Author: Min You1, Sylvain Laborde2,3, Nina Zammit2, Maša Iskra2, Uirassu Borges2,4, Fabrice Dosseville5,6, Robert S Vaughan7
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> UFR Psychologie, EA3918 CERREV, Normandie Université, 14000 Caen, France.
<sup>2</sup> Department of Performance Psychology, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50937 Cologne, Germany.
<sup>3</sup> UFR STAPS, EA 4260 CESAMS, Normandie Université, 14000 Caen, France.
<sup>4</sup> Department of Health & Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University, 50937 Cologne, Germany.
<sup>5</sup> UMR-S 1075 COMETE, Normandie Université, 14000 Caen, France.
<sup>6</sup> INSERM, UMR-S 1075 COMETE, 14000 Caen, France.
<sup>7</sup> School of Education, Language, and Psychology, York St John University, York YO31 7EX, UK.
Conference/Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health
Date published: 2021 Jun 20
Other:
Volume ID: 18 , Issue ID: 12 , Pages: 6630 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126630. , Word Count: 196
Designing emotional intelligence training programs requires first testing the effectiveness of techniques targeting its main dimensions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a brief slow-paced breathing (SPB) exercise on psychophysiological variables linked to emotion regulation, namely cardiac vagal activity (CVA), as well as perceived stress intensity, emotional arousal, and emotional valence. A total of 61 participants completed a 5-min SPB exercise and a control condition of a 5-min rest measurement. CVA was indexed with the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). Participants were also asked to rate their perceived stress intensity, emotional arousal, and emotional valence. Results showed that CVA was higher during SPB in comparison to the control condition. Contrary to our hypothesis, perceived stress intensity and emotional arousal increased after SPB, and perceived emotional valence was less positive after SPB. This could be explained by experiencing dyspnea (i.e., breathing discomfort), and the need to get acclimatized to SPB. Consequently, we may conclude that although physiological benefits of SPB on CVA are immediate, training may be required in order to perceive psychological benefits.
Keywords: abdominal breathing; diaphragmatic breathing; heart rate variability; parasympathetic nervous system; vagus nerve.
PMID: 34203020 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18126630