POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF SLOW-PACED BREATHING

BY RACHEL GARROD

As a respiratory physiotherapist I have an interest in all things related to breathing, and I was intrigued last month to see some research suggesting that slow breathing can reduce Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) risk. Published in Scientific Reports (March 2023), the study investigated the effect of slow breathing using heart rate variability biofeedback on proteins known to be elevated in AD. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the measure of fluctuations in the time intervals between heartbeats. The time taken between each heartbeat is not regular but varies, with greater fluctuation indicating better health.

In the study 108 healthy adults were assigned to two groups: one where they were taught to lower their breathing rate to five or six breaths per minute using heart rate oscillations as biofeedback; and the other where they were asked to relax or self-meditate. Both groups performed the activity for 20 to 40 minutes daily for seven weeks.

The breathing rate in the slow-paced group was between nine and 13 seconds per breathing cycle, depending on which pattern gave the greatest increases in HRV (this was measured in the lab). The other group were instructed to lower HRV through visualisation or self-meditation practice. Over time the plasma proteins associated with AD were significantly reduced in the group that performed slow-paced breathing and significantly increased in the other group. A lowering of these plasma proteins appears to be related to a lower risk of AD.

Slow-paced breathing – inhalation of six seconds and exhalation of six seconds – has been advocated for hundreds of years in practices such as yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism, and we know that, when doing this, blood circulation in the brain increases as the effort of the heart decreases. Added to these known positive effects, the encouraging results on plasma proteins might be the stimulus we all need to start implementing slow-paced breathing in our daily routines.

Rachel Garrod

Respiratory

Physiotherapist Ph.D

Tel. (34) 699 501 190 rachelgarrod1@gmail.com www.betterbreathingphysio.comw