A Longer Exhale May Push the Brain Toward Bolder Choices, Study Finds

A new study suggests that deliberately changing the rhythm of your breathing can influence how you make decisions by altering activity in both the heart and brain. Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité -- Universitätsmedizin Berlin found that longer exhalations increased heart rate variability and made the brain more responsive to rewards, which was associated with bolder choices. The findings were published in the journal Neuron.

The study was led by Prof. Soyoung Q Park, working with researchers from the Neuroscience Research Center at Charité, Freie Universität Berlin, and the German Naval Institute of Maritime Medicine. The team studied 41 healthy participants while they made risky choices under controlled breathing conditions. Participants followed visual breathing instructions and either breathed at their normal pace or slowed their breathing while extending the exhalation phase, using a 2:8 inhale-exhale ratio.

While participants completed a series of risk-related decisions, the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to track brain activity, while breathing patterns, heart activity, skin conductance and pupil responses were monitored at the same time. Extended exhalation slowed heart rate and was associated with riskier choices. Importantly, the change appeared to come from greater attention to possible rewards rather than reduced concern about potential losses, since participants still responded to losses in a similar way.

The researchers also detected stronger activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the precuneus, brain regions involved in reward processing and in regulating heart rate variability. "Our study thus underscores the transformative role of breath-based interventions. The interplay between breathing and cardiac dynamics makes the brain more receptive to rewards," said lead author Wenhao Huang.

"Breathing techniques have accompanied humanity for millennia across various religions and cultures. With this study, we provide scientific proof that it is a reliable and targeted method capable of controlling our decisions," said Park. Future studies will examine whether the effect extends to broader groups, including people with overweight, and whether breathing techniques could influence food-related decisions.