Diaphragmatic Breathing

One group of clients for whom I would recommend diaphragmatic breathing are those who are interested in detoxification yet are also experiencing ongoing stress.  The IFM handout, Breathing Techniques to Soothe the Soul, gives a good description of the modality on one page, and suggests that five minutes of practice would be enough to achieve results.  There have been several studies showing that diaphragmatic breathing can help with stress (Hopper et al., 2019). 

 

Another group of clients for whom I would recommend diaphragmatic breathing would be those who struggle to get adequate sleep.  Diaphragmatic breathing was able to help nurses in Wuhan, China, during the COVID-19 outbreak, to achieve more and better sleep (Liu et al., 2019), even if they were shift workers not sleeping at normal nighttime hours.  These nurses practiced the routine they were trained in for half an hour every day for four weeks. 

 

A third group for whom I would provide this IFM handout is those suffering from chronic constipation.  In a study by Liu et al. (2022), patients who had been diagnosed with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome practiced a breathing technique for half an hour a day, five days a week for six weeks.  They were instructed to inhale for four seconds and then exhale for six seconds throughout the 30 minutes.  At the end of the six weeks, their symptoms had improved and they were less constipated. 

 

A study by Hegde et al. (2012) found benefit from diaphragmatic breathing for people with diabetes.  They used a hand position suggestion similar to the IFM handout.  These patients performed the breathing exercise every day for three months, 15-20 minutes each day.  The authors reported 83% compliance, and mention that they had wanted to test this technique as an alternative to yoga, which had been found to be beneficial but had compliance issues.  They found improvements in multiple biomarkers, including a 37% increase in glutathione. 

 

Martarelli et al., (2011) looked at healthy athletes who were given a high calorie, high carbohydrate breakfast, and then practiced diaphragmatic breathing for 40 minutes.  Those practicing the diaphragmatic breathing had a greater insulin response to the meal, and thus their blood glucose was lowered more quickly than the control group.  Glutathione has been found to drop when glucose is elevated (Konukoğlu et al., 1997), so I would expect the improvement in glucose regulation to help with maintaining glutathione levels as well.  It seems that this breathing technique is beneficial on so many levels, and is easy to learn and incorporate into a daily routine. 

 

References:

 

Hegde, S. V., Adhikari, P., Subbalakshmi, N. K., Nandini, M., Rao, G. M., & D’Souza, V. (2012). Diaphragmatic breathing exercise as a therapeutic intervention for control of oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(3), 151–153. 

 

Hopper, S. I., Murray, S. L., Ferrara, L. R., & Singleton, J. K. (2019). Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress in adults: a quantitative systematic review. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews & Implementation Reports, 17(9), 1855–1876. 

 

Konukoğlu, D., Hatemi, H., Özer, E. M., Gönen, S., & Akçay, T. (1997). The erythrocyte glutathione levels during oral glucose tolerance test. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 20(8), 471–475. 

 

Liu, J., Lv, C., Wang, W., Huang, Y., Wang, B., Tian, J., Sun, C., & Yu, Y. (2022). Slow, deep breathing intervention improved symptoms and altered rectal sensitivity in patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Frontiers in neuroscience, 16, 1034547.  

 

Liu, Y., Jiang, T., Shi, T., Liu, Y., Liu, X., Xu, G., Li, F., Wang, Y., & Wu, X. (2021). The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for improving sleep quality among nursing staff during the COVID-19 outbreak: a before and after study. Sleep Medicine, 78, 8–14. 

 

Martarelli, D., Cocchioni, M., Scuri, S., & Pompei, P. (2011). Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Postprandial Oxidative Stress. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 17(7), 623–628.