How proper breathing can reduce stress

Physicians are looking for a link between respiration and stress reduction
When people suffer from so-called stress disorders, they will sometimes be advised by doctors to do breathing exercises. Researchers have now found some nerve cells in the brain stem, which connect the breathing with states of the mind. This could explain how we regulate stress through our breathing.

Stanford University's School of Medicine researchers investigated why quiet and controlled breathing helps with stress. There is a connection between the breathing and the states of our mind. The doctors published a press release on the results of their study.

Certain breathing exercises can help with stress and restlessness. Physicians have now tried in a study to determine the origin of this effect. (Image: Robert Kneschke / fotolia.com)

What do pranayama breathing exercises do??
Doctors sometimes prescribe breathing exercises for people with stress disorders. These include, for example, pranayama breathing exercises in yoga. Through this technique, the consciousness can shift from a stressed or hectic state to a meditative state, the experts say. This type of breathing is quasi core component in all forms of yoga. The current study is intriguing because it provides a cellular and molecular understanding of how this effect might work, explains author Dr. Kevin Yackle.

Why do we become calmer through controlled breathing??
The tiny group of neurons that connects breathing with relaxation, attention, excitement, and anxiety lies deep in the brain stem. About 175 neurons from a cluster of nearly 3,000 neurons that control autonomic breathing are responsible for the communication between respiration and parts of the brain, which in turn are responsible for attention, arousal and panic. Our respiratory rate could therefore directly influence whether we feel, for example, calm or anxious, explain the physicians. This compound has already been found in mice in an experiment. If the compound works similarly in humans, it may explain why we slow down by slow controlled breathing, scientists say.

Experts inactivate certain neurons
For their investigation, the researchers first divided the 3,000 neurons based on their genetics, because neurons with similar genes may have similar roles in the brain. So the experts came across the special 175 neurons. The next challenge was to uncover the functions of the neurons, the researchers say. Sometimes the best way to see how something works is to see what happens when it's gone, scientists say. For this reason, they individually deactivated the neurons and then examined the effect.

Bacteria kill the neurons
To do this, the researchers first bred genetically engineered mice. These had receptors for a toxin that only affects the neurons. Thus, the neurons of the infected mice could be killed by bacteria, which also cause diphtheria, say the doctors.

Experts studied effects of killed neurons on respiration
Diphtheria can cause severe respiratory problems in humans, but normally there is no effect on mice, the authors explain. In the experimental animals, the toxin was able to kill the 175 neurons. In this way, these neurons were turned off, but the rest remained intact and fully functional, the scientists continue. Finally, the researchers saw how the loss of these neurons affected the respiration and behavior of the mice.

First, no effects to recognize
We expected that inactivation of the neurons could completely eliminate or dramatically alter the respiratory pattern of the mice, explains author Professor Mark Krasnow of the Stanford University School of Medicine. But there was no change in the breathing pattern of the animals. For a few days, the researchers thought they had made a mistake in their experiment and the attempt had failed.

After some time, the respiration and behavior of the mice changed
After a few more experiments and some bygone years, the scientists finally realized that there was a change in the mice. For mice, the animals were extremely quiet, report the study authors. For example, exposure to a new environment usually causes the mice to sniff excitedly and explore the area. Instead, the treated mice just sat around silently, caring for themselves. On closer inspection, the animals also breathed slower, say the doctors.

Further research is needed
This clearly shows a connection between respiration, behavior and the inactive 175 neurons. We hope that understanding the function of this center will lead to therapies for stress, depression and other negative emotions, the experts add. Until then, however, some more research is needed. (As)