Page 93 - Petelin, Ana. 2020. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije / Health of the Working-Age Population. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press
P. 93
ationship between breathing exercises and quality of life ohranjanje in krepitev zdravja | maintaining and promoting health
in adults – a literature review
Eva Lenart, Karin Vrtar, Ana Benedik, Petra Zajc, Sabina Ličen, Milan Hosta,
Matej Plevnik
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
Introduction: Respiratory disorders are a common occurrence in adults, which
also occur in people without medically diagnosed medical conditions. The most
common is the hyperventilation syndrome, which is present in 6 % to 10 % of
adults. Overall respiratory capacity associated with the use of optimal breath-
ing patterns also has an impact on health. The reasons are mainly exposure to
stressful situations or unconscious fears that can cause anxiety, depression and
stress. These conditions are associated with excessive frequency and volume
of respiration, which usually lead to hyperventilation. On a psychological and
physical level, such a condition can express itself as fatigue, dizziness, tingling,
weakness, headache, and the like. These are the signs with which we can de-
scribe respiratory disorders. The purpose of our study was to review the lit-
erature on the association of breathing exercises with improving lung function
and assessing the quality of life in adults.
Methods: The research used an integrative review of the scientific literature,
which was accessed in April 2020 via the electronic databases PubMed, Google
Scholar and Science Direct. The search string included the following keywords
and their synonyms: respiration, performance, adults, quality of life, lifestyle.
All databases used an advanced search with the included Bol operator AND /
IN between two or more keywords. We took into account the inclusion crite-
ria, namely the publication of papers between 2010 and 2020, the adult popu-
lation between 18 and 65 years of age, and the accessibility to the full text; and
an exclusion criterion: a medically diagnosed medical condition.
Results: Out of 52 items found, 7 relevant studies were identified. The results
suggest a connection among breathing exercises, the quality of life and the im-
provement of lung function, between breathing exercises and the decrease in
the number of hyperventilation attacks, the improvement of lung capacity and
the improvement of body component of the assessment of the quality of life and
the decrease in ambulance visits. The results also showed that breathing tech-
niques can be an alternative treatment for stress, anxiety, depression and some
emotional problems, and that diaphragmatic breathing exercises can affect at-
tention, the presence of outburst events and reduce blood cortisol levels.
Discussion and conclusion: The results show a connection between breath-
ing exercises and the general quality of life and health factors in adults without
medically diagnosed medical conditions. We note a lack of research that would
examine the study of breathing techniques and their impact on the improve-
ment of lung function and the assessment of the quality of life in healthy adults
without the presence of diagnosed diseases. We can conclude that breathing
exercises in healthy adults are associated with the assessment of the quality of
life and the improvement of lung function, as well as that the area is poorly re-
searched.
Key words: breathing, exercise, lifestyle, quality of life, breathing technique
91
in adults – a literature review
Eva Lenart, Karin Vrtar, Ana Benedik, Petra Zajc, Sabina Ličen, Milan Hosta,
Matej Plevnik
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
Introduction: Respiratory disorders are a common occurrence in adults, which
also occur in people without medically diagnosed medical conditions. The most
common is the hyperventilation syndrome, which is present in 6 % to 10 % of
adults. Overall respiratory capacity associated with the use of optimal breath-
ing patterns also has an impact on health. The reasons are mainly exposure to
stressful situations or unconscious fears that can cause anxiety, depression and
stress. These conditions are associated with excessive frequency and volume
of respiration, which usually lead to hyperventilation. On a psychological and
physical level, such a condition can express itself as fatigue, dizziness, tingling,
weakness, headache, and the like. These are the signs with which we can de-
scribe respiratory disorders. The purpose of our study was to review the lit-
erature on the association of breathing exercises with improving lung function
and assessing the quality of life in adults.
Methods: The research used an integrative review of the scientific literature,
which was accessed in April 2020 via the electronic databases PubMed, Google
Scholar and Science Direct. The search string included the following keywords
and their synonyms: respiration, performance, adults, quality of life, lifestyle.
All databases used an advanced search with the included Bol operator AND /
IN between two or more keywords. We took into account the inclusion crite-
ria, namely the publication of papers between 2010 and 2020, the adult popu-
lation between 18 and 65 years of age, and the accessibility to the full text; and
an exclusion criterion: a medically diagnosed medical condition.
Results: Out of 52 items found, 7 relevant studies were identified. The results
suggest a connection among breathing exercises, the quality of life and the im-
provement of lung function, between breathing exercises and the decrease in
the number of hyperventilation attacks, the improvement of lung capacity and
the improvement of body component of the assessment of the quality of life and
the decrease in ambulance visits. The results also showed that breathing tech-
niques can be an alternative treatment for stress, anxiety, depression and some
emotional problems, and that diaphragmatic breathing exercises can affect at-
tention, the presence of outburst events and reduce blood cortisol levels.
Discussion and conclusion: The results show a connection between breath-
ing exercises and the general quality of life and health factors in adults without
medically diagnosed medical conditions. We note a lack of research that would
examine the study of breathing techniques and their impact on the improve-
ment of lung function and the assessment of the quality of life in healthy adults
without the presence of diagnosed diseases. We can conclude that breathing
exercises in healthy adults are associated with the assessment of the quality of
life and the improvement of lung function, as well as that the area is poorly re-
searched.
Key words: breathing, exercise, lifestyle, quality of life, breathing technique
91
