Yoga Breathing Exercises Linked to Lower Stress and Better Sleep During Chemotherapy

A recent clinical study has found that a structured yoga breathing routine may help women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer manage stress and improve sleep. The findings, reported by the Oncology Nursing Society from research published in the Oncology Nursing Forum, suggest that controlled breathing could serve as a simple complementary approach alongside conventional cancer care.

The randomized controlled trial involved 60 women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. Participants were divided equally into two groups, with 30 women following a yoga breathing exercise programme and the remaining 30 assigned to a comparison group practising natural breathing without rhythm control.

The yoga breathing programme focused on diaphragmatic breathing while participants remained seated upright. They followed a 4-4-4-4 breathing pattern: inhaling for four seconds, holding the breath for four seconds, exhaling for four seconds and holding again for another four seconds. The participants performed the exercise twice a day for five minutes over a period of 21 days.

Researchers assessed participants' stress using the Perceived Stress Scale and evaluated sleep using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. After three weeks, women in the yoga breathing group showed significantly lower perceived stress than those in the comparison group. The researchers also recorded improvements across several aspects of sleep, including sleep duration, efficiency, disturbances, daytime functioning and overall sleep quality.

The intervention did not require specialised equipment and was delivered through brief, standardised instructions. None of the participants reported adverse events associated with the breathing exercises.

The researchers noted that the study had limitations, including its single-centre design, short follow-up period and inability to blind participants. Nevertheless, they concluded that a short, twice-daily breathing routine could be a practical supportive measure for managing stress and sleep difficulties during chemotherapy.

23-09-2026