161 Sleep, Emotion, and Physical Activity in Older Adults Who Engage in Resonant Breathing Biofeedback

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Resonant breathing (RB) biofeedback increases rhythmic heart-respiration coherence patterns and has been associated with improved emotional wellbeing, physiological health, and sleep quality (Lehrer et al, 2000). Sleep quality declines with age, which leads to emotion dysregulation, cognitive impairment, and poor physical health (Crowley, 2011). However, limited research has investigated the sleep characteristics of older adults who practice RB-biofeedback. Therefore, our study investigates this population’s sleep characteristics, emotional stability, and physical health. Methods Thirty-one healthy participants (24 Female; M=54.68 years, SD=9.74) who self-identified as RB-biofeedback experts completed a series of online questionnaires assessing history, frequency, and duration of practice, sleep (habits and quality), physical activity (frequency, duration, and intensity), and mood (depression symptoms). They also reported their typical coherence level achieved, which is a numerical composite value associated with the heart rhythm’s uniform sine-wave pattern at approximately .1HZ (McCraty et al., 2010). Results Using bivariate correlations, we found that poor sleep quality was positively correlated with stress (r = .954, p = .001), poor sleep hygiene (r = .591, p < .001), severe sleepiness (r = .518, p = .003), emotion dysregulation (r = .511, p = .004), depressive symptoms (r = .089, p < .001), and negatively correlated with subjective happiness (r = .511, p < .003). Severe sleepiness was negatively correlated with older adults’ enhanced physical fitness (r = .612, p < .001), and poor sleep hygiene was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = .503, p = .004). We found no significant correlations between coherence level, mood, physical activity, or sleep measures. Conclusion We found significant associations between healthy sleep habits and emotional wellbeing. Those with better sleep quality and more positive sleep habits also had fewer depression symptoms. Moreover, those categorized as more athletic reported lower levels of severe sleepiness, suggesting that physical activity may be a protective factor for sleep in older adults. We did not find a relation between coherence level and sleep, or physical activity. These null results may be due to the high expertise level of the subject sample. Future studies should compare results to older adults who do not practice RB-biofeedback. Support (if any) Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program