New research claims to have identified the neural pathway in mice that controls voluntary breathing. To a large degree, breathing is an involuntary action: it happens whether you try to suppress it or not. However, the rate of respiration can be stimulated or retarded through eating, exercising, sleeping, resting, experiencing stress, and numerous other factors. Breathing can also be consciously controlled to a degree.

It turns out that, as common sense predicts, deep breathing has a calming effect. A team of researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, just released a study showing exactly how breathing moderates stress in the brains of mice. Using optogenetic techniques for activating neurons with light beams, researchers found that stimulating a specific neural circuit “simultaneously slows breathing and suppresses anxiety-like behaviors.”

In a recent interview, lead researcher Sung Han explained the significance of the study to Los Angeles Times wellness reporter, Deborah Vankin:

It’s exciting to find the neural mechanism to explain how the slowing down of breathing can control negative emotions, like anxiety and fear.

Han’s hope is that the discovery can lead to a new class of drugs that better targets anxiety disorders — a so-called “yoga pill.” A 2022 study of the impact of breathing exercises to moderate stress in young women also found that “natural and connected breathing exercise has a reducing effect on stress hormones,” especially cortisol.

Both studies validate the use of controlled breathing in stress management. That is the subject of an article in the Harvard Business Review, of all places. Dr. Emma Seppälä from the Yale School of Management reports on two studies comparing the effectiveness of three different stress management techniques:

Mindfulness. This technique involves returning the focus to the present moment.

Emotional Intelligence. Improves awareness and regulation of emotions.

Controlled Breathing. Regulated breathing using the ancient techniques of pranayama, the yoga of the breath.

The controlled breathing segment was a specific course, SKY Breath Meditation, which is taught by the Art of Living International Center. As described in YouTube videos, the SKY Breath Meditation involves training in three specific techniques:

• Alternate Nostril Breathing (Anulom Vilom Pranayam)
• Bellows Breathing (Bhastrika Pranayam)
• Ocean Sound Breathing (Ujjayi Breath)

The researchers concluded that, while both the mindfulness training and emotional intelligence training reduced stress to a degree, “participants who practiced SKY Breath Meditation experienced the greatest mental health, social connectedness, positive emotions, stress levels, depression, and mindfulness benefits.”

Until there is a yoga pill capable of reducing anxiety without harmful side effects, we can moderate stress the old-fashioned way, by learning how to control and slow down the breath. Studies show that controlled breathing not only works moderating stress in the moment (“take a deep breath”) but with training and practice, the benefits can last a lifetime.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published December 5, 2024.

Sources:

“A top-down slow breathing circuit that alleviates negative affect in mice,” Nature Neuroscience, November 2024.

“A ‘yoga pill’ to end anxiety? Neuroscientists discover a brain circuit that instantly deflates stress,” Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2024.

“The Effect of Breathing Exercise on Stress Hormones,” Cyprus Journal of Medical Sciences, December 2021.

“Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress,” Harvard Business Review, September 2020.

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