The effect of a short breathing intervention on postural control and heart rate variability

The objective of this study was to determine the immediate effect of a short breathing intervention on postural control and heart rate variability in healthy individuals.The study involved 28 participants. Heart rate variability and heart rate were measured using a Polar (H10) sensor, and the sway path during posturography was recorded using the NeuroCom system, with participants standing on a firm then a foam surface in the eyes open and eyes closed conditions. All measurements were performed before and after the breathing intervention to provide baseline and post-intervention data. A short breathing intervention was performed between testing to stimulate the autonomic nervous system. In the Wilcoxon matched pairs comparison using Statistica software, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.The breathing intervention caused a significant decrease in heart rate variability and an increase in heart rate. In the eyes closed condition, on a firm surface, the breathing intervention significantly reduced the sway path.The breathing intervention reduced the sway path in conditions without visual information but appeared to have no effect on balance in conditions with visual information, suggesting that the postural function of the diaphragm becomes more prominent in nonvisual conditions. We obtained evidence of the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and postural control. The stimulation of the sympathetic tone by means of the breathing intervention had a significant effect on postural control on firm and foam surfaces without visual information and decreased postural sway.