Tiny breaths blunt the body's stress spike in real time
Ultra-short breathing routines, notably box breathing and prolonged exhalation, prevented typical spikes in heart rate, anxiety, and salivary alpha-amylase during a five-minute simulated public-speaking task, with no difference in immediate cognitive performance across groups; cortisol declined across all groups, likely due to task design. The study suggests simple, equipment-free techniques that could help high-stress professionals manage bodily stress in real time, though limitations (live vs. prerecorded stimuli, sample size) temper generalizability.