Why Does My Breathing Change When I'm Stressed?

Understand some of the ways stress can influence breathing.

Have you ever noticed that your breathing changes when you're stressed?

Maybe you start breathing faster.
Maybe your breaths feel bigger or shallower.
Maybe you hold your breath without realising.
Or perhaps you suddenly feel like you can't get a satisfying breath.

These changes are common.

Your breathing is closely connected to your stress response, so when your state changes, your breathing can change too.

Your body is responding to demand

When your brain detects a threat, challenge or demand, your body can move into a more activated state.

This is part of the body's normal stress response.

Your heart rate may increase, your muscles may become more alert and your breathing may change as your body prepares to respond.

This happens whether the stressor is physical — such as running — or psychological, such as an argument, an important presentation or worrying about something.

The brain and nervous system coordinate changes in breathing alongside other stress responses.

In other words, your breathing isn't randomly changing. Your body is responding to what it perceives is happening.

What can happen to your breathing when you're stressed?

There isn't one single “stress breath”.

Different people — and different types of stress — can produce different breathing patterns.

You might notice:

Faster breathing

Your breathing rate may increase.

Research examining the human response to different stressors has found that, as stress becomes more intense, increases in ventilation tend to be driven more by breathing frequency than by depth.

Bigger or more effortful breaths

You may feel the urge to take a bigger breath or sigh.

Sometimes this can feel like you're trying to get enough air, even though your body is already getting enough oxygen.

Chest and shoulder breathing

Stress can be accompanied by increased muscular tension. Some people begin using more of the muscles around the upper chest, neck and shoulders when breathing.

Breath holding

You might briefly stop breathing when concentrating, anticipating something or feeling tense.

You may not even notice you're doing it.

Changes in rhythm

Your breathing can become less regular or more variable when you're emotionally or physically activated.

Why does this matter?

Changes in breathing aren't necessarily a problem.

Your breathing should change.

It needs to increase when you're exercising. It changes when you talk, laugh, sleep, concentrate and respond to something unexpected.

The important question isn't:

“Is my breathing changing?”

It's:

“Is my breathing able to adapt and then settle again when the demand has passed?”

Can stress and breathing become a cycle?

They can.

You might notice your breathing change when you're stressed.

Then you notice the breathing.

Perhaps it feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar.

You start worrying about what the sensation means.

That can increase your sense of threat — which may change your breathing further.

Breathing sensations such as breathlessness can be particularly important in anxiety and panic, where respiratory changes and uncomfortable breathing sensations can reinforce each other.

This doesn't mean that every change in breathing is caused by anxiety.

Breathlessness can have many possible causes, and persistent or unexplained breathing difficulties should always be appropriately assessed.

What about everyday stress?

You don't have to be having a panic attack for stress to influence your breathing.

Think about a normal busy day.

You're answering emails.
You're running late.
You're concentrating on a deadline.
Your phone keeps going.
You're thinking about everything you need to get done.

Your body may remain in a more activated state for much of the day.

You may not consciously feel “stressed”, but your breathing may still reflect what is happening.

This is one reason breath awareness can be useful.

Noticing your breathing can give you information about your current state before you even consciously recognise that you're stressed.

Can you change your breathing when you're stressed?

Sometimes, yes.

Research suggests that deliberately slowing the breath can influence autonomic nervous system activity and measures associated with relaxation and reduced arousal.

But you don't necessarily need to force your breathing into a particular pattern.

Try starting with:

Notice.
What is your breath doing?

Soften.
Can you reduce unnecessary effort?

Allow.
Can you let the breath become quieter and easier?

Slow, if comfortable.
If your breathing feels rushed, can you gently allow it to slow without taking bigger breaths?

The goal isn't to create a “perfect” breath.

It's to give your body an opportunity to respond differently.

You don't need to fix every change in your breathing

Your breathing is designed to respond to your environment.

A faster breath during exercise is appropriate.

A change in breathing when you're startled is normal.

A sigh after a stressful moment can be normal too.

The aim of functional breathing isn't to stop your breathing from changing.

It's to develop an adaptable breathing system that can respond to demand and settle when the demand has passed.

The Guided Breath approach

At The Guided Breath, we don't start with the assumption that you need to change your breathing.

We start with awareness.

What is your breathing doing?
When does it change?
What seems to influence it?
And does it settle again?

From there, we can explore whether a breathing practice could be useful.

Sometimes that might mean learning to breathe more efficiently.

Sometimes it might mean slowing things down.

And sometimes the most useful thing is simply understanding that your changing breath is part of your body's response to what you're experiencing.

Your breath is giving you information.

Learning to notice it is a good place to start.

Key Takeaways

• Stress can change your breathing because breathing is closely connected to the body's stress and arousal systems.

• You may breathe faster, change your breathing depth, hold your breath or use more effort around your chest and shoulders.

• There is no single “stress breathing pattern” — responses vary between people and situations.

• Breathing changes aren't automatically a problem. Your breathing is supposed to adapt to different demands.

• Stress and uncomfortable breathing sensations can sometimes reinforce each other, particularly in anxiety and panic.

• Slow breathing may help influence physiological arousal and support regulation.

• The goal isn't to control your breath perfectly. It's to develop awareness and adaptability.

• Persistent or unexplained breathing difficulties should be assessed by an appropriate health professional.

References

Dampney, R. A. L. (2015). Central mechanisms regulating coordinated cardiovascular and respiratory function during stress and arousal. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 309(5), R429–R433.

Abelson, J. L., Khan, S., & Giardino, N. (2010). HPA axis, respiration and the airways in stress — a review in search of intersections. Biological Psychology, 84(1), 57–65.

Tipton, M. J., et al. (2017). The human ventilatory response to stress: Rate or depth? Experimental Physiology, 102(11), 1308–1321.

Zaccaro, A., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: A systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.

Lambert, E. A., et al. (2021). Stress and the central autonomic network. Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical, 235, 102870.

Tolin, D. F., et al. (2021). Respiratory therapy for the treatment of anxiety: Meta-analytic review and regression. Clinical Psychology Review, 87, 102032.