Online breathwork trial reported larger anxiety-score reductions than a waitlist
Adults assigned to group breathing sessions showed a larger drop in anxiety scores. The abstract does not establish how much benefit came from breathing itself.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Anxiety scores fell more in the breathwork group than in the waitlist group over the program. This supports a difference in symptom-score changes for the online group program tested. It does not establish that participants recovered from an anxiety disorder, that improvements persisted, or that breathwork works better than existing treatments.
Participants were predominantly women and white. The abstract does not report sustained outcomes, adverse events, or a comparison with an established anxiety treatment, so broader applicability and durability remain uncertain.
What researchers found
Mean anxiety-score change (SAS)
Breathwork versus waitlist, from baseline to the end of 6 weekly sessions; these are each group's score reductions, not an adjusted between-group estimate.
Reading the anxiety results
The abstract reports average changes on an anxiety scale labeled SAS. It also gives separate effect sizes for each group; those are not presented as a direct standardized estimate of the difference between groups.
What the comparison tested
The intervention involved online group participation in a named breathing approach. The comparison group waited for access, so the study evaluates that whole program against waiting; it does not isolate the breathing component from group contact.
The original publication
Efficacy of online conscious connected breathwork in reducing symptoms of anxiety: A randomized waitlist control trial.
Blake RL
J Affect Disord · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41167435
- Record checked
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