This is a goal of the Coherent Breathing method, to cultivate a heart rate variability of 20-30 beats. If we employ 40-60% of diaphragm range, AND we relax, the variation in heart rate will tend to be in the 20-30 beat range. If we monitor this change in heart rate with an instrument, for example Valsalva Wave Pro, we can see the tendency for the heart rate to vary with each cycle of respiration. For example, when we inhale, the heart beat rate may increase to 100 beats per minute (BPM) when we exhale it may slow down to 60 BPM. We measure the variation in heart rate in “beats”. Valsalva Wave Pro Depicting Heart Rate And Respiratory Arterial Pressure Wave We can see that they tend to be 180 degrees out of phase, specifically, when we are breathing “coherently” (i.e., at resonance). Referring to the graph, heart rate is blue and the respiratory arterial pressure wave (the “Valsalva Wave”) is red. When the respiratory arterial pressure wave falls in the arterial circulation, heart rate rises. When the respiratory arterial pressure wave rises in the arterial circulation, heart rate falls. The accepted physiological mechanism for breathing induced variation in heart rate is variation in the respiratory arterial pressure wave. To avoid this misunderstanding, I prefer the term “respiratory sinus rhythmia” or “breathing induced heart rate variability”. I dislike this term because it makes it sound as though this variation in heart rate as a consequence of breathing is pathological, when in fact the opposite is true – the lack of this variation is pathological. This phenomenon is known as “respiratory sinus arrthythmia”. When we inhale, our heart rate tends to increase – when we exhale it tends to decrease. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia – Breathing Induced Heart Rate Variability This can be observed using instruments that measure electrical activity in the brain, the muscles, and the skin. When we are breathing “coherently”, the nervous system “relaxes”, and when it does both body and mind follow. Ultimately circulation and blood flow are a function of the central nervous system which carefully monitors our biological status. Better breathing and better circulation result in better gas exchange. Respiration and circulation are the mechanisms by which gas exchange occurs. Possibly more importantly, the work performed by the diaphragm, a large strong muscle, off-loads the work performed by the heart and vascular system, moving more blood, and at the same time giving the heart much needed rest! Of course, over and above circulation, breathing is about “gas exchange”, the intake of oxygen and the output of carbon dioxide. This wave like action, known as “the respiratory arterial pressure wave” is visible in the fingers, where (using the right instrument) we can see the fingers filling with blood during exhalation and emptying of blood during inhalation.Ĭirculation, Gas Exchange, and Nervous System Governance The thoracic pump draws blood from the extremities on inhalation and sends blood throughout the body on exhalation. This increase in blood flow is principally a function of the “thoracic pump” which is powered by the “diaphragm”, the large sheath of muscle separating the lungs and heart from the digestive organs. While we have yet to quantify it, blood flow during Coherent Breathing, even though we may be resting or semi-active, is somewhere in between. Typically, when we are at rest, blood in the body circulates once each minute when we are exercising this can increase to six times per minute (Medical Physiology, Guyton & Hall, 2002). We are just beginning to understand why − breathing has much to do with “circulation,” both quantity and quality. It has been known for thousands of years that breathing is key to health, performance, and longevity. By Stephen Elliott on Novemin Psychophysiology
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