{"id":14606,"date":"2023-05-26T16:48:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T16:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yogajournal.com\/?p=111432"},"modified":"2023-05-26T16:48:51","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T16:48:51","slug":"you-may-be-able-to-lower-your-risk-of-alzheimers-through-breathing-exercises-according-to-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/26\/you-may-be-able-to-lower-your-risk-of-alzheimers-through-breathing-exercises-according-to-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"You May Be Able to Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer\u2019s Through Breathing Exercises, According to Researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! <a href="https:\/\/outsideapp.onelink.me\/wOhi\/6wh1kbvw" class="o-content-cta-link" data-analytics-event="click" data-analytics-data="{"name":"Element Clicked","props":{"destination_url":"https:\/\/outsideapp.onelink.me\/wOhi\/6wh1kbvw","domain":"<>","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}”>Download the app<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Researchers have found that intentionally slowing your breathing rate for 20 to 40 minutes a day may reduce the production of peptides related to Alzheimer\u2019s disease. The study, published earlier this year in Scientific Reports<\/em>, is believed to be the first to explore the implications of behavior change on the neurodegenerative disease.<\/p>\n

Researchers at the University of Southern California, the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Los Angeles, theorized that a shift in nervous system responsiveness commonly associated with older age may play a role in the development of Alzheimer\u2019s. <\/a><\/p>\n

As we age, it\u2019s common to experience an increase in our high-stress state (sympathetic activity) and a decrease in our relaxation state (parasympathetic nervous system activity). The study analyzed whether this decline could be associated with Alzheimer\u2019s by tracking heart rate variability<\/a> (HRV), a measure of how much fluctuation we experience in the time between heartbeats. HRV is controlled by the autonomic nervous system.<\/p>\n

In healthy (and often young) individuals, a high HRV can be an indicator of an adaptable body. For example, when you enter into \u201cfight-or-flight\u201d mode during a stressful situation and then quickly return to a calm state, that\u2019s an indication of a high HRV. The researchers tested whether slowing the breath, which is known to affect HRV, also influenced markers for Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

How Researchers Conducted the Study<\/h2>\n

Researchers divided the 162 participants into two groups. The report includes data from the 54 younger and 54 older participants who gave blood samples at the study\u2019s pre- and post- interventions.<\/p>\n

The first group was asked to maximize their heart rate oscillations through slow breathing exercises. Over the course of the four-week study, members of this group practiced one of five breathing cycles, each between 9 to 13 seconds per breath. (For example, a 12-second cycle inhale would include a six-second inhalation and a 6-second exhalation.)<\/p>\n

The second group was tasked with lowering their heart rate oscillations through their own \u201cself-generated\u201d de-stressing strategies. Suggested approaches included imaging nature scenes, listening to soothing sounds, or closing their eyes.<\/p>\n

Both groups were instructed to complete at least one 20-minute session a day of exercises. Each group registered realtime data during the sessions through biofeedback measurements. Researchers documented the participants\u2019 baseline data in the two weeks prior to the study and also noted their measurements for two weeks following the study.<\/p>\n

What the Alzheimer\u2019s Study Suggests<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that the group which practiced the slow breathing exercises experienced significantly lower levels of two peptides\u201440 and 42\u2014that are associated with Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a>. In contrast, the other group experienced higher levels of those two peptides.<\/p>\n

The authors of the study <\/a>suggest that the research provides \u201cnovel data\u201d supporting a behavioral intervention that reduces amyloid-beta peptides levels. If additional studies replicate the results, the slow breathing method could present an accessible way to lessen the likelihood of developing Alzheimer\u2019s or slow its course, which would be truly revolutionary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"You<\/figure>\n

It’s time to exhale.<\/p>\n

The post You May Be Able to Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Through Breathing Exercises, According to Researchers<\/a> appeared first on Yoga Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37,35,36],"class_list":["post-14606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ayurveda","tag-blogs","tag-yoga","tag-yogacourseware"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}