Meditation and Breathing Practices for Athletes

Breathing exercises and meditation long ago moved beyond yoga: they are used by Olympic teams, professional clubs and the military. For an athlete this is a free tool that helps to “switch off” stress faster after training, fall asleep more easily and hold concentration in competition. The editorial team examined the mechanisms behind these practices and how convincing the evidence for their benefits is.

Why an athlete should manage breathing

Breathing is the only autonomic function that a person can easily control consciously. The heartbeat, digestion or vascular tone do not obey a direct command, whereas we change the pace and depth of a breath in a second. Through breathing one can indirectly influence the balance of the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) divisions of the nervous system.

After an intense workout or an evening match, sympathetic activity remains elevated for several more hours. The pulse is high, thoughts keep “replaying” events, it is hard to fall asleep. It is precisely at this moment that a few minutes of calm breathing can speed up the transition to a recovery state.

The second task is regulating arousal before the start. Excessive anxiety impairs coordination and precision, while insufficient arousal reduces readiness for maximal effort. Breathing techniques allow an athlete to “tune” their state in the desired direction, which is why sports psychologists use them actively.

The third is developing attention. Regular meditation trains the ability to notice distractions and return focus to the task. For shooters, golfers, weightlifters before a lift or tennis players between rallies, this skill is directly linked to results.

The physiology of slow breathing

During inhalation the heart rate rises slightly, and during exhalation it falls. This phenomenon is called respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and it is a normal sign of healthy vagal regulation. When a person breathes slowly, about 5–7 times a minute, the heart-rate fluctuations synchronize with breathing and with the baroreceptor reflex, and the amplitude of heart rate variability (HRV) noticeably increases.

Lehrer and Gevirtz (2014) explain that a person has a so-called resonance breathing frequency, most often around 6 breaths per minute, at which the cardiovascular system “enters resonance”. HRV biofeedback, used in clinical psychology and athletic preparation, is built on this principle.

A systematic review by Zaccaro and co-authors (2018) summarized studies of slow breathing and concluded that it is associated with an increase in HRV, enhanced parasympathetic activity, and also with reduced anxiety and arousal. The authors stress the heterogeneity of the studies, so the effects should not be exaggerated.

An extended exhalation plays an important role. When the exhalation is longer than the inhalation, vagal braking of the heart is engaged more actively. That is why most calming techniques are built on the pattern “short inhale — long exhale”, while activating ones, on the contrary, emphasize the inhalation.

Meditation and mindfulness: what is proven

A meta-analysis by Goyal and co-authors (2014), published in JAMA Internal Medicine, evaluated meditation programs in the general population. Mindfulness programs showed moderate improvements in anxiety, depressive symptoms and pain. At the same time, the authors found no convincing evidence that meditation is superior to other active interventions, such as physical exercise.

For sport, the most cited meta-analysis is the work of Bühlmayer and co-authors (2017) in Sports Medicine. They concluded that mindfulness practices are associated with improvements in performance-relevant measures — attention, flow, reduced anxiety, and also some athletic results, especially in precision sports. The quality of many of the included studies was rated as limited.

In sports psychology, special approaches have been developed, such as the “mindfulness–acceptance–commitment” (MAC) model proposed by Gardner and Moore. Its essence is not to fight unpleasant thoughts before the start, but to notice them and still act according to the plan.

A relatively new randomized study by Balban and co-authors (2023) compared five-minute daily breathing practices with mindfulness meditation. All variants improved mood, and the “cyclic sighing” technique with an extended exhalation produced the greatest effect and lowered the resting breathing rate. The sample was small, so the result requires confirmation.

The main techniques and when to use them

For daily recovery the simplest option is slow nasal breathing at a frequency of about six cycles per minute: an inhale of roughly 4 seconds, an exhale of 6. Five to ten minutes after training or before sleep is enough. It is advisable to breathe with the belly, without forcing the volume, to avoid dizziness.

“Box breathing” (inhale — hold — exhale — hold, each phase of equal length) is popular among the military and firefighters as a way to maintain control in a stressful situation. Athletes use it in the break between attempts or halves.

1. After training:5–10 minutes of slow breathing lying down, with the exhale longer than the inhale.
2. Before sleep:progressive muscle relaxation or a body scan, 10–15 minutes.
3. Before the start:1–2 minutes of cyclic sighing (a double inhale through the nose, a long exhale through the mouth) to reduce anxiety.
4. Daily for attention:10 minutes of meditation focused on breathing.

Regularity matters more than duration. A short daily practice yields more than an hour once a week. It is useful to tie it to an existing habit — a cool-down, a shower, evening stretching — so that it does not require separate time.

To track progress you can use a chest heart-rate monitor or apps for measuring HRV in the morning. A rise in the metric over weeks often accompanies improved recovery, although HRV is affected by many other factors.

Limitations and common mistakes

Breathing practices do not replace sleep, nutrition and sound load planning. If an athlete is chronically short of sleep and trains without deloads, five minutes of breathing will not compensate for that deficit. It is a supporting tool, not a primary means of recovery.

Techniques with pronounced hyperventilation and prolonged breath-holds, popular on social media, carry real risks. They must never be performed in water: hyperventilation before diving is linked to loss of consciousness underwater and cases of drowning. They should also not be practiced while driving or standing.

People with cardiovascular disease, epilepsy, panic disorders or during pregnancy should discuss intensive breathing protocols with a doctor. In some people with anxiety disorders, meditation may at first intensify unpleasant sensations — here it is better to work with a specialist.

Another mistake is expecting an instant effect on results. Studies show mainly improvements in well-being, anxiety and attention. The impact on strength or endurance, if any, is indirect and manifests through better recovery and concentration.

Editorial conclusions

Slow breathing with an extended exhalation is the simplest and most accessible way to shift the nervous system into recovery mode. Its mechanism, through the baroreflex and vagal regulation, is well described.

Mindfulness meditation has moderate evidence of improving attention and reducing anxiety in athletes, although the quality of the research is still limited.

The best result comes from a short but daily practice built into the training routine. Dangerous protocols with hyperventilation and breath-holds are better avoided.

We also recommend reading our materials on stress and cortisol in the athlete, on the signs of insufficient recovery, and on sleep hygiene for athletes.

References

1. Lehrer PM, Gevirtz R. Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work? Front Psychol. 2014;5:756.
2. Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:353.
3. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EM, et al. Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(3):357–368.
4. Bühlmayer L, Birrer D, Röthlin P, et al. Effects of mindfulness practice on performance-relevant parameters and performance outcomes in sports: a meta-analytical review. Sports Med. 2017;47(11):2309–2321.
5. Gardner FL, Moore ZE. A mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based approach to athletic performance enhancement: theoretical considerations. Behav Ther. 2004;35(4):707–723.
6. Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Rep Med. 2023;4(1):100895.