Breathwork changed a recovery marker after maximal exercise
In cadets, box breathing and cyclic sighing improved a heart-rate variability measure, while heart-rate recovery did not differ significantly between groups.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Both structured breathing methods produced larger increases in high-frequency heart-rate variability during early recovery than spontaneous breathing. This supports an effect on a marker of autonomic recovery in these cadets. Heart-rate recovery itself showed no significant differences between groups, and the abstract does not establish better performance or operational readiness.
The study examined immediate physiological recovery in cadets. The abstract does not report later recovery, performance outcomes or enough protocol detail to assess how the breathing methods were delivered.
What researchers found
High-frequency heart-rate variability
Box breathing and cyclic sighing each exceeded spontaneous breathing from 1–3 to 4–6 minutes after exercise; P = 0.001. The abstract gives no between-group magnitude.
Related measures, different results
Researchers measured both variability in heart rhythm and the fall from peak heart rate. The breathing groups differed from the control group on the variability measure, but a group difference in heart-rate recovery was not detected.
What the timing tells us
These measurements covered only the early period after maximal exertion. They address an immediate recovery response, leaving unanswered whether any change persists or affects what participants can do afterward.
The original publication
Effectiveness of Structured Breathwork Interventions on Heart Rate Variability and Heart Rate Recovery Following Maximal Exertion in Tactical Athletes.
Jones ME, Smith G, Acevedo A et al.
Med Sci Sports Exerc · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41839180
- Record checked
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