美国一项最新研究发现，减慢呼吸可以在一定程度上帮助人们缓解疼痛感。

来自巴罗神经学研究所和亚利桑那州立大学的研究人员在最新一期美国《疼痛学》（Pain）杂志上报告说，他们选取了两组年龄在45岁至65岁之间的女性进行研究，其中一组为受到慢性疼痛困扰的纤维肌痛综合征患者，另一组为健康女性作为对照。

实验过程中，这些女性在呼吸正常和呼吸速度减半状态下，其手掌分别受到适度的热脉冲的冲击。每一次热脉冲之后，研究人员都会记录下她们报告的掌部疼痛感程度以及情绪的变化等参数。

结果发现，对于健康女性来说，当减慢呼吸时，她们感觉到的疼痛程度也随之降低。而对于患病一组的女性来说，整体上的作用不很明显，但那些情绪相对乐观的患者，也能借助减慢呼吸缓解其疼痛感。

研究人员说，这一研究结果可以帮助解释为何瑜珈等一些活动通过调整呼吸可以放松身心提升情绪。

原始出处：

Pain doi:10.1016/j.pain.2009.10.001

The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: An experimental study

Alex J. Zautraa, , , Robert Fasmana, Mary C. Davisa and Arthur D. (Bud) Craigb

a Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
b Atkinson Research Laboratory, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA

This study examined whether breathing rate affected self-reported pain and emotion following thermal pain stimuli in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM: n = 27) or age-matched healthy control women (HC: n = 25). FM and HC were exposed to low and moderate thermal pain pulses during paced breathing at their normal rate and one-half their normal rate. Thermal pain pulses were presented in four blocks of four trials. Each block included exposure to both mild and moderate pain trials, and periods of both normal and slow paced breathing. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were recorded immediately following each pain trial, and positive and negative affect were assessed at the end of each block of trials. Compared to normal breathing, slow breathing reduced ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness, particularly for moderately versus mildly painful thermal stimuli. The effects of slow breathing on pain ratings were less reliable for FM patients than for HCs. Slow versus normal breathing decreased negative affect ratings following thermal pain pulses for both groups, and increased positive affect reports, but only for healthy controls with high trait negative affect. Participants who reported higher levels of trait positive affect prior to the experiment showed greater decreases in negative affect as a result of slow versus normal breathing. These experimental findings provide support for prior reports on the benefits of yogic breathing and mindful Zen meditation for pain and depressed affect. However, chronic pain patients may require more guidance to obtain therapeutic benefit from reduced breathing rates.

来源：生物谷