Breath Research Library

Ed Harrold's research library contains 199 peer-reviewed studies on breathwork, pranayama, vagus nerve stimulation, HRV, sleep, cardiovascular health, and nervous system regulation. Each study links directly to PubMed for verification.

Must-Read Studies

• Dysfunctional Breathing & Influence Of Respiration on ALL Body Systems
• Health Impacts of Yoga & Pranayama (A State Of The Art Review)
• Dysfunctional Breathing: What Do We Know?
• Effects of yogic breath regulation: A narrative review of scientific evidence

Health & Well-Being

Stress & Autonomic Nervous System

• Mindfulness For Workplace Stress Reduction
• Yoga & Stress Reduction At Work
• Breathing To Reduce Inflammation
• Breathing Through a Particular Nostril Can Alter Metabolism and Autonomic Activities
• Autonomic Responses to Breath Holding and Its Variations Following Pranayama
• Effects of Various Prāṇāyāma on Cardiovascular and Autonomic Variables
• The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human
• Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system
• Yoga Breathing Reduces Inflammatory Markers in Saliva
• Stress Reduction & Resilience Training
• Alternate Nostril Breathing & ANS Function
• Health Impacts of Yoga & Pranayama
• Diaphragm Action of Autonomic & Enteric Nervous Systems
• The Effects Of Diaphragmatic Breathing On Attention, Negative Affect And Stress In Healthy Adults
• Immediate effect of specific nostril manipulating yoga breathing practices on autonomic and respiratory variables
• The effects of right and left nostril breathing on cardiorespiratory and autonomic parameters
• Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Part I-neurophysiologic Model
• Hemisphere specific EEG related to alternate nostril yoga breathing
• Pranayama Meditation (Yoga Breathing) for Stress Relief: Is it Beneficial for Teachers?
• Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature
• Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• Four weeks of slow-paced breathing: a longitudinal, randomized, placebo-controlled study
• Effects of mindfulness breathing meditation on stress and cognitive performance in healthy adults

Cardiovascular Disease

• The effect of Unilateral Breathing on Heart
• Effects of Various Pranayama on Cardiovascular & Autonomic Variables
• Breathing Retraining: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study of Treatment for Hyperventilation Syndrome and Associated Functional Cardiac Symptoms
• Differential effects of uninostril and alternate nostril pranayamas on cardiovascular parameters and reaction time
• Deep Breathing For Patients With Chronic Heart Failure
• Guided Breathing Results on Co2 & HRA
• Breathing Improves Arterial Baroreflex Sensitivity
• Yoga Breathing Influences Sympathovagal, HVR & Cardiovascular Health
• Effects of Mouth Breathing on Heart/Lungs
• Respiration, Stress, and Cardiovascular Function
• Effect of alternate nostril breathing exercise on cardiorespiratory functions
• The Impact of Resonance Frequency Breathing on Measures of Heart Rate Variability, Blood Pressure, and Mood
• Immediate effect of chandra nadi pranayama (left unilateral forced nostril breathing) on cardiovascular parameters in hypertensive patients
• Immediate cardiovascular effects of pranava pranayama in hypertensive patients
• Immediate effect of slow pace bhastrika pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate
• Immediate effect of a slow pace breathing exercise Bhramari pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate
• Alternate nostril breathing: a systematic review of clinical trials
• Immediate Effects of Bhramari Pranayama on Resting Cardiovascular Parameters in Healthy Adolescents
• Acute nasal breathing lowers diastolic blood pressure and increases parasympathetic contributions to heart rate variability in young healthy adults
• Effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure and heart rate: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Immune System

• Could nasal nitric oxide help to mitigate the severity of COVID-19?
• Nasal nitric oxide in man
• Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide
• Evidence for Cure of Flu Through Nose Breathing
• Modified Bhramari Pranayama in Covid 19 Infection
• Targeting the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway with vagus nerve stimulation in patients with Covid-19?
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation ARDS Prevention Trial for COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients
• The role of NO in COVID-19 and potential therapeutic strategies
• Inhaled nitric oxide: can it serve as a savior for COVID-19 and related respiratory diseases?
• Broad-Spectrum Virucidal Activity of Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS)

Longevity

• Lung Function May Predict Long Life Or Early Death
• Associations between lung function and future cardiovascular morbidity and overall mortality in a predominantly First Nations population: a cohort study
• Yoga Breathing & Longevity
• Yoga and Telomeres: A Path to Cellular Longevity?

Weight Loss

• Losing Body Fat With Breathing
• When Somebody Loses Weight, Where Does The Fat Go?
• Weight Loss Associated With Dysfunctional Breathing
• Obesity and the Importance of Breathing

PTSD & Trauma

• Yoga Breathing For Trauma
• Yoga Breathing As Treatment For PTSD With Military Vets
• Yoga Breathing For PTSD, ADHD & Schizophrenia
• Yoga Breathing For PTSD
• Breath Practices for Survivor and Caregiver Stress, Depression, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Connection, Co-regulation, Compassion
• Randomised clinical non-inferiority trial of breathing-based meditation and treatment as usual for PTSD symptoms in veterans
• Capnometry-Guided Respiratory Intervention in Veteran PTSD
• Evidence Integration Review of Multimodal Interventions for PTSD in Veterans

Ultradian & Circadian Rhythm

• Yoga Breathing & Ultradian Rhythm
• Breathing around the clock: An overview of the circadian pattern of respiration
• Lung Function Regulated By Circadian Rhythms; Exercise And Respiratory Treatments May Be Best In Afternoon
• An endogenous circadian rhythm of respiratory control in humans
• Nasal Dominance & Ultradian Rhythm
• Nasal Cycle In Ultradian Rhythm

Pain Management

• The Effect of Deep and Slow Breathing on Pain Perception, Autonomic Activity, and Mood Processing
• Perspectives on Yoga Inputs in the Management of Chronic Pain
• Breathing pattern disorders, motor control, and low back pain
• Long Exhalations as Complementary Treatment for Chronic Pain
• Mindful Breathing as an Adjunctive Approach to Chronic Low Back Pain Management
• Breathing interventions for spinal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Upper Respiratory Disease

• Yoga Breathing & Pulmonary Function
• Nitric Oxide Inhibits the Replication Cycle of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
• Oxygen consumption of oral vs. nasal breathing
• Nasal Breathing & Nocturnal Asthma
• Breathing For Asthma
• Inhalation of Nasally Derived Nitric Oxide Modulates Pulmonary Function in Humans
• Training of Paced Breathing at 0.1 Hz Improves CO2 Homeostasis and Relaxation During a Paced Breathing Task
• Definition of a Yoga Breathing (Pranayama) Protocol That Improves Lung Function
• Evidence-Based Role of Hypercapnia and Exhalation Phase in Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Insights into Hypercapnic Yoga Breathing Exercises

Dental & Sleep Medicine

• Yoga & sleep quality
• Efficacy of paced breathing for insomnia
• Nose or mouth breathing?
• Yoga Treatment For Chronic Insomnia
• Mindfulness Meditation With Breath Improves Sleep
• Nasal Breathing: Keystone To Oral & Systemic Health
• Influence of Mouth Breathing On The Dentofacial Growth of Children: A Cephalometric Study
• Association Between Oral Habits, Mouth Breathing & Malocclusion
• Mouth Breathing: Physical, Mental & Emotional Consequences
• Do circadian rhythms in respiratory control contribute to sleep-related breathing disorders?
• Sleep-Disordered Breathing in a Population-Based Cohort: Behavioral Outcomes at 4 and 7 Years
• The effect of breathing exercises on adults' sleep quality: A systematic review
• Effectiveness of deep breathing exercises on anxiety, depression, and sleep quality

Mental & Emotional Health

• Breathing & Psychotherapy
• Breathing above the brain stem: volitional control and attentional modulation in humans
• Breathing & Fibromyalgia
• The Meaning of Breath
• Mindful Attention To Breath Regulates Emotions
• Yoga For Psychiatry & Mental Health
• Breathing For Self Regulation To Reduce Anxiety
• Breathing For Cognition & Emotion
• Breathing Induces Tranquility
• Respiratory Feedback in Generation of Emotion
• How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing
• Breathing Matters
• Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations And Modulates Cognitive Function
• Neurophysiological and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the effects of yoga-based practices: towards a comprehensive theoretical framework
• Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain–Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders
• Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being
• The rhythm of memory: how breathing shapes memory function
• Amygdala-Stimulation-Induced Apnea Is Attention and Nasal-Breathing Dependent
• The impact of emotion on respiratory-related evoked potentials
• The effect of pranayama on test anxiety and test performance
• EFFECT OF HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING ON STATE ANXIETY AND ATTENTION
• Immediate Effect of a Yoga Breathing Practice on Attention and Anxiety in Pre-Teen Children
• Specific respiratory patterns distinguish among human basic emotions
• The A52 Breath Method: A Narrative Review of Breathwork for Mental Health

Addiction

• Antidepressant efficacy and hormonal effects of Sudarshana Kriya Yoga (SKY) in alcohol dependent individuals
• The effects of mindfulness-based yogic breathing on craving, affect, and smoking behavior
• Effect of rhythmic breathing (Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam) on immune functions and tobacco addiction

Brain Health

• Breathing & Brain health
• Breathing Can Affect Cleansing Of The Brain
• Lateralized rhythms of the central and autonomic nervous systems
• Alternation in Nasal Cycle Rhythm as an Index of the Diseased Condition
• Measuring and Characterizing the Human Nasal Cycle
• Breathing as a Fundamental Rhythm of Brain Function
• Yoga Breathing & Neuroprotective effects
• Breathing & Self-Regulatory brain function
• The Heart/Brain Connection
• Alternate Nostril Breathing & The Pre-frontal Cortex
• Alternate Nostril Breathing & ANS
• Yoga Breathing & ANS
• Link Between Yoga Breathing, Cognition & Brain Health
• Serotonin Neurons & pH Homeostasis
• Coupling of Respiration & Attention Via Locus Coeruleus
• Amygdala and Emotional Breathing in Humans
• Amygdala and hippocampus are symptomatogenic zones for central apneic seizures
• Increased oxygen load in the prefrontal cortex from mouth breathing: a vector-based near-infrared spectroscopy study
• Dysfunctional breathing: what do we know?
• Effect of uninostril yoga breathing on brain hemodynamics: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
• MAPPING BRAIN HEMODYNAMIC SIGNALS AND AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY RELATED TO SLOW YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES AND WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE
• ABSTRACT High Frequency Yoga Breathing For Enhanced Cognition
• Breathing and the brain: Pranayama, an ancient self-directed approach to neuroplasticity
• Neural correlates of breath work, mental imagery of yoga postures, and meditation
• Yoga Impacts Cognitive Health: Neurophysiological Changes and Stress Regulation Mechanisms

Athletic Training & Performance

Performance Breathing

• Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Oxidative Stress
• Effect of Nasal Versus Oral Breathing on Vo2max and Physiological Economy in Recreational Runners Following an Extended Period Spent Using Nasally Restricted Breathing
• The hyperpnoea of exercise in health: Respiratory influences on neurovascular control
• The effects of nasal breathing on exercise tolerance
• Influence of the breathing pattern on the pulmonary function of endurance-trained athletes
• Endurance exercise performance: the physiology of champions
• Oral vs. nasal breathing during submaximal aerobic exercise
• Bhastrika Breathing & Athletic Performance
• Nasal Dysfunction In Exercise
• Nasal Obstruction, The Airway, The Athlete
• Inspiratory Muscle Training
• Inspiratory Muscle Training II
• Inspiratory Muscle Training III
• Nasal breathing & exercise tolerance
• The diaphragm muscle & influence on respiration
• Nasal Breathing & Systolic Blood Pressure
• Aerobic Exercise & Performance
• Breathing & Physiotherapy
• Breathing & Spinal Stability
• Breathing Pattern Disorders and Functional Movement
• Effect of Breathing Rate on Oxygen Saturation and Exercise Performance in Chronic Heart Failure
• Triathlete Adapts to Breathing Restricted to the Nasal Passage Without loss in VO2max or vVO2max
• The Effect of Nasal Breathing Versus Oral and Oronasal Breathing During Exercise: A Review
• Can Yoga Breathing / Pranayama Concepts Be Reasonably Extended to Conventional Endurance Training?
• Walking With Controlled Breathing Improves Exercise Tolerance
• A framework of transient hypercapnia to achieve an increased cerebral blood flow induced by nasal breathing during aerobic exercise
• Utilizing nasal breathing during aerobic exercise significantly improves respiratory performance
• Improved exercise ventilatory efficiency with nasal compared to oronasal breathing
• Nose vs. mouth breathing: acute effect of different breathing regimens on muscular endurance and physiological variables

Corporate, Executive Coaching & Leadership

Cognitive Training

• Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing & Cognition
• Is There an Optimal Autonomic State for Enhanced Flow and Executive Task Performance?
• Breathing patterns & cognition
• Nasal airflow and brain activity: is there a link?
• Breath & Executive Functioning
• Nasal Breathing & Cognitive Function
• Unilateral Nostril Breathing Influences Lateralized Cognitive Performance
• Breath-based Meditation: A mechanism to restore the physiological and cognitive reserves for optimal human performance
• Effect of Left, Right and Alternate Nostril Breathing on Verbal and Spatial Memory
• A New Perspective of Focused Inhalation on Cognitive Functions

Emotional Intelligence Training

• The Effect of Meditation on Brain Function (specific to attention & emotion)
• Rhythm Of Breathing Affects Memory & Fear

Leadership & Organizational Performance

• Mindfulness & Leadership
• Mindfulness In Organizations
• Enhancing Employee Wellness and Job Performance Through Workplace Meditation