ReviewBrain sciences2023
Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature.
Review in Brain sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07464860 (A Box Breathing Intervention and the Surgical Stress Response in Older Adults Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty), which is not on this map. Cited by 41 papers, 3 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.
A Box Breathing Intervention and the Surgical Stress Response in Older Adults Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Auditory Biofeedback through Wind Instrument Training: A Breath-Controlled Acoustic Strategy for Modulating Anxiety and Sleep.Noise & healthPooled it
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- Box breathing or six breaths per minute: Which strategy improves athletes post-HIIT cardiovascular recovery?PloS one · 2025Trial
- Breathing therapy for patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms and dysfunctional breathing: A pilot and feasibility trial.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Effects of brief remote high ventilation breathwork with retention on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Personalized respiratory guidance strategy via millimeter-wave radar-based breathing consistency score.Medical & biological engineering & computing · 2026Article
- Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials Evaluating Box Breathing for Stress, Autonomic, and Clinical Outcomes.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Review
- High ventilation breathwork as a non-pharmacological model for inducing psychedelic-like states: expert evaluations of therapeutic potential and risk.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Usability Evaluation of a Smart Textile-Based Cushion System for Ubiquitous Breathing Exercises.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of a Four-Week Combined Respiratory Muscle Training and Breathing Exercise Program on Breath-Holding Time, Functional Performance, Sleep Quality, and Perceived Stress in Healthy University Students.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Who can hold their breath? understanding individual patient's needs and screening for deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) suitability in rural cancer care: a retrospective evaluation.Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Contemplative practices serve as complementary mental health strategies in nationally representative samples from Australia and New Zealand.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Impact of a Technology-Assisted, Two-Month Breathing Exercise Intervention on Daily Affect, Weekly Stress and Examinational Stress.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Slow Diaphragmatic Breathing for Chronic Migraine Prevention and Treatment: A Case Report.Reports (MDPI) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Anxiety and stress plague populations worldwide. Voluntary regulated breathing practices offer a tool to address this epidemic. We examined peer-reviewed published literature to understand effective approaches to and implementation of these practices. PubMed and ScienceDirect were searched to identify clinical trials evaluating isolated breathing-based interventions with psychometric stress/anxiety outcomes. Two independent reviewers conducted all screening and data extraction. Of 2904 unique articles, 731 abstracts, and 181 full texts screened, 58 met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-four of the studies' 72 interventions were effective. Components of effective and ineffective interventions were evaluated to develop a conceptual framework of factors associated with stress/anxiety reduction effectiveness. Effective breath practices avoided fast-only breath paces and sessions <5 min, while including human-guided training, multiple sessions, and long-term practice. Population, other breath paces, session duration ≥5 min, and group versus individual or at-home practices were not associated with effectiveness. Analysis of interventions that did not fit this framework revealed that extensive standing, interruptions, involuntary diaphragmatic obstruction, and inadequate training for highly technical practices may render otherwise promising interventions ineffective. Following this evidence-based framework can help maximize the stress/anxiety reduction benefits of breathing practices. Future research is warranted to further refine this easily accessible intervention for stress/anxiety relief.
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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.