Posted on 05/02/2023 9:26:46 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
The exercise was simple: inhale for a count of five, then exhale for a count of five. Do that for 20 minutes, twice a day, for four weeks.
Volunteers' heart rate variability increased during each exercise period and the levels of amyloid-beta peptides circulating in their blood decreased over the four weeks of the experiment.
That's because the way we breathe affects our heart rate, which in turn affects our nervous system and the way our brain produces proteins and clears them away.
A 2020 study found that heart rate variability drops on average 80 percent between twenty and sixty years old. This finding could explain why we struggle to sleep deeply as we age.
Mather asked participants to do biofeedback exercises twice a day, for 20 minutes.
Half the group was instructed to think of calm things. Meanwhile, they were instructed to keep an eye on their heart rate, making sure the heart rate stayed as steady as possible.
The other group was told to pace breathing in rhythm with a pacer on the laptop screen—when the square rose, they inhaled, and when the square dropped, they exhaled. Their heart rates tended to rise in peaks as they inhaled. Their goal was to increase breathing-induced oscillations in their heart rate.
The researchers took blood samples.
Researchers looked at two peptides, amyloid beta 40 and 42.
Accumulation of amyloid beta is believed to trigger the Alzheimer's disease process.
In Mather and colleagues' study, plasma levels of both peptides decreased in the group who breathed slowly and tried to increase their heart rate variability (HRV) by increasing oscillations.
Of the study's 108 participants, half were 18 to 30 and half were 55 to 80. The younger and the older adults showed similar effects of the interventions on plasma amyloid beta levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
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Thanks for posting this! At 55 I feel like I’m getting a little flaky around the edges. I’ll be trying this.
Another good article, CM. Thanks for these health-related posts.
Mrs Submareener and I use this device. It really helps a lot with breathing after 77.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/The+Breather/page/FB6F8037-8685-49FB-9F19-286740AFAD7D
Basic yoga breathing exercise. Raise your hands high over your head as you inhale and lower them as you exhale.
Someone emailed me that since she started Hof breathing exercises, she didn’t get sick for a year (at the time she told me.) But I didn’t quite believe it. This article makes me wonder if there is something extra beneficial to doing breathing exercises. I’ve just been taking breathing for granted.
Great articles, ConservativeMind! And Freepers add lots of good info.
This is the Hof breathing exercise the lady told me about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNejY1e9ik&t=14s
The American Lung Association has some breathing techniques on their website:
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/wellness/breathing-exercises
Thanks for this, I might be elderly one of these days!
Bttt
Bflr.
Thanks for this, I might be elderly one of these days!
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If you live long enough there will be no doubt about it!
Interesting. I wonder if this could cause Respiratory Alkalosis.
Respiratory alkalosis occurs when low carbon dioxide levels disrupt your blood’s acid-base balance. It often occurs in people who experience rapid, uncontrollable breathing (hyperventilation).
I also wonder if this breathing excercise accelerates burning of fat. The majority of weight loss occurs through breathing. When fat leaves the body, 84% is exhaled as CO2. The carbon you exhale comes from fat.
I may try the Hof breathing exercise. You start with holding your breath for 30 seconds and eventually graduate to 90 seconds (from the comments at the link). I am incredibly physically fit for someone that is 92 but I have never been able to hold my breath longer than maybe 45 seconds, ever.
from the link:
This is a slower paced Wim Hof Method breathing exercise that starts with a 30 seconds hold building up to 90 seconds breath hold. Very suitable for beginners or anyone who prefers a more gentle guidance.
!! Don’t do the breathing exercises in a swimming pool, before going underwater, beneath the shower, or piloting any vehicle. Always practice sitting or lying down in a safe environment. Tinnitus symptoms may appear as a result of pushing too forcefully during the breathing exercise. If this happens, take a step back in your future practice, it’s important to increase gradually, not forcefully !!
This Breathing Bubble is an audiovisual guide that helps you maintain rhythm and pace during your breathing sessions. Simply watch the bubble as it expands and contracts, and follow with your breath. You’ll hear Wim breathe alongside you, and entrancing background sounds help tune out your surroundings, allowing you to focus on nothing but your breath.
Read the article. I deleted that part out.
Probably lowers blood pressure too.
20 minutes??? Not me. Hello hyperventilate. Keep paper sack handy.
Does gasping at the daily news count?
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