Key result
Relaxation training without breathing instructions increased structured breath-to-breath variability across sessions during baseline and stress compared to quiet sitting.
Why the study?
The influence of relaxation training without breathing instructions on natural breathing dynamics and respiratory variability was unclear.
Does relaxation training without breathing instructions alter respiratory variability and subjective relaxation in healthy persons?
Does relaxation training without breathing instructions alter respiratory variability and subjective relaxation in healthy persons?
Relaxation training increases structured breath-to-breath variability during baseline and stress compared to quiet sitting, highlighting the importance of respiratory variability in breathing regulation.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Relaxation training without breathing instructions may preserve breathing complexity in healthy adults; leaves open effects in clinical populations.
From a dynamic systems perspective, healthy breathing is characterized by complex variability. However, slow regular breathing instructions are often included in relaxation techniques. This study investigates the influence of relaxation training on natural breathing dynamics. Spontaneous breathing was measured in healthy persons during 5 sessions of relaxation training without breathing instructions (N = 29) vs. during quiet sitting resembling spontaneous relaxation (N = 29). Each session started with 10 minutes baseline recordings and ended with a mental stressor and a recovery phase. Results showed no differences between conditions in subjective relaxation and mean respiratory parameters. However, structured breath-to-breath variability increased across sessions during baseline and stress in the relaxation group only. In the control group, total variability increased across sessions during stress without concomitant changes in structured variability. The results point to the importance of respiratory variability in breathing regulation and suggest integration of a dynamic systems perspective in relaxation research.
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Wuyts et al. (2015) studied Healthy (n=58). Relaxation training without breathing instructions vs. Quiet sitting resembling spontaneous relaxation was evaluated on Subjective relaxation, mean respiratory parameters, and breath-to-breath variability. Relaxation training without breathing instructions increased structured breath-to-breath variability across sessions during baseline and stress compared to quiet sitting.
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