This episode does a deep dive on a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability. This extensive scholarly work synthesizes existing evidence to determine if voluntary slow breathing (VSB) influences the parasympathetic nervous system, specifically focusing on changes in vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV). The authors conducted a quantitative review of 223 studies, analyzing HRV parameters at three time points: DURING a breathing session, IM-AFTER1 immediately following a session, and AFTER-INT after a multi-session intervention.
Laborde S, Allen MS, Borges U, et al. Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2022;138:104711. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104711
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