The combination of physical exercise and slow-paced breathing on psychophysiological indices of emotion reactivity, psychosocial stress reactivity and recovery: A multimodal investigation

Stress is a major public health problem calling for scalable interventions. Physical activity (PA) and slow-paced breathing (SPB) can reduce stress, both by modulating cardiac parasympathetic activity. Given their shared target but different mechanisms, combining SPB and PA could enhance their stress-reducing effects. This study therefore explores whether SPB (vs control breathing at a faster rate) after PA increases the impact of PA on psychophysiological indices of emotional reactivity and psychosocial stress reactivity and recovery. In a crossover randomized design, 77 healthy volunteers completed twice a baseline, a bout of PA (at a personalized intensity), 3 × 5 min of breathing (SPB at 5,5 or control breathing at 15 breaths per minute), an emotional reactivity task with negative versus neutral images, a psychosocial stress task and a recovery phase. We measured psychophysiological indices of stress (i.e., heart rate, vmHRV, skin conductance, blood pressure, pupil dilation as well as self-reported stress and mood indices, rumination and coping strategy). Compared to control breathing, SPB decreased worry and made the difference between cardiac reactivities to negative and neutral images lower (as measured through interbeat intervals [IBI]). No effects on other psychophysiological indices of stress were found. Our results are the first to emphasize the potential of combining PA and SPB to reduce worrying and attenuated cardiovascular reactivity to emotional valence. However, the lack of effects on other stress indices indicates the need for future research to explore its broader applicability as a stress management technique.