Does a paced respiration procedure reduce autonomic responsiveness to an electric shock and its anticipation in subjects?
Paced respiration exercises can significantly reduce autonomic responsivity (measured electrodermally) to stressful stimuli.
ABSTRACT This study was designed to test the efficacy of a paced respiration procedure in reducing subjects' reactions to real and anticipated aversive events. The main hypothesis was that subjects who were taught how to pace their respiration at a slower than normal rate in accordance with a specified signal would show decreased autonomic responsiveness to an electric shock and its anticipation. Three groups of 13 subjects were employed. A Respiration Control group was compared with a group which received all the same stimuli but were instructed merely to pay attention to them without any respiration instructions (Attention Control group) and with a control group for whom the stimuli were or no significance. Results for electrodermal measurement, but not for cardiac measurement, indicated that the learning of a short series of breathing exercises can have significant facilitative effects on reducing autonomic responsivity to a stressful stimulus.
Harris et al. (Wed,) studied this question.