Trial reportStress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress2019
Understanding mind-body disciplines: A pilot study of paced breathing and dynamic muscle contraction on autonomic nervous system reactivity.
Trial report in Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Knowledge Translation of Personalized Stress Management in Occupational Populations With Application of HUAWEI Portable Devices
A Box Breathing Intervention and the Surgical Stress Response in Older Adults Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of non-pharmacological interventions on depression in obese individuals: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of traditional mind-body exercises on pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients with lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Examining the Effectiveness of Breathwork to Improve Resilience and Psychological Wellbeing While Reducing Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Insomnia in Paramedicine Students: A Single-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Trial
- Dismantling the Component-Specific Effects of Yogic Breathing: Feasibility of a Fully Remote Three-Arm RCT with Virtual Laboratory Visits and Wearable Physiology.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Behavior change: from neurobiology to behavioral change theories and back - part 2.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2026Review
- Understanding Mind-Body Experience from the Perspective of Interoceptive Awareness: A 21-Day Embodied Practice Intervention.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Synergistic and distinct effects of expansive posture and nasal breathing on psychological and physiological self-regulation in adolescents.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Perceptions of People With Multiple Sclerosis Who Practice Tai Chi and/or Qigong: A Mixed-Methods Study.International journal of MS care · 2026Article
- Mapping the Neurophysiological Link Between Voice and Autonomic Function: A Scoping Review.Biology · 2025Review
- The A52 Breath Method: A Narrative Review of Breathwork for Mental Health and Stress Resilience.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Review
- The Science of Tai Chi andJournal of integrative and complementary medicine · 2025Review
- Vagal Nerve Biofeedback Intervention for Improving Health Outcomes Among Ukrainian Forced Migrants: A Proof-of-Concept Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Yoga vs. Static Stretching: Recovery Impact on Male Athletes' Post-HIIT Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate Variability Analysis.International journal of exercise science · 2025Article
- Differences in acute physiological response to a Qigong exercise among middle-aged adults with varying durations of Qigong practice.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of three-circle post standing qigong on insomnia in college students: a four-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled trial protocol.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Does Osteopathic Heart-Focused Palpation Modify Heart Rate Variability in Stressed Participants with Musculoskeletal Pain? A Randomised Controlled Pilot Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Effects of health qigong exercise on upper extremity muscle activity, balance function, and quality of life in stroke patients.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
- Singing at 0.1 Hz as a Resonance Frequency Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Stress Reactivity?Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Article
- Radically Embodied Compassion: The Potential Role of Traditional Martial Arts in Compassion Cultivation.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Mind-body disciplines such as yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong have been demonstrated to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, but it remains unclear how these practices achieve these results, whether by breathing, movement, or some combination. This pilot study establishes a model to examine the individual and combined effects of paced breathing and rhythmic skeletal muscle contraction on the activation of the parasympathetic system during a cognitive stressor. Male participants were randomly assigned to one of four preconditioning groups: (a) paced breathing alone, (b) alternating upper extremity muscle contractions, (c) paced breathing synchronized with alternating contractions, or (d) a neutral control task. Autonomic response was assessed by heart rate variability during a standardized cognitive stressor. The alternating contraction group had 71.7% higher activation of parasympathetic signal over respiration alone (p < .001). Alternating contractions synchronized with breathing demonstrated 150% higher parasympathetic activation than control (p < .0001). Comparing the contraction alone and synchronized groups, the synchronized group demonstrated 45.9% higher parasympathetic response during a cognitive stressor (p < .001). In conclusion, paced breathing synchronized with rhythmic muscle contraction leads to more resilient activation of the parasympathetic response than either alternating contractions or breathing alone, which may help explain the stress reducing benefits of mind-body disciplines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.