It’s official! Conscious Breathing Retraining impoves health and reduces stress - Conscious Breathing Institute

It’s official! Conscious Breathing Retraining impoves health and reduces stress

A study on 40 people who have completed the 7 Step CBR Program to Better Breathing shows that improved breathing habits have a significant positive impact in a variety of different areas, such as reduced stress, better sleep, increased ability to concentrate and more energy.

The improvement experienced was rated on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 = no improvement and 10 = very big improvement. 7 or above was taken to be a major improvement. On average 76% of the participants noted an improvement in sleep, mood, energy levels, fear, etc. 43% experienced a significant improvement relating to sleep, and 35% felt that their energy levels had improved significantly.

Breathing Index – a 24% increase

The Breathing Index is a questionnaire comprising 20 questions. See the questions here. The maximum score on the breathing index is 100. A high score indicates good breathing habits and a balanced body with significant inner resources and therefore the ability to overcome difficult challenges. The lowest possible score is 20 and a score below 50 indicates that one’s breathing habits have a clear potential for improvement. A low score correlates with a body that has lost its balance and is lacking in inner resource.

After the 7 Step CBR Program to Better Breathing, the average score increased from 62 to 77, which represents an increase of 24%.

Everyday breathing habits – an improvement of almost 50%

To get to know your own breathing habits when following the CBR Program, simply record at the end of each week situations and feelings that trigger stressed, shallow breathing–i.e., on days 7, 14, 21 and 28. Examples might include over breathing, chaotic breathing, apnea, chest breathing, mouth breathing or noisy breathing – e.g., coughing, hawking, and sniffling. The maximum score is 60. A high score indicates good everyday breathing habits. A score below 30 indicate that you have much to gain by improving your breathing habits in different situations and when experiencing certain feelings.

After the 7 Step CBR Program, the average score increased from 33 to 49, which is an increase of 48%.

Simple exercises that you will actually enjoy doing

The participants in the study were motivated, and their completed training schedules shows high activity. See the training schedule here. Based on the completed schedules we can conclude that the exercises are simple and, therefore, get done, which is the whole point as practice makes perfect and leads to improvements in your day-to-day breathing. On average, the participants:


A few of the comments from the participants in the study

  • I don’t snore anymore, I sleep less and my sugar cravings are more manageable.
  • It’s remarkable how Conscious Breathing can make me calm down immediately and feel more focused.
  • I am calmer. I don’t keep rushing into the future and I can stay in the here and now! That is a big difference.
  • The Relaxator brings down/does away with my increased heart rate
  • My yoga has become so much better – I have finally gotten my movement and breathing in sync
  • My heart rate and breathing frequency is lower when I exercise and use nasal breathing.
  • I am normally quite mental and used to diss my body a lot. The breathing exercises have made me more aware of my body’s needs.
  • The breathing exercises have helped me greatly in achieving my goals.
  • I can break the stress cycle faster and the breathing helps me get centered.
  • My sugar cravings came back with a vengeance when I lost the Relaxator and the Sleep Tape ran out.
  • The Relaxator is a big help in reducing my stress attacks, when working at the computer, for example.
  • I feel much less tired after working out.
  • Good diaphragmatic breathing automatically put me back in the here and now, which makes it easier to make good food/exercise choices at the time.
  • I feel stronger and more purposeful.
  • I have lost weight and am very satisfied.
  • I used to have a very stuffy nose at night, and can really feel the difference, now. I sleep better and feel more rested.
  • When I practice nasal breathing during exercise, my recovery is incredibly fast when I am out of breath
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