The influence of breathing techniques on physical sport performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Breathing techniques are predicted to affect specific physical and psychological states, 9 such as relaxation or activation, that might benefit physical sport performance (PSP).10 Techniques include slow-paced breathing (SPB), fast-paced breathing (FBP), voluntary 11 hyperventilation (VH), breath-holding (BH), and alternate-and uni-nostril breathing. A 12 systematic literature search of six electronic databases was conducted in April 2022.13 Participants included were athletes and exercisers. In total, 37 studies were eligible for 14 inclusion in the systematic review, and 36 were included in the five meta-analyses. Random 15 effects meta-analyses for each breathing technique were computed separately for short-term 16 and longer-term interventions. Results showed that SPB and BH were related to improved 17 PSP, with large and small effect sizes for longer-term interventions, respectively. In short-18 term interventions, SPB, BH, and VH were unrelated to PSP. There was some evidence of 19 publication bias for SPB and BH longer-term interventions, and 41% of the studies were coded 20 as having a high risk of bias. Due to an insufficient number of studies, meta-analyses were not 21 computed for other breathing techniques. Based on the heterogeneity observed in the findings, 22 further research is required to investigate potential moderators and develop standardised 23 breathing technique protocols that might help optimise PSP outcomes.

Heart Rate Variability in Professional and Semiprofessional Soccer: A Scoping Review

“…The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is predominantly activated during exercise [31, 100]. However, an immediate return to higher levels of parasympathetic activation during postexercise recovery is desired, as it is associated with training responsiveness and readiness to perform [101].…”

“…Postexercise physical recovery techniques can potentially accelerate cardiac parasympathetic recovery, as reflected in an accelerated reprise of RMSSD [101]. Nevertheless, the choice of recovery technique should be carefully considered, as not all methods show beneficial effects, with cold water immersion being strongly recommended for this purpose [101].…”

Influence of physical post‐exercise recovery techniques on vagally‐mediated heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Additionally, physical recovery techniques not mentioned in previous reviews and meta‐analyses (Barnett, 2006; Dupuy et al, 2018; Peterson et al, 2015) and whose use has recently developed, such as foam rolling and whole‐body vibration, may require further investigation regarding their influence on PNS activity in the future. Second, beyond the physical recovery techniques taken into account in this systematic review and meta‐analysis, some additional techniques known to enhance vmHRV, such as non‐invasive brain stimulation (Schmaußer et al, 2022), slow‐paced breathing (Laborde et al, 2022; Laborde et al, 2022; Mosley et al, 2023; Perez‐Gaido et al, 2021; Sevoz‐Couche & Laborde, 2022), as well as psychological relaxation techniques (e.g., Pelka et al, 2017) still have to be tested within the context of post‐exercise recovery together with vmHRV measurements. Third, some moderators were underrepresented, limiting our conclusions.…”

Stress Management Strategies in Esports: An Exploratory Online Survey on Applied Practice

“…In addition, promoting physical exercise in esports seems promising in order to impact psychological and physiological stress and performance given that this aspect was highlighted in both previous research (e.g., Belk et al, 2021;Leis et al, 2022;Smith et al, 2019) and again in the present study. Furthermore, emotional regulation strategies such as breathing techniques (e.g., Laborde, Zammit, et al, 2022;Zaccaro et al, 2018) and self-talk (see review by Hatzigeorgiadis et al, 2014) could be effective methods to support players before and during competition. Moreover, it seems appropriate to combine psychological strategies (e.g., imagery and breathing techniques) as well as social support (e.g., provided by sport psychologists/ performance coaches) to achieve greater benefits than only providing one stress management strategy (Brown & Fletcher, 2017;Rumbold et al, 2012).…”