Why Deep Breathing May Keep Us Calm: The New York Times
A study aimed to research the reason why the technique of deep breathing can be so effective at keeping us calm. Scientists at Stanford University researched a tiny group of neurons that were located deep within the brains of mice. The links between breathing, thinking, behaving, and feeling within our bodies were focused on. Breathing is a body process that is essential and automatic, but we are able to alter how we breathe. Such as holding our breathe, breathing slower, and yawning. Prior research discovered a group of about 3,000 neurons inside the brainstem of people and animals that control the majority of our breathing called the breathing pacemaker. After over 25 years since that research was conducted there is new research on the topic. Scientists at Stanford and U.C.L.A. started looking into individual neurons in the pacemaker by looking into the different proteins made by the genes in each cell. They were able to identify 65 different types of neurons present in the pacemaker. They went a step further to test this on mice. In a study published in Nature, mice were bred with a single type of pacemaker cell that the scientists would be able to disable. A virus was then injected that targeted only to kill those cells. The results showed that without the instructions from these cells being processed sighing, an automatic process that usually happens every few minutes halted. Following this study researchers focused on disabling a different breathing related neuron. This research was published in Science. After the mice acted the same, breathing just as before. Normally when moved to an unfamiliar cage, nervous behavior and rapid breathing would start in the mice. But in this case the mice sat calmly and groomed themselves. To figure out why this happened scientists looked at the brain tissue of the mice. The neurons they were studying turned out to have a direct biological link to the area involved in arousal. This then sends signals to other areas in the brain such as those in the limbic system. Since the mice did not react, the researchers concluded that disabled neurons would normally detect activity in the other neurons that regulate rapid breathing and sniffing says Dr. Kevin Yackle. The neurons would then be able to tell the brain that something was wrong. The sniffing could result in more sniffing and anxious behavior. In this study since the neuron was disabled the mouse remained calm and unaffected.
In conclusion this research played a role in understanding why deep breathing is calming. Deep breathing is useful because it does not activate the neurons that communicate with the brain’s arousal center. Scientists say future research is necessary to look deeper into regulatory neurons and how deep breathing plays into it. In the emotion unit we learned that the parasympathetic nervous system is important for relaxation. It reduces energy, and conserves and restores energy. Deep breathing is used as a calming technique and to get us back to homeostasis.
As a person that has benefited from deep breathing exercises it is really interesting to be able to see how they are actually physiologically helping to lower stress and create a sense of calmness in our bodies. I guess when I was told to practice deep breathing in stressful times, I always just thought that deep breaths helped because ultimately it was the fact hat I was taking my mind off the stressful situation by focusing on my breathing that was helping me to stay calm. In reality though it is the act of slowing down my breathing which then in turn keeps my neurons from firing and activating my fight or flight, that is what is helping me to calm down. When we talk about homeostasis in class this kind of reminds me of that, where the deep breaths are just helping us to get back to our balanced place.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if deep breathes also trigger a conditioned parasympathetic response, like the come-down after exertion. I imagine that, much like flexing facial muscles used in smiling can lead to reports of more positive mood, inducing parasympathetic behaviors like breathing deeply can elicit more parasympathetic events in the body, having it behave as though it is time to rest, even in times of stress. It makes sense to me that areas linked to arousal (and thus para/sympathetic responses) have neuronal tracts tying to our breathing apparatus.
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