Understanding mind-body disciplines: A pilot study of paced breathing and dynamic muscle contraction on autonomic nervous system reactivity.
Michael S Chin, Stefanos N Kales
Stress and Health September 5, 2019 DOI: 10.1002/smi.2887 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male participants |
| Interventions | Paced breathing alternating upper extremity muscle contractions paced breathing synchronized with alternating contractions |
| Measures | heart rate variability |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Parasympathetic nervous system Humans Electrocardiography Psychophysiology Pilot projects Stress, psychological Respiration Muscle contraction Adult Female Stress management Cardiovascular reactivity Respite/recovery resilience |
| Key points | Paced breathing synchronized with rhythmic skeletal muscle contraction produced 150% higher parasympathetic activation than a control task during a cognitive stressor, and 45.9% higher than alternating contractions alone. Alternating contractions alone produced 71.7% higher activation than paced breathing alone. The authors conclude that combining paced breathing with rhythmic muscle contraction leads to more resilient parasympathetic response than either practice alone, which may help explain stress-reducing benefits of mind-body disciplines. |
Abstract
Mind-body disciplines such as yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong have been demonstrated to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, but it remains unclear how these practices achieve these results, whether by breathing, movement, or some combination. This pilot study establishes a model to examine the individual and combined effects of paced breathing and rhythmic skeletal muscle contraction on the activation of the parasympathetic system during a cognitive stressor. Male participants were randomly assigned to one of four preconditioning groups: (a) paced breathing alone, (b) alternating upper extremity muscle contractions, (c) paced breathing synchronized with alternating contractions, or (d) a neutral control task. Autonomic response was assessed by heart rate variability during a standardized cognitive stressor. The alternating contraction group had 71.7% higher activation of parasympathetic signal over respiration alone (p < .001). Alternating contractions synchronized with breathing demonstrated 150% higher parasympathetic activation than control (p < .0001). Comparing the contraction alone and synchronized groups, the synchronized group demonstrated 45.9% higher parasympathetic response during a cognitive stressor (p < .001). In conclusion, paced breathing synchronized with rhythmic muscle contraction leads to more resilient activation of the parasympathetic response than either alternating contractions or breathing alone, which may help explain the stress reducing benefits of mind-body disciplines.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Effect of a single session of yoga and meditation on stress reactivity: A systematic review. Stress and Health June 1, 2024
- Understanding Mind-Body Experience from the Perspective of Interoceptive Awareness: A 21-Day Embodied Practice Intervention. Behavioral Sciences March 11, 2026
- The A52 Breath Method: A Narrative Review of Breathwork for Mental Health and Stress Resilience. Stress and Health August 1, 2025
- Can Yoga Boost Access to the Bodily and Emotional Self? Changes in Heart Rate Variability and in Affective Evaluation Before, During and After a Single Session of Yoga Exercise With and Without Instructions of Controlled Breathing and Mindful Body Awareness in Young Healthy Women Frontiers in Psychology December 3, 2021
- Building Nurses' Resilience to Trauma Through Contemplative Practices. Creative nursing November 1, 2020
and 1 more in the library
Cites 6
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 9, 2018
- Yoga Therapy and Polyvagal Theory: The Convergence of Traditional Wisdom and Contemporary Neuroscience for Self-Regulation and Resilience Frontiers in Human Neuroscience February 27, 2018
- States of focused attention and sequential action: A comparison of single session meditation and computerised attention task influences on top-down control during sequence learning. Acta Psychologica November 2018
- The influence of focused-attention meditation states on the cognitive control of sequence learning. Consciousness and Cognition October 2017
and 1 more in the library