The Breathing Toolkit: Using Coherent Breathing to Lower Stress and Reduce Anxiety
Developed by the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) research program and funded by Healthcare Excellence Canada and Alberta Health Services, the TREC Breathing Toolkit was created and tested during the COVID-19 pandemic. The toolkit is designed to assist staff in long-term care (LTC) homes to reduce their stress and anxiety levels, improve sleep and increase self-care practices during one of the most trying times in recent history for those working in the healthcare system.
What is coherent breathing?
Coherent breathing is a technique that is focused on conscious and deliberate breath. When practiced regularly, it helps those experiencing chronic or acute stress soothe their nervous system, slow their heart rate, lower their blood pressure, and generally feel calmer and more relaxed.
What can coherent breathing do for me?
Research from the TREC team has found that healthcare workers, including nurses, healthcare aides and managers, reported the following benefits after using coherent breathing techniques regularly:
- Notable reductions in stress and anxiety levels
- Improved focus and self-awareness
- Ability to fall asleep faster with improved sleeping patterns
- Enhanced interactions with patients
- A desire to share the coherent breathing technique to help colleagues
- Greater commitment to self-care by setting boundaries and claiming dedicated time for themselves
How was the toolkit developed?
Following requests for help from staff in LTC homes across Alberta during the pandemic, outreach surveys were conducted to identify the most acute factors contributing to their collective and individual stress levels. The TREC Breathing Toolkit is guided by a combination of mental health and well-being data findings (both quantitative and qualitative) from these surveys.
The project’s success in Alberta was based on its inherent adaptability as participants were encouraged to adjust the coherent breathing technique to fit their unique set of needs and daily routines. This meant increased adoption rates, resulting in greater levels of stress reduction and improved workforce resilience. This toolkit was developed so that other healthcare staff could benefit from coherent breathing.
Learn more about the TREC Breathing Toolkit
Reimagining LTC
Reimagining LTC supported long-term care homes to work together to build better care with and for people living and working in long-term care in Canada. The program helped participants address gaps in the safety and quality of care in long-term care, by providing more support to healthcare workers and building capacity to make care more person-centred.
Reimagining LTC
Reimagining LTC supported long-term care homes to work together to build better care with and for people living and working in long-term care in Canada. The program helped participants address gaps in the safety and quality of care in long-term care, by providing more support to healthcare workers and building capacity to make care more person-centred.
