Study: A few slow-paced breaths are enough to significantly reduce physiological stress

This study is the first to show that taking a few slow, deep breaths in an everyday setting can have a significant effect on a child’s stress physiology,” said the study’s lead author, Jelena Obradovic, an associate professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) and director of the Stanford Project on Adaptation and Resilience in Kids (SPARK Lab). “But just telling children to take a deep breath may not be enough – children need scaffolding. So we’re excited that we can also offer an easy-to-use tool to help kids learn this technique.” The study, which was coauthored by GSE research associate Michael J. Sulik and doctoral student Emma Armstrong-Carter, was published on Nov. 16 in the journal Developmental Psychobiology. Designing a realistic field experiment Mindfulness practices that incorporate deep breathing, such as yoga and meditation, have found their way into the classroom at many schools. But prior to this study, research had not clearly shown whether slow-paced breathing itself could significantly alter a young child’s physiological stress response, the researchers said. They set out to isolate the activity of breathing and investigate its impact – taking practical considerations into account, including the likelihood that young children might not have the capacity for even a couple of minutes of deep breathing, and that they would need help learning how to do it. “When you ask young children to take a deep breath, many don’t really kn...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Education & Lifelong Learning deep breath deep breathing physiological physiological stress response young children Source Type: blogs