The way you breathe affects your brain
Feb 17, 2021

Reading time 2 min.

Breathing is not just for oxygen; it’s now linked to brain function and behavior.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered for the first time that the rhythm of breathing creates electrical activity in the human brain that enhances emotional judgments and memory recall.

These effects on behavior depend critically on whether you inhale or exhale and whether you breathe through the nose or mouth.

In the study, individuals were able to identify a fearful face more quickly if they encountered the face when breathing in compared to breathing out. Individuals also were more likely to remember an object if they encountered it on the inhaled breath than the exhaled one. The effect disappeared if breathing was through the mouth.

“One of the major findings in this study is that there is a dramatic difference in brain activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during inhalation compared with exhalation,” said lead author Christina Zelano, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “When you breathe in, we discovered you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, all across the limbic system.”

The study was published Dec. 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The senior author is Jay Gottfried, professor of neurology at Feinberg.

Northwestern scientists first discovered these differences in brain activity while studying seven patients with epilepsy who were scheduled for brain surgery. A week prior to surgery, a surgeon implanted electrodes into the patients’ brains in order to identify the origin of their seizures. This allowed scientists to acquire electro-physiological data directly from their brains. The recorded electrical signals showed brain activity fluctuated with breathing. The activity occurs in brain areas where emotions, memory and smells are processed.

This discovery led scientists to ask whether cognitive functions typically associated with these brain areas — in particular fear processing and memory — could also be affected by breathing.

The amygdala is strongly linked to emotional processing, in particular fear-related emotions. So scientists asked about 60 subjects to make rapid decisions on emotional expressions in the lab environment while recording their breathing. Presented with pictures of faces showing expressions of either fear or surprise, the subjects had to indicate, as quickly as they could, which emotion each face was expressing. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrtive purposes only.[/caption]

The amygdala is strongly linked to emotional processing, in particular fear-related emotions. So scientists asked about 60 subjects to make rapid decisions on emotional expressions in the lab environment while recording their breathing. Presented with pictures of faces showing expressions of either fear or surprise, the subjects had to indicate, as quickly as they could, which emotion each face was expressing.

When faces were encountered during inhalation, subjects recognized them as fearful more quickly than when faces were encountered during exhalation. This was not true for faces expressing surprise. These effects diminished when subjects performed the same task while breathing through their mouths. Thus the effect was specific to fearful stimuli during nasal breathing only.

In an experiment aimed at assessing memory function — tied to the hippocampus — the same subjects were shown pictures of objects on a computer screen and told to remember them. Later, they were asked to recall those objects. Researchers found that recall was better if the images were encountered during inhalation.

The findings imply that rapid breathing may confer an advantage when someone is in a dangerous situation, Zelano said.

“If you are in a panic state, your breathing rhythm becomes faster,” Zelano said. “As a result you’ll spend proportionally more time inhaling than when in a calm state. Thus, our body’s innate response to fear with faster breathing could have a positive impact on brain function and result in faster response times to dangerous stimuli in the environment.”

Another potential insight of the research is on the basic mechanisms of meditation or focused breathing. “When you inhale, you are in a sense synchronizing brain oscillations across the limbic network,” Zelano noted.


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Breathing Meditation (Pranayama)
$40 USD
healing session
60' Breathwork Session

Would you like to experience inner peace and lasting joy? Do you want to step into a life that truly reflects your hopes and dreams? Are you looking to attract uplifting relationships and meaningful work? Or to heal old trauma and experience a life filled with purpose and bliss? Then I've absolutley got you covered.

I'm Dini Martinez and have been living, studying and teaching the power of breath, through yogic and tantric as well as scientific and more modern teachings for over two decades. Having observed magical transformation in thousands of clients, from prisoners and refugees, over tired mums, exhausted dads, successful corporates, other holistic practitioners and many more, helping you be the best version of yourself is what I lift for. Why? As peace inside creates peace in the world. That's what I firmly believe in and that's what we need more than ever.

In our full one hour breathwork session we won't just talk, but dive straight into the practice. Whether you come in with a specific ailment - physical, mental or emotional - that you are ready to let go of, or whether you want to boost your energy levels, experience orgasm through breath or have simply got a curiosity to experience the shifts that can happen on all levels with and through this simple yet powerful practice - you are welcome.

What to Expect

During a breath work session you might drop into a deep state of meditative calm; your body might start cramping or trembling as stuck emotions release; you might go into a shamanic transe state connecting to clarity and insight, at times not only in this life and moment, but also into past and future lives; or you might drop into orgasmic states of bliss. Or your own reaction, or all or none of the above. Tears and laughter and anything between is all welcome. All is valid.

We can only flow through life as gracefully as we allow breath to flow through us!

All you need is some earphones and a device to connect with me. Camera is a great addition but totally optional. We can record the session as well so you can come back to it if or when you feel like it. No prerequisits other than a willingness to work on yourself on all level and openness to transform to levels of well-being, peace, joy and bliss that you might not have experienced before.

Dini Narayana Martinez
Breathing Meditation (Pranayama)
$20 USD
healing session
30' Breathwork Session

Would you like to experience inner peace and lasting joy? Do you want to step into a life that truly reflects your hopes and dreams? Are you looking to attract uplifting relationships and meaningful work? Or to heal old trauma and experience a life filled with purpose and bliss? Then I've absolutley got you covered.

I'm Dini Martinez and have been living, studying and teaching the power of breath, through yogic and tantric as well as scientific and more modern teachings for over two decades. Having observed magical transformation in thousands of clients, from prisoners and refugees, over tired mums, exhausted dads, successful corporates, other holistic practitioners and many more, helping you be the best version of yourself is what I lift for. Why? As peace inside creates peace in the world. That's what I firmly believe in and that's what we need more than ever.

In our half hour breathwork session we won't just talk, but dive straight into the practice. Whether you come in with a specific ailment - physical, mental or emotional - that you are ready to let go of, or whether you want to boost your energy levels, experience orgasm through breath or have simply got a curiosity to experience the shifts that can happen on all levels with and through this simple yet powerful practice - you are welcome.

What to Expect

During a breath work session you might drop into a deep state of meditative calm; your body might start cramping or trembling as stuck emotions release; you might go into a shamanic transe state connecting to clarity and insight, at times not only in this life and moment, but also into past and future lives; or you might drop into orgasmic states of bliss. Or your own reaction, or all or none of the above. Tears and laughter and anything between is all welcome. All is valid.

We can only flow through life as gracefully as we allow breath to flow through us!

All you need is some earphones and a device to connect with me. Camera is a great addition but totally optional. We can record the session as well so you can come back to it if or when you feel like it. No prerequisits other than a willingness to work on yourself on all level and openness to transform to levels of well-being, peace, joy and bliss that you might not have experienced before.

Dini Narayana Martinez
Breathing Meditation (Pranayama)
$10 USD
healing session
15' Breathwork Session

Would you like to experience inner peace and lasting joy? Do you want to step into a life that truly reflects your hopes and dreams? Are you looking to attract uplifting relationships and meaningful work? Or to heal old trauma and experience a life filled with purpose and bliss? Then I've absolutley got you covered.

I'm Dini Martinez and have been living, studying and teaching the power of breath, through yogic and tantric as well as scientific and more modern teachings for over two decades. Having observed magical transformation in thousands of clients, from prisoners and refugees, over tired mums, exhausted dads, successful corporates, other holistic practitioners and many more, helping you be the best version of yourself is what I lift for. Why? As peace inside creates peace in the world. That's what I firmly believe in and that's what we need more than ever.

In our initial 15 minutes breathwork session we won't just talk, but dive straight into the practice. Whether you come in with a specific ailment - physical, mental or emotional - that you are ready to let go of, or whether you want to boost your energy levels, experience orgasm through breath or have simply got a curiosity to experience the shifts that can happen on all levels with and through this simple yet powerful practice - you are welcome.

What to Expect

During a breath work session you might drop into a deep state of meditative calm; your body might start cramping or trembling as stuck emotions release; you might go into a shamanic transe state connecting to clarity and insight, at times not only in this life and moment, but also into past and future lives; or you might drop into orgasmic states of bliss. Or your own reaction, or all or none of the above. Tears and laughter and anything between is all welcome. All is valid.

We can only flow through life as gracefully as we allow breath to flow through us!

All you need is some earphones and a device to connect with me. Camera is a great addition but totally optional. We can record the session as well so you can come back to it if or when you feel like it. No prerequisits other than a willingness to work on yourself on all level and openness to transform to levels of well-being, peace, joy and bliss that you might not have experienced before.

Dini Narayana Martinez
Breathing Meditation (Pranayama)
$62 USD
healing session
Breakthrough Meditation

With the use of Meditation, descover your limiting beliefs and break through them to live the life you want.
Learn self reflection to develop deep self love and self acceptenace.

Shauna Mc Hugh

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