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What is Resonant Breathing?#

When you inhale for 5 seconds and exhale for 5 seconds, this constitutes a 10-second breathing cycle that resonates with the circuit of heart rate and blood pressure. This breathing pattern is known as Resonant Breathing.

There are various modes of deep and slow breathing, among which Resonant Breathing is the one that has been widely studied.

Studies indicate that resonant breathing can significantly reduce negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and anger and improve creativity and athletic performance12. Patients with chronic pain, asthma, and pre-hypertension can mitigate their symptoms by practicing resonant breathing 345.

Guided Breathing mode in the Flowtime App will guide you to practice resonant breathing through sounds, images, and vibrations.

As you breathe steadily and regularly in resonance, the heart rate change will then show a steady, highly ordered state called Coherence Time. It's a state of enhanced cognition and energetic calm. If your breath is not stable, it is not easy to achieve Coherence Time, but you can improve that through regular breathing exercises.

[^5 ]:Chen, S., Sun, P., Wang, S. et al. Effects of heart rate variability biofeedback on cardiovascular responses and autonomic sympathovagal modulation following stressor tasks in prehypertensives. J Hum Hypertens 30, 105–111 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2015.27

  1. Lehrer P, Kaur K, Sharma A, Shah K, Huseby R, Bhavsar J, Sgobba P, Zhang Y. Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2020 Sep;45(3):109-129. doi: 10.1007/s10484-020-09466-z. Erratum in: Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2021 Dec;46(4):389. PMID: 32385728.↩
  2. Jiménez Morgan, S., Molina Mora, J.A. Effect of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback on Sport Performance, a Systematic Review. Apple Psychophysiology Biofeedback 42, 235–245 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-017-9364-2↩
  3. Schmidt, J.E., Joyner, M.J., Carlson, C.R. et al. Cardiac Autonomic Function Associated with Treatment Adherence After a Brief Intervention in Patients with Chronic Pain. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 38, 193–201 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-013-9222-9↩
  4. Lehrer PM, Vaschillo E, Vaschillo B, Lu SE, Scardella A, Siddique M, Habib RH. Biofeedback treatment for asthma. Chest. 2004 Aug;126(2):352-61. doi: 10.1378/chest.126.2.352. PMID: 15302717.↩