitative review exists to support or refute this claim. We address this through …

Topics

Cardiac Health and Mental Health Cardiovascular and exercise physiology Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Categories

Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine Health Sciences Medicine

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Anesthesia Audiology Autonomic nervous system Blood pressure Breathing Computer science Economics Heart rate Heart rate variability Internal medicine Intervention (counseling) Management Medicine Meta-analysis Physical medicine and rehabilitation Psychiatry Psychology Session (web analytics) Turnover World Wide Web