Key result
Short-term slow paced breathing significantly increased HRV low frequency power and improved accuracy in working memory and multitasking tests without affecting response times.
Why the study?
Cortical and subcortical circuits regulating cognition and cardiac autonomic interactions have mainly been analyzed from cortex to heart, leaving open whether HRV changes affect cortical activity.
Does short-term slow paced breathing improve working memory and processing speed in healthy subjects?
Comparison
Spontaneous vs normal paced vs slow paced breathing
Authors
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Breathing-induced HRV changes may influence cortical activity; leaves open bidirectional effects for clinical translation.
Does short-term slow paced breathing improve working memory and processing speed in healthy subjects?
Short-term slow paced breathing increases HRV low-frequency power and improves accuracy in working memory and multitasking cognitive domains.
Bonomini et al. (2020) studied this question. Slow paced breathing (SB) vs. Spontaneous breathing (Control) and normal breathing (NB) was evaluated on Executive function (working memory test accuracy) and processing speed (multitasking test success rate). Short-term slow paced breathing significantly increased HRV low frequency power and improved accuracy in working memory and multitasking tests without affecting response times.
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