Effects of Brief Breathwork Under a State of Cognitive Fatigue on Subjective Well-Being and Diaphragm Function: A Randomized Crossover Design.
- 1Faculty of Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan.
- 2Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan.
- 3Institute of Advanced Research for Sport and Health Science, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan.
Abstract
Previous investigations have identified the effectiveness of breathwork on both psychological and physical health for individuals under a resting state. However, there was no study investigating the effects of breathwork under a mentally-fatigued state. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of breathwork administered after the induction of mental fatigue by a cognitive tasks on primary self-reported outcomes including positive and negative affect and self-reported stress indices, as well as on secondary physiological outcomes including diaphragm function and stress-related physiological responses. This study was employed with a randomized cross-over study design. Twenty healthy university students voluntarily participated in this study. Each of them performed a 20-min breathwork and control (quiet bed rest) condition following the Colour-Word Stroop Task (CWST) in a randomized sequence over two days separated at least by a week. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires for positive and negative affect and stress indices and underwent ultrasonographic assessments of the diaphragm function, saliva collection for cortisol and IgA, and heart rate variability assessments at baseline, pre-CWST, post-CWST, and post-intervention. The breathwork condition demonstrated significantly higher positive affect at post-intervention compared to the control condition (p = 0.021). Right hemidiaphragm excursion and left hemidiaphragm thickness at end-inspiration significantly increased from post-CWST to post-intervention in the breathwork condition. The breathwork condition appeared to improve positive affect and diaphragm function even under a mentally-fatigued state, compared to the control condition. These findings indicate that breathwork may serve as a simple, accessible, and practical strategy to enhance subjective well-being in a stressful environment and diaphragm function regardless of mental fatigue.
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BibTeX
@article{uemori2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Brief Breathwork Under a State of Cognitive Fatigue on Subjective Well-Being and Diaphragm Function: A Randomized Crossover Design.}},
author = {Kenichiro Uemori and Yuka Shimozawa and Tadashi Suga and Tadao Isaka and Masafumi Terada},
journal = {Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/smi.70234},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908421},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Brief Breathwork Under a State of Cognitive Fatigue on Subjective Well-Being and Diaphragm Function: A Randomized Crossover Design.
AU - Kenichiro Uemori
AU - Yuka Shimozawa
AU - Tadashi Suga
AU - Tadao Isaka
AU - Masafumi Terada
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress
DO - 10.1002/smi.70234
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908421
AB - Previous investigations have identified the effectiveness of breathwork on both psychological and physical health for individuals under a resting state. However, there was no study investigating the effects of breathwork under a mentally-fatigued state. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of breathwork administered after the induction of mental fatigue by a cognitive tasks on primary self-reported outcomes including positive and negative affect and self-reported stress indices, as well as on secondary physiological outcomes including diaphragm function and stress-related physiological responses. This study was employed with a randomized cross-over study design. Twenty healthy university students voluntarily participated in this study. Each of them performed a 20-min breathwork and control (quiet bed rest) condition following the Colour-Word Stroop Task (CWST) in a randomized sequence over two days separated at least by a week. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires for positive and negative affect and stress indices and underwent ultrasonographic assessments of the diaphragm function, saliva collection for cortisol and IgA, and heart rate variability assessments at baseline, pre-CWST, post-CWST, and post-intervention. The breathwork condition demonstrated significantly higher positive affect at post-intervention compared to the control condition (p = 0.021). Right hemidiaphragm excursion and left hemidiaphragm thickness at end-inspiration significantly increased from post-CWST to post-intervention in the breathwork condition. The breathwork condition appeared to improve positive affect and diaphragm function even under a mentally-fatigued state, compared to the control condition. These findings indicate that breathwork may serve as a simple, accessible, and practical strategy to enhance subjective well-being in a stressful environment and diaphragm function regardless of mental fatigue.
SN - 1532-3005
SN - 1532-2998
ER -