Slow Breathing Cuts Anxiety, Boosts Brain Health.

In 2025, T. Iwabe and team studied 17 healthy adults using slow-paced breathing (4-second inhale, 6-second exhale) versus normal breathing. They measured anxiety, brain activity, and heart rate variability before and after stressful images, using the STAI-S scale and EEG.

Slow-paced breathing reduced anxiety by 15-20% on STAI-S scores, even after stress exposure, and increased midfrontal alpha activity, linked to better emotional control. Heart rate variability dropped post-slow-paced breathing but normalized after stress.

Practice slow breathing (4s in, 6s out) daily to manage stress and enhance emotional resilience.