Watch this video about heart rate variability and its use in reducing stress or sympathetic tone by "pumping the brakes" by temporarily pulsing the parasympathetic tone with respiratory slow breathing at the individuals optimum frequency.
The optimum breathing rate for exercise to strengthen vagal parasympathetic tone is a rate between 5-7 breaths per minute. It is not related to depth of breath only the frequency. There is research showing 2 minutes of slow paced breathing twice daily effects bio markers of health resilience.
Slow paced breathing reduces heart rate, increases warmth of hands by increasing surface blood flow.
Slow paced breathing reduces sympathetic gut afferent nerve output to brain and reduces functional pain and improves digestive function.
This is the basis of biofeedback training by tuning heart rate variability by slow paced breathing.
"Pumping the brakes" also increases heart rate variability, a proxy for BDNF levels. I have previously note that prayer, meditation, yoga, tai chi, power posing and slow paced breathing all reduce brain cortisol thereby releasing cortisol's antagonism of BDNF. Heart rate variability is a wave form that changes with slow paced breathing exercise that causes change in brain wave patterns. The onset of slow paced breathing to change in heart rate variability and brain wave pattern becomes faster with "intermittent and distributed practice."
A model for intermittent distributed practice is before meals and bedtime as in mealtime grace and bedtime prayers. Perhaps 2 minutes of breathing in 4 seconds and out 6 seconds before grace or bedtime prayers would be more effective at releasing antagonism to BDNF (which improves mood, memory and metabolism ) by "pumping the brakes" and increasing parasympathetic tone to improve digestion and sleep respectively. In effect, recovery is promoted in pulse fashion by slow paced breathing in the same manner that slowing down, resting and sleep allows recovery.
Additionally, the meditative or parasympathetic braked brain created by slow rhythmic breathing is relaxed, focused and safe from runaway sympathetic persistent tone. One becomes more centered, calm and resilient and enters a state of detached mental attitude of observation without judgement. One becomes a witness rather than a judge.
Stress impairs or degrades performance through sympathetic tone or runaway body function speed. Adding parasympathetic braking allows for control to flow at the optimum speed.
Slow paced breathing is part of my basic 3,2,1 plan for optimizing mental, physical, emotional and social resilience by raising BDNF at LivermanHealthAdvice.blogspot.com.
Increased heart rate variation increases recovery and longevity; increases physical, mental and emotional resilience; prevents disease and slows aging thereby decreasing all cause mortality.
Adding vagal tone with slow paced breathing lifts heart rate variability during slow paced breathing from the established baseline variation.
Lifestyle changes that increase BDNF strengthens both sympathetic and parasympathetic tone simultaneously and establishes a larger heart rate variation baseline.
The net result is to decrease entropy or disorganization and delay deterioration to death a flatline state for both heart and brain waves. The flatter the heart rate variation predicts the sooner the appearance of death. The greater amplitude of the heart rate variation predicts the later appearance of death.
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