Researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, have shown for the first time that consciously controlling breathing patterns can influence decision-making by affecting both heart and brain activity.
Led by Prof. Soyoung Q Park, the team found that extending the exhalation phase of breathing increases heart rate variability and enhances the brain’s response to rewards, making people more likely to choose bolder options.
According to the findings published in the journal, Neuron, fast breathing and an elevated heart rate are often associated with rapid decisions.
In these situations, people may become more cautious in an effort to avoid losses, whether they are making a financial choice under pressure, navigating an important workplace discussion, or quickly deciding what to eat.
Slower breathing and a calmer cardiovascular state, on the other hand, may encourage a more positive assessment of potential outcomes and greater willingness to take risks. While decision-making is traditionally viewed as a process that originates in the brain, this study examined how signals from different parts of the body can shape brain activity and influence choices.
The research was led by Prof. Soyoung Q Park in collaboration with the Neuroscience Research Center at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, and the German Naval Institute of Maritime Medicine. “Our decisions are rarely determined solely by external information.
Rather, our judgement emerges from the interplay between cognitive processes and our current bodily state. It was previously unknown how the conscious regulation of our body, for example, through targeted breathing, could actively control our decision–making process.
We wanted to create a physiological shift using a slow breathing pattern to change the quality of our decisions,” said Soyoung Q Park, head of the Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition at DIfE. Testing Slow Breathing During Risk Decisions.
The study involved 41 healthy volunteers who completed risk-based decision tasks while following specific breathing instructions in an advanced research environment.
Participants either breathed at their normal pace or followed a slower pattern with a prolonged exhalation (2:8 inhale/exhale ratio). During both breathing conditions, they were asked to make a series of decisions involving risk.
