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Breathwork: what the evidence actually supports
Harvard Health on the breathing practices that have real autonomic effects, separated from the ones that don't.
Harvard Health Publishing5 min readSelected and edited by Dean ShabanAdded
Slow, paced breathing (especially with extended exhalation) produces measurable parasympathetic activation and reduced subjective stress. The mechanism is real, the effect is modest, and the practice is free.
Harvard Health's short overview is a useful filter against the larger market of breathwork content that promises substantially more than the underlying research supports.
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