Enhancing Adolescent Stress Resilience Through Resonant Breathing
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In recent years, stress-related symptoms such as anxiety and depression have surged among adolescents, raising urgent questions about how to better support their mental well-being. We explore a promising, science-backed alternative: resonant breathing, a slow-paced breathing technique designed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system— the body’s natural “brake” on stress. ​
Resonant breathing has the potential to be a simple, scalable, and low-cost intervention that can be seamlessly integrated into adolescents’ daily lives. Building on insights into adolescent physiological plasticity, we are investigating whether and how resonant breathing can enhance stress resilience and health.
This research program includes:
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Immediate Effects: In controlled experiments, we examine whether short breathing exercises influence parasympathetic activity and, in turn, help adolescents regulate stress responses—both physiologically and emotionally (See an overview of results from our first study).
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User-Centered Design: Through interview studies, we explore adolescents’ motivations and barriers to using digital tools—such as smartphone apps and tactile devices—for breathing training. These insights guide the development of more engaging and accessible interventions.
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Long-Term Impact: In late 2025, we will launch a new experiment to investigate how regular, repeated breathing practice may affect parasympathetic nervous system activity at rest, improve emotion regulation, and potentially reduce stress-related symptoms over time.
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Real-World Application: Between 2025 and 2027, we are conducting a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of resonant breathing delivered through a mental health app. This ecological momentary intervention will assess how breathing practice in real-life settings supports adolescents’ mental and physical well-being. This project is proudly supported by the youth platform JEZ!
Bullying victimization is a particularly harmful form of social stress, especially during adolescence. Adolescents who experience bullying are at greater risk for a range of mental and physical health issues that can persist into adulthood. This underscores the importance of understanding the mechanisms that link bullying exposure to long-term health outcomes.
The current project proposed a novel conceptual model that integrated affective, cognitive, physiological and molecular mechanisms to understand how bullying may pose risks for health in adolescence. The first objective of the study was to examine how bullying victimization changes daily life functioning in real life in terms of psychological functioning (emotional processes, stress appraisal) and physiological responses (autonomic nervous system, HPA-axis).
The second objective of the study was to examine the effects of bullying victimization on gene expression profiles (i.e., upregulated pro-inflammatory gene activity and down-regulated anti-viral gene activity) and its consequences for adolescent mental and physical health. The third objective was a combination of the former two and looked into how micro-level changes in daily life functioning affect longer-term changes in gene expression, which in turn affect health outcomes.
An overview of scientific publications related to this project is available here.
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This project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 853517).
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​​​We hebben nu alle zes testmomenten van gegevensverzameling voor Outside-In afgerond. Enkele resultaten van onze metingen zijn samengevat in onze brochures en infographic:
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In de brochures kunt u klikken op verschillende symbolen om meer informatie betreffende het specifieke onderwerp te verkrijgen.
