Definition of Breathwork
Breathwork refers to a variety of breathing techniques and exercises that are used intentionally to influence a person’s physical, mental, or emotional state. It often involves conscious control of the breath — such as deep, rhythmic, or rapid breathing patterns — and is used for purposes like relaxation, stress reduction, emotional release, spiritual growth, and even trauma healing.
Explore breathwork research in the following databases:
PubMed Trip Cochrane*
*The Cochrane database requires users to enter the search term manually. Please enter breathwork.
Research Spotlight
The databases often return hundreds of medical studies for a single wellness approach. This section provides a sampling of studies – providing just a taste of the available research.
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- Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal
A 2023 randomized controlled study (114 participants) from Stanford University compared three different daily five-minute breathwork exercises to an equivalent period of mindfulness meditation over the course of a month. The researchers looked at (1) cyclic sighing, which emphasizes prolonged exhalations; (2) box breathing, which is equal duration of inhalations, breath retentions, and exhalations; and (3) cyclic hyperventilation with retention, with longer inhalations and shorter exhalations. The study found that while both daily five-minute breathwork and mindfulness meditation improve mood and reduce anxiety, breathwork improves mood and physiological arousal more than mindfulness meditation, and that cyclic sighing is the most effective at improving mood and reducing respiratory rate. The researchers determined that daily five-minute cyclic sighing has promise as an effective stress management exercise. Access this study on breathwork. - Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials
A 2023 comprehensive analysis of 26 randomized controlled trials involving 785 participants from Sussex University assessed the impact of breathwork on stress and mental health. It found that breathwork interventions were associated with lower levels of self-reported stress, anxiety, and depression compared to control conditions. Access this study on breathwork. - Effect of coherent breathing on mental health and wellbeing: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
A large-scale trial from 2023 from Sussex University, involving 400 participants who practiced coherent breathing at approximately 5.5 breaths per minute for about 10 minutes daily over four weeks, was compared with a placebo group that practiced 12 breaths a minute for the same time period. The study found that the coherent breathing group and the placebo group both showed improvements in stress, anxiety, depression, and wellbeing. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups, suggesting that the specific breathing technique is not as important in benefitting mental health as simply adopting a breathing practice. Access this study on breathwork. - Slow breathing for reducing stress: The effect of extending exhale
A 2023 study from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine looked at whether yoga-based slow breathing with an exhale greater than the inhale versus breathing with an exhale equal to the inhale produces measurable differences in physiological and psychological stress. The 12-week, randomized, single-blinded trial included 100 participants and found that while slow breathing significantly reduces psychological stress, extending the exhale versus inhale does not have any significant effect on stress reduction. Access this study on breathwork. - Cyclic sighing in the clinic waiting room may decrease pain: results from a pilot randomized controlled trial
A 2025 study from Florida State University looked at whether four minutes of cyclic sighing in the waiting room of a walk-in orthopedic clinic could help manage acute clinical pain. Participants participating in the cyclic sighing intervention reported significantly less pain unpleasantness and pain intensity while waiting for an x-ray compared to the control group, suggesting that brief, cyclic sighing may be capable of quickly decreasing pain. Access this study on breathwork.
Studies-in-Progress/Clinical Trials Underway
A clinical trial is any research study that assigns people to health-related interventions to evaluate the outcomes. “Interventions” include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, preventive care, etc.
- ClinicalTrials.gov: search breathwork in box that says “intervention/treatment”
- World Health Organization: explore trials happening across the globe. When you reach WHO’s search page, please type in breathwork.
Access all studies currently available for breathwork in these databases:
- Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal
- *The Cochrane database requires users to enter the search term manually. Please enter breathwork.
