Also known as: physiological sigh, double inhale exhale, cyclic sighing
Latest evidence update: 2026-05-09
Strongest in Consistency (92). Held back by Sample size (58).
Solid mix of RCTs with some methodological gaps.
Good cross-study replication, some imprecision.
Thousands of participants across the literature.
Studies agree on direction of effect.
Most studies are recent (last 2-3 years).
Areas where research points to a consistent direction of effect. The strength of evidence is graded; the size of the effect is not quantified.
A specific breathing pattern — double inhale through the nose followed by a long exhale — shown to acutely reduce stress and heart rate.
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Slow deep breathing added to other interventions reduces disability in adults with spinal pain.
Diaphragmatic breathing exercise with visual biofeedback significantly increased forced expiratory volume in 1 second, functional vital capacity, and maximum voluntary ventilation in incomplete cervical spinal cord injury patients immediately after intervention.
Slow-paced breathing after physical activity reduced the difference in cardiac reactivity (measured by interbeat intervals) to negative versus neutral emotional images compared to control breathing.
Manual diaphragm relaxation combined with diaphragmatic breathing exercises improves chest expansion in children with diplegic cerebral palsy after 8 weeks of intervention.
A single session of slow-paced breathing improved incongruent reaction accuracy in middle-aged postmenopausal women.