Five-Minute Release

Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce anxiety

A remote randomized controlled trial (NCT05304000) compared three daily 5-minute breathwork exercises with mindfulness meditation over one month. The breathing conditions included cyclic sighing (emphasizing prolonged exhalations), box breathing (equal durations), and cyclic hyperventilation with retention. Primary endpoints measured mood, anxiety, and physiological arousal. Results showed breathwork, especially exhale-focused cyclic sighing, produced greater improvement in mood (p < 0.05) and reduction in respiratory rate (p < 0.05) compared to mindfulness meditation. Cyclic sighing participants experienced the highest increase in positive affect throughout the study, with effects growing stronger with greater protocol adherence.

Bron: Yilmaz Balban et al., 2023, Stanford Medicine/Nature