Deep Breathing is Therapeutic

Deep breathing has been shown to calm the brain. Through slow deep breaths, the brain’s pacemaker called the pre-BOTzinger complex, which is a cluster of neurons in the brain stem, forms an electrical circuit with the locus coeruleous. This circuit causes us to be anxious and calm when we breathe quickly and calm when we breathe slowly. Emotional states and alertness can be altered through this mechanism when practiced. When we change our breathing habits, it changes our emotions and how we think and act. Slowing your breathing increases baroreflex sensitivity, which regulates blood pressure via heart rate, which could decrease risk of aneurysm and stroke and has good cardiovascular effects in the long term.