{"id":239031,"date":"2026-06-16T02:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/slow-breathing-can-influence-brain-activity-and-decision-behavior"},"modified":"2026-06-16T02:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:09:01","slug":"slow-breathing-can-influence-brain-activity-and-decision-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/slow-breathing-can-influence-brain-activity-and-decision-behavior","title":{"rendered":"Slow breathing can influence brain activity and decision behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/slow-breathing-can-influence-brain-activity-and-decision-behavior2.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A new study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam\u2013Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin shows for the first time that targeted control of human breathing rhythm can influence decision behavior by modulating heart and brain function. The research team led by Prof. Soyoung Q. Park was able to demonstrate that prolonged exhalation increases heart rate variability and the brain\u2019s reward sensitivity, thus enabling us to make bolder decisions. The study was <a href=\"https:\/\/linkinghub.elsevier.com\/retrieve\/pii\/S0896627326003399\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in the journal Neuron.<\/p>\n<p>Accelerated breathing and a rapid heart rate often lead to quick decision-making. Judgments under these circumstances can lead to more cautious decisions to minimize potential loss\u2014whether it is making investments under time pressure, during a critical employee meeting or while quickly selecting a meal. In contrast, slow breathing and a calmer heart could presumably lead to assessing the situation more positively and making bolder decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam\u2013Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin shows for the first time that targeted control of human breathing rhythm can influence decision behavior by modulating heart and brain function. The research team led by Prof. Soyoung Q. Park was able to demonstrate that prolonged exhalation increases heart [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":662,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-neuroscience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}