Background: Heart rate varies during breathing and the heart rate variability (HRV) facilitates the autonomic homeostatic capacity. The maximum HRV was observed at around 10 s of prolonged respiration as per HRV biofeedback literature. However, there is a gap in understanding the variations in HRV by different respiration lengths during simple Bhramari practice.
Objective: To assess the effect of various respiration lengths (8, 10, 12, and 14 s) on HRV during the simple Bhramari (humming) practice.
Methodology: A total of 118 individuals (67 males, 51 females) signed up for the study based on convenience sampling at a wellness center. A randomized (simple permutation) within-subject crossover design with repeated measures was used to measure their HRV during the simple Bhramari practice. The results were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and paired samples t-test.
Results: The results indicate that, unlike the 10 s of respiration during HRV biofeedback breathing, maximum HRV during humming happens between 12 and 14 s of long breathing.
Conclusions: The unique findings of the study demonstrate the maximization of HRV between the respiration lengths of 12 and 14 s. Future work should explore expanding the research to a broader group of participants, including individuals with chronic conditions and other demographic variables and mantra chanting.
Keywords: Heart rate variability; heart rate variability biofeedback; humming; length of respiration; simple bhramari; yoga.
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