Effect of pursed-lip breathing on lung capacity and heart rate variability of healthy young adults.

Introduction: Exposure to short and long-term air pollution can cause respiratory infections, and other ailments. Elderly population and those suffering from respiratory illness are most susceptible to these adverse effects, but, even the healthy and young adults may get negatively impacted by the levels of air pollution. The role of breathing exercises, thus, becomes very critical in maintaining lung health, especially with the recent past of COVID-19 pandemic. Pursed-Lip Breathing (PLB) is one such technique, which is mainly prescribed for rehabilitation of lung disease patients. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of PLB in improving lung capacity in healthy young adults, as well as its effects on the Autonomic Nervous System. Methods: Twenty-five healthy young adults were recruited to be a part of the study, including 19 males and 6 females. The participants were randomly allocatedinto two groups; experimental (n=12) and control (n=13) groups. Experimental group participants were taught and instructed to perform two sessions of PursedLip Breathing exercise for 10 minutes daily, for a total period of four weeks. Individuals in the control group were not prescribed any breathing exercise. Post-intervention measurements were recorded after four weeks. Results: Timedomain variables of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) were significant for group and time interaction. Frequency domain variables were significant for within group and within time analysis. In spirometry; Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) and Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) were significant for group and time interaction. Maximum Voluntary Ventilation (MVV) was significant for time effect.Conclusion: It can be concluded that Pursed Lip Breathing is effective in improving the Lung Function as well as optimizing the sympathovagal tone; thus promoting the parasympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system.