The Power of Breathing: How Slow Breaths Can Transform Your Mood and Reduce Stress

Research has shown that “slowing down our breathing can relieve stress and improve mood through the subtle and profound impact our breathing has on how we think, feel, and behave.” Helen Lavretsky, a psychiatrist at the University of California and director of research, told The Washington Post that “our breath accompanies us from birth to death,” making it an “immediate tool available to humans for self-regulating emotions.”

The Harmony Between Breath, Body, and Brain

According to researcher and breathing expert Paul Dallaghan, recent studies on the relationship between our breath, bodies, and brains have indicated that “with every inhale, the pupils tend to dilate, reaction times improve, our ability to remember and recall information becomes more efficient, and our emotional responses heighten.” Conversely, during exhalation, the opposite occurs: “Neural activity in the emotional areas of our brains fluctuates with each breathing cycle.”

Jack Feldman, head of the Department of Neuroscience at UCLA, explained that neural rhythms associated with breathing “exist throughout the brain.” Breathing is linked to activity in the brain’s primary memory regions “both during sleep and wakefulness,” and it stimulates neural activity in areas critical to emotion and cognition. This explains why we often “take a deep breath unconsciously” before an exam, race, or presentation.

Slow Breathing: Calmness and Tranquility

Most people breathe at a rate of 12 to 20 breaths per minute. While this rate varies depending on the individual and circumstances, “those who are more anxious tend to breathe faster.

Chronic Stress

A 2014 study found that the “magic number” for calm breathing is about six breaths per minute, much slower than most people’s rates. Dallaghan noted that this rate is achieved during moments of peace, clarity, and stillness when breathing naturally slows.

Guy Fincham, a researcher focused on breathing, elaborated: “Slowing our breath may help restore balance to our autonomic system, shifting it away from the ‘fight or flight’ mode toward the ‘rest and digest’ state.” Helen Lavretsky added, “I feel that if everyone on earth took a breath before reacting, life would be more peaceful,” as slower, deeper breathing activates the vagus nerve, sending calming signals from the body to the brain. “Since we have the ability to consciously change our breathing patterns, we can influence how we think and feel.”

(The vagus nerve is the longest nerve connecting the brain to the body, extending down to the abdomen. It is involved in managing psychological distress, transmitting signals between the brain and body, and moderating heart rate and digestive activity. It also contributes to relaxation by slowing breathing and calming the body during good times.)

When Breathing Becomes Effective

A 2023 study reported that just five minutes of mindful breathing daily—focusing on deliberate control of breathing rate, depth, and pattern for about a month—”can reduce the breathing rate, improve mood, and alleviate anxiety, serving as an effective exercise for stress management.”

At the same time, a review from the same period found that mindful breathing can help adults with anxiety disorders reduce their symptoms. Other studies from 2017 demonstrated that coherent breathing exercises benefited patients with depression.

How to Breathe Better

According to experts, “we can practice breathing exercises almost anytime and anywhere.” Here are some tips to ensure breathing supports a calmer mind:

1. Pay Attention to Your Posture: Breathing can be done lying down, sitting, standing, or even while walking. However, for mindful breathing, it’s best to sit still on a chair with both feet on the ground for easier breathing, says Dallaghan.
2. Take Gentle, Quiet Breaths: Christian Brembs, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, advises, “Breathe gently, silently, and precisely. Loud breathing indicates stress and signals danger to our nervous system.” Let breathing be soft and quiet rather than deep, as deep breathing can create additional tension.
3. Breathe Through Your Nose: Brembs recommends focusing on “learning to breathe quietly through the nose at all times,” including at night and during exertion. Nose breathing has numerous benefits, such as increasing oxygen absorption, filtering and humidifying air, and regulating its temperature.
4. Expand Your Breath Awareness: If you only feel your breath in your chest, “your breath is not deep enough,” says Dallaghan. He advises placing one hand on your belly above the navel and the other below your chest “to feel the movement of your abdominal muscles and diaphragm during breathing.”
5. Experiment with Different Breathing Patterns: Try techniques like spending equal time inhaling, holding your breath, exhaling, and holding your breath again, with each step lasting 3–4 seconds. Alternatively, inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. Cyclical sighing can also be practiced by inhaling slowly, then inhaling again to fill the lungs before exhaling slowly. Practices like yoga and meditation can also help slow breathing.
6. Breathe Longer and More Often: While slow breathing for 5–10 minutes daily can help, longer sessions “may be even more beneficial,” says Dallaghan. Brembs recommends taking 5 minutes every hour to adjust your breathing and recalibrate it to around six breaths per minute.