Prompt Cast
The Science Behind Breathing Exercises for Mental Health and Memory Improvement
TLDR Breathing exercises, such as box breathing and cyclic sighing, have been shown to improve mental well-being, reduce anxiety, and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Breathing through the nose can also improve memory, but the effects are small and not noticeable in everyday situations.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Breathing exercises can help to relax the mind and improve mental health, but claims about the powers of breathing go beyond what the science actually supports.
05:36
Breathing exercises, specifically box breathing, have been shown to improve mental well-being and reduce anxiety in a study conducted by David Spiegel and his team at Stanford.
10:27
Cyclic sighing, a breathing exercise where people exhale longer than they inhale, has been shown to slow down respiratory rate and induce relaxation, according to a study conducted by David Spiegel and his team at Stanford.
15:00
Breathing exercises, such as cyclic sighing, have been shown to have positive effects on depression and PTSD symptoms, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and slowing down heart rate.
19:21
Breathing slowly can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, calm the body, boost the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA, and potentially help with mental health issues such as depression and PTSD, although it is not a panacea and may not help everyone.
23:56
Breathing through your mouth could potentially be bad for your memory, as smells have a strong connection to memory and breathing through the nose allows for a better sense of smell.
29:27
Breathing through your nose allows smells to trigger powerful memories because the olfactory bulb in your nose sends messages to the brain's memory centers, while breathing through your mouth has a lesser effect on memory.
33:45
Breathing through your nose can improve memory, but the effect is small and not noticeable in everyday situations, and while research on the effects of mouth breathing on memory is inconclusive, there are clear benefits to nasal breathing such as reducing the risk of exercise-induced asthma, trapping pathogens, and potentially preventing dental cavities and snoring.
38:20
While there isn't much evidence that mouth tape will turn you into a nose breather, it has been found to be helpful for some people with mild obstructive sleep apnea and can reduce snoring, but it may not help with asthma symptoms, so it's best to test it out for short periods of time before committing to it.
