A fast-paced life, much like the one we lead today, can often take its toll on you and put you under mounting pressure and stress. However, a recent study suggests that stress can be beaten at its own game by indulging in some simple deep breathing.

Scientists from Stanford University's school of medicine in the U.S. have discovered the specific neurons that connect breathing and state of mind, which are located deep in the brainstem, in the body's breathing control centre, since there are so many types of breathing; including regular, excited, sleeping, laughing, crying and yawning, reports the Independent.

They decided to pin down which specific neurons within the centre that generate the different types of breathing.

A paper describing the findings were published March 31 in Science. Mark Krasnow, MD, PhD, professor of biochemistry, is the senior author. The lead author is former Stanford graduate student Kevin Yackle, MD, PhD, now a faculty fellow at the University of California-San Francisco.

Medical practitioners sometimes prescribe breathing-control exercises for people with stress disorders. Similarly, the practice of pranayama — controlling breath in order to shift one’s consciousness from an aroused or even frantic state to a more meditative one — is a core component of virtually all varieties of yoga.

Source: Science.ScienceMag.org, ZeeNews.India.com, Med.Stanford.edu