Cited by 112Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesDigital Mental Health Interventions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 120 of the 120 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 51 of the 114 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature

Open access
Bentley, Tanya G. K., D’Andrea-Penna, Gina, Rakic, Marina, Arce, Nick, LaFaille, Michelle, Berman, Rachel, Cooley, Katie, Sprimont, Preston·2023·Brain Sciences

Abstract

Anxiety and stress plague populations worldwide. Voluntary regulated breathing practices offer a tool to address this epidemic. We examined peer-reviewed published literature to understand effective approaches to and implementation of these practices. PubMed and ScienceDirect were searched to identify clinical trials evaluating isolated breathing-based interventions with psychometric stress/anxiety outcomes. Two independent reviewers conducted all screening and data extraction. Of 2904 unique articles, 731 abstracts, and 181 full texts screened, 58 met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-four of the studies’ 72 interventions were effective. Components of effective and ineffective interventions were evaluated to develop a conceptual framework of factors associated with stress/anxiety reduction effectiveness. Effective breath practices avoided fast-only breath paces and sessions <5 min, while including human-guided training, multiple sessions, and long-term practice. Population, other breath paces, session duration ≥5 min, and group versus individual or at-home practices were not associated with effectiveness. Analysis of interventions that did not fit this framework revealed that extensive standing, interruptions, involuntary diaphragmatic obstruction, and inadequate training for highly technical practices may render otherwise promising interventions ineffective. Following this evidence-based framework can help maximize the stress/anxiety reduction benefits of breathing practices. Future research is warranted to further refine this easily accessible intervention for stress/anxiety relief.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This systematic review of 58 clinical studies and 72 isolated breathing interventions found that 54 interventions significantly reduced stress/anxiety. Effective practices avoided fast-only breathing and sessions <5 min, and incorporated human-guided training, multiple sessions, and/or long-term practice.

Key findings

  • Of 72 breathing interventions across 58 studies, 54 significantly reduced participants’ stress/anxiety; the review included 5407 total participants (mean age 35.9 years, 43.92% female).
  • Effectiveness was significantly associated with breath pace (p = 0.01), human-guided training (p < 0.001), number of human-guided sessions (p < 0.001), number of sessions (p < 0.001), long-term practice (p = 0.005), intervention duration (p < 0.001), and session duration <5 vs ≥5 min (p = 0.005).
  • Population category (p = 0.14), session duration beyond 5 min (p = 0.81), group vs individual vs group + individual practice (p = 0.79), and at-home practice (p = 0.24) were not significantly associated with effectiveness.
  • The proposed framework identifies exclusionary components (avoid fast-only breathing and sessions <5 min) and core components (human-guided training, multiple sessions, and/or long-term practice); caveats include extensive standing, interruptions, involuntary diaphragmatic obstruction, and inadequate training for highly technical practices.

Methods

  • Systematic review following PRISMA; PubMed and ScienceDirect were searched through March 2023, with manual reference-mining; a protocol was not developed or registered.
  • From 2904 unique articles, 731 abstracts, and 181 full texts screened, 58 studies met inclusion criteria: 41 RCTs and 17 non-randomized prospective clinical studies; 72 breathing interventions were identified.
  • Two independent reviewers conducted screening and data extraction; effectiveness parameters were compared using Fisher’s exact tests in R, and six outlier interventions were explored qualitatively to refine the conceptual framework.

Limitations

  • The paper states that included studies had mediocre-at-best methodological quality, with common issues including lack of blinding, intention-to-treat analysis, concealed allocation, active controls, repeated measurements, and adequate sample size.
  • The paper states that reporting was heterogeneous and often omitted key implementation details such as breath rate, compliance, and extent of human-guided training; only two databases were searched; the framework is based on associations, not causal relationships; and no meta-analysis was conducted due to heterogeneity.
  • The paper states that framework caveats are hypotheses based on outlier interventions, and caution is warranted for individuals with certain clinical conditions such as epilepsy, heart conditions, or pregnancy. Evident from the text: the review excluded interventions combining breathing with yoga, meditation, tai chi, or real-time biofeedback, which may limit generalizability to those combined practices.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/brainsci13121612

Cites

120 of 120 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Figure 1 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram of study identification, screening, and selection process. n, number.
Figure 1 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram of study identification, screening, and selection process. n, number.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 Distribution of stress/anxiety outcome metrics used in included studies. Rounding errors result in whole-number percentages summing to more than 100%. Total number of studies using metrics sums to more than 58 because some studies incorporated more than one outcome metric. STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; BAI, Beck Anxiety Inventory; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; POMS, Profile of Mood States; BSPAS, Burn-Specific Pain Anxiety Scale; DASS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; VAS, Visual Analog Scale.
Figure 2 Distribution of stress/anxiety outcome metrics used in included studies. Rounding errors result in whole-number percentages summing to more than 100%. Total number of studies using metrics sums to more than 58 because some studies incorporated more than one outcome metric. STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; BAI, Beck Anxiety Inventory; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; POMS, Profile of Mood States; BSPAS, Burn-Specific Pain Anxiety Scale; DASS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; VAS, Visual Analog Scale.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 Top quality issues in 58 studies included in review by study type. Quality score calculated by dividing number of met criteria by number of applied criteria and normalizing to 0–1.0 range. Quality score categories defined as follows: <0.6, poor; 0.6–0.8, fair; and >0.80, good. CLEAR-NPT, checklist to evaluate a report of a nonpharmacological trial; NHLBI, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; RCT, randomized controlled trial.
Figure 3 Top quality issues in 58 studies included in review by study type. Quality score calculated by dividing number of met criteria by number of applied criteria and normalizing to 0–1.0 range. Quality score categories defined as follows: <0.6, poor; 0.6–0.8, fair; and >0.80, good. CLEAR-NPT, checklist to evaluate a report of a nonpharmacological trial; NHLBI, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; RCT, randomized controlled trial.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 4 Effective and ineffective interventions by breath practice pace. Blue shaded portion in each category column represents the proportion of effective interventions; red shaded portions reflect ineffective interventions. Dashes represent the lack of effective interventions in the fast only category and ineffective interventions in the combined category. p-value calculated with Fisher’s exact test. Breath intervention types defined as fast, breath pace >20 bpm; slow, <12 bpm; regular, 12–20 bpm; combined, fast, and slow breathing with or without ANB/UNB; and ANB/UNB. ANB, alternate-nostril breathing; n, number of interventions; UNB, unilateral nostril breathing.
Figure 4 Effective and ineffective interventions by breath practice pace. Blue shaded portion in each category column represents the proportion of effective interventions; red shaded portions reflect ineffective interventions. Dashes represent the lack of effective interventions in the fast only category and ineffective interventions in the combined category. p-value calculated with Fisher’s exact test. Breath intervention types defined as fast, breath pace >20 bpm; slow, <12 bpm; regular, 12–20 bpm; combined, fast, and slow breathing with or without ANB/UNB; and ANB/UNB. ANB, alternate-nostril breathing; n, number of interventions; UNB, unilateral nostril breathing.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 5 (A–G) Effective and ineffective breath interventions by population and use of human-guided training, single or multiple sessions, and long-term practice. Each panel is collectively exhaustive of all 72 interventions from 58 studies in total. Numbers in bar graphs of panels (A–D) represent numbers of interventions. Each colored asterisk in panels (E–G) represents one study. Blue bars and asterisks represent effective interventions; pink ones represent ineffective interventions. Human-guided training defined as use of live or pre-recorded audio or video human instruction throughout at least the initial breath session. Multiple sessions defined as performing breathing practice more than once. Long-term practice defined as performing ≥6 sessions over ≥1 week. (A,E–G) Interventions were divided into six broad population categories: youth (n = 4); healthy adults (n = 21); high-anxiety adults (n = 4); clinical, chronic (n = 11); clinical, acute (n = 21); and individuals placed in simulated-stress situations (n = 11). FET, Fisher’s Exact Test. * Statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 5 (A–G) Effective and ineffective breath interventions by population and use of human-guided training, single or multiple sessions, and long-term practice. Each panel is collectively exhaustive of all 72 interventions from 58 studies in total. Numbers in bar graphs of panels (A–D) represent numbers of interventions. Each colored asterisk in panels (E–G) represents one study. Blue bars and asterisks represent effective interventions; pink ones represent ineffective interventions. Human-guided training defined as use of live or pre-recorded audio or video human instruction throughout at least the initial breath session. Multiple sessions defined as performing breathing practice more than once. Long-term practice defined as performing ≥6 sessions over ≥1 week. (A,E–G) Interventions were divided into six broad population categories: youth (n = 4); healthy adults (n = 21); high-anxiety adults (n = 4); clinical, chronic (n = 11); clinical, acute (n = 21); and individuals placed in simulated-stress situations (n = 11). FET, Fisher’s Exact Test. * Statistically significant at p < 0.05.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 6 Conceptual framework of effective stress reduction breath practices. Based on analysis of 58 studies with 72 total interventions. Components in left-hand box were significantly associated with effectiveness. Caveats describe factors that may impact intervention effectiveness regardless of component inclusion. Human-guided training defined as use of live or pre-recorded audio or video human instruction throughout at least the initial breath session. Multiple sessions defined as performing breathing practice more than once. Long-term practice defined as performing ≥6 sessions over ≥1 week. a Highly technical includes breath pace far from regular pace, e.g., extremely fast or extremely slow, or ANB, UNB. ANB, alternate-nostril breathing; UNB, unilateral nostril breathing; w/o, without.
Figure 6 Conceptual framework of effective stress reduction breath practices. Based on analysis of 58 studies with 72 total interventions. Components in left-hand box were significantly associated with effectiveness. Caveats describe factors that may impact intervention effectiveness regardless of component inclusion. Human-guided training defined as use of live or pre-recorded audio or video human instruction throughout at least the initial breath session. Multiple sessions defined as performing breathing practice more than once. Long-term practice defined as performing ≥6 sessions over ≥1 week. a Highly technical includes breath pace far from regular pace, e.g., extremely fast or extremely slow, or ANB, UNB. ANB, alternate-nostril breathing; UNB, unilateral nostril breathing; w/o, without.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

47 Own interpretation · 45 Own result · 25 Partly supported · 16 Own method · 15 No full text of the sources · 14 No basis given · 7 Supported · 4 Supported so far · 2 Not supported · 1 Mixed support · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 4 references — free account

Show all 74 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 82
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 36
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
102 of 102
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Stress and anxiety share neurophysiological underpinnings sufficient to treat them as one condition.

    “Due to the shared neurophysiological underpinnings of stress and anxiety, from hereon, the term “stress” is used to encompass both conditions.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Effective breathing interventions support greater parasympathetic tone, which can counterbalance the high sympathetic activity intrinsic to stress and anxiety.

    “Effective breathing interventions support greater parasympathetic tone, which can counterbalance the high sympathetic activity intrinsic to stress and anxiety.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    No singular effective breathing protocol has been established and supported by scientific analyses.

    “Though many breath coaches pride themselves in providing the “best” practice, no singular effective protocol has been established and supported by scientific analyses.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Consistent practice is often key to effective skill learning and adaptation.

    “As with many behaviors, consistent practice is often key to effective skill learning and adaptation.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    How breathing practice effects vary across populations, breath practice types, and implementation approaches remained unclear before this review.

    “Despite prior knowledge that breathing practices support stress reduction, how these effects vary across populations, breath practice types, and implementation approaches remained unclear.”
5 of 5

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

4 of 4

Cited works that were retracted

Works this paper cites that were later retracted, from the retraction notices publishers deposit. Major when the notice came out before this paper was published.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

1 retracted

Show all 117 references

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Gupta, 2010, Anuloma-Viloma Pranayama and Anxiety and Depression among the Aged, J. Indian Acad. Appl. Psychol., 1, 159
  2. Eldin, 2015, Effect of Relaxation Breathing Technique among Patients with Moderate Burn on Their Pain and Anxiety at Wound Care, World J. Nurs. Sci., 1, 110

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Bentley, T. G. K., D’Andrea-Penna, G., Rakic, M., Arce, N., LaFaille, M., Berman, R., Cooley, K., & Sprimont, P.
Affiliations
  • Health and Human Performance Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90272, USA
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • California State University, Fullerton (US)
Corresponding author
Bentley, Tanya G. K.
Venue
Brain Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-11-21
Volume
13
Issue
12
Pages
1612
ISSN
2076-3425 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4388859424
Cited by
111
References
117
Citations by year
2026: 64 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 7
FWCI
6.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
breathing exercises, stress reduction, anxiety reduction, intervention effectiveness, implementation guidelines, conceptual framework, session duration

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