Breathing synchronizes brain waves that support memory consolidation.
A new study from Northwestern Medicine reports that, much like a conductor harmonizes various instruments in an orchestra to create a symphony, breathing synchronizes hippocampal brain waves to enhance memory during sleep.
This is the first time breathing rhythms during sleep have been linked to these hippocampal brain waves — called slow waves, spindles, and ripples — in humans. Scientists knew these waves were linked to memory but their underlying driver was unknown.
“To strengthen memories, three special neural oscillations emerge and synchronize in the hippocampus during sleep, but they were thought to come and go at random times,” said senior study author Christina Zelano, professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We discovered that they are coordinated by breathing rhythms.”
Corresponding study author Andrew Sheriff explains the key findings from the study and what they mean going forward. Credit: Northwestern University
Northwestern scientists discovered that hippocampal oscillations occur at particular points in the breathing cycle, suggesting that breathing is a critical rhythm for proper memory consolidation during sleep.
“Memory consolidation relies on the orchestration of brain waves during sleep, and we show that this process is closely timed by breathing,” said corresponding author Andrew Sheriff, a postdoctoral student in Zelano’s lab.
The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Implications for Sleep-Disordered Breathing
The findings have important implications for disordered breathing during sleep—such as sleep apnea—which is linked with poor memory consolidation.
We’ve all had the experience of better memories after a night of sleep. This was noted as far back as ancient Rome, when the scholar Quintillion wrote of the “curious fact” that “the interval of a single night will greatly increase the strength of the memory,” the study authors said. He was describing what we now call memory consolidation, which is accomplished by the exquisitely tuned coordination of different brain waves in the hippocampus.
“When you’re sleeping, your brain is actively replaying experiences you had during the day,” Sheriff said.
Sheriff had just returned from a conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he had to learn his way around a new city. “The hippocampus plays a major role in forming a map of a new area,” Sheriff said. “I would wake up and feel I had a better representation of the city around me. That was facilitated by the oscillations that occurred during my sleep, which we found are coordinated by breathing.”
The study indicates people with disrupted breathing during sleep should seek treatment for it, Sheriff said.
“When you don’t get sleep your brain suffers, your cognition suffers, you get foggy,” Sheriff said. “We also know that sleep-disordered breathing is connected with stroke, dementia, and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease.
“If you listen to someone breathing, you might be able to tell when they are asleep, because breathing is paced differently when you’re sleeping. One reason for that may be that breathing is performing a careful task: coordinating brain waves that are related to memory.”
Reference: “Breathing orchestrates synchronization of sleep oscillations in the human hippocampus” by Andrew Sheriff, Guangyu Zhou, Vivek Sagar, Justin B. Morgenthaler, Christopher Cyr, Katherina K. Hauner, Mahmoud Omidbeigi, Joshua M. Rosenow, Stephan U. Schuele, Gregory Lane and Christina Zelano, 16 December 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2405395121
The study was funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and a Ruth L. Kirchstein Institutional National Research Award.
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19 Comments
BS Genetics trumps all this research that will probably be rebutted in 10 years or less. Example, remember when coffee was bad for u.
Teat
I had to learn how to do contolled rythmic breathing..had 3 horrible back to back sleep studies..resp rate less than 6 o2 levels less than 60%..and yes i felt horrible..i have 20cm pressure..its better now..but practicing controlled breathing with that was tricky but i kept with it..i can actually zone out..low level white nouse helps me..but silence makes me anxious
No
We have to practice proper sleeping
👍🏼
If we were taught how to mimic this breathing pattern could we fake it until we make it?
Breathing can also lower the blood pressure. I’m a breath holder and when I asked my doctor how to help lower my BP, he commented, “Breathe”.
Thanks for the information. I have partial complex seizures. I’ve been praying and studying on ways to overcome my seizures ever since I was a child. I believe people can strengthen their mind, body and over come addictions threw breathing therapy. My mind and body has been strengthening from breathing therapy. I also believe everyone should study their hobbies, talents and skills to enjoy life. As they strengthen their hobbies talents and skills they can use their hobbies, talents and skills to get paid paid. Smoking drinking, using tebacoo, drink alcohol, or doing illegal drugs is not a hobby talent or skill it is a bad habit. In life these days a lot of people go to school to study the things they think they will like. After they get the job they think they will enjoy the happen not to enjoy it. The reason is they didn’t study the hobbies, talents and skills they already have that they enjoyed doing. All people have to do is start studying the hobbies, talents and skills they are born with. The Lord has blessed and given everyone a hobby, talent and skill, but it’s our job to discover it and studying our hobbies, talents and skills to get paid. Life is not about competition it is about teaching and learning from each other. We need to learn to work together and reunite each other. If their is any competition it should be for sports and games to have fun. We are here to guide, teach, learn and support each other as if we are brothers and sisters. We are not here to boss each other around. We are here to work together. Let’s work together and reunite each other. Thanks
Very true thx for your observations and sincerity hugs great life
Everything I wrote about about breathing therapy, hobbies talents and skills I’m willing to be researched on. You just have to get approval from my doctor’s and order sister.
I DESPERATELY NEED TO GET INTO A DECENT SLEEP STUDY SUCH AS THE ONE MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE!!! IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN BE CONTACTED?!
I have several sleeps a night, and I find it essential to breathe in each one, now…where did I put my…
Very well spoken there John iv on your positive, truthful and encouraging comments! Thank you for the time and heart you put into writing all that….
Lesson 1..allwsys listen to only your body..hugs yo all here great wisdom and light
As a respiratory RN I provided education with demonstration on coughing and deep breathing exercises as well as use of incentive spirometer to residents with not only respiratory disease but for those with dementia. I was in this job for a year, until the company decided to eliminate my position. During my year of practice I witnessed positive improvements in many aspects of the elderly and some much younger residents. I myself used breathing exercises throughout my day to help with anxiety and breathing. Unfortunately, the biggest mistake the boss of this program made was truly not believing in the very thing he demanded to be done. If he truly believe the therapy was beneficial to these residents things would not have turned out as they did. Not one person in that facility understood what I was actually doing to help the residents except the residents themselves. I asked repeatedly to provide everyone with the education to understand how breathing can improve your overall quality of life. I was ignored . You cannot put another nurse on your payroll in a LTC facility and have no understanding of how the therapy helps their residents. I had residents who couldn’t walk more than 10 fett without showing obvious signs of respiratory difficulties. After a month of therapy they no longer had the constant dyspnea. So many others benefitted from respiratory rehabilitation but clearly the folks in charge thought my job was a joke. I abandoned my residents. Many of them are now going down hill. It’s so sad to watch knowing you made a difference but others around were blind and closed minded. I did so much research and really dug deep when I was in this job. The only casualties are the beautiful residents. When I was off work and returned my residents some of them ended up in the hospital and several passed away. No matter how much a asked to please educate those around me regarding administration of oxygen appropriately I was ignored. I resident who was prescribed 2 liters was placed on 6 liters as I would alert staff of the consequences it would be heard by deaf ears. Many deceased by hypercapnia. My hands were tied. I had no control over anything.
meditation
So Northwest has also inadvertantly located the disconnect. This information was proven in human testing by Monroe Institute in the early 1980s. With breathing rate, and heart rate synchronizing with neuro brain functions. The CIA used Monroe Institute’s science to place people in meditative states to heighten awareness and memory even used it in their Remote Viewing teams in field operations.
So basically medical science is 30 plus years behind on this one. And the law of averages alone tells us this is not an isolated instance.
If there are any shot-callers that come across this post, i have a suggestion that just may help us all out (including Northwestern and possibly the whole of medical research organizations:
Cyber Security Intelligence teams utilize a research method that has been used for many years and by military police and public and private law enforcement agencies also. This involves self-based learning mechanisms, and team brainstorming activities to pinpoint and hone in on key pieces of data or information.
They then use a procedure called Admiralty Code to very quickly and accurately assess the validity of the data. Security Researchers then use a reporting method you may or may not be familiar with to reduce bias in their reporting of the facts to executive leadership called BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). Admiralty Code has been proven to be almost as accurate as the scientific method of research and much faster.
So my suggestion is this:
Medical researchers add tiger teams to their current research teams where nothing changes in your current research teams but you align the tiger research team with the Admiralty Code self-based learning methods and utilize the BLUF reporting method to ensure bias is not included and in the found facts to executive decision makers, who decides whether or not your standard research team should to act on further research with the data or not,
I believe that medical science will be greatly impacted in the area of innovation. Just imagine how far your team would be right now if you would have had the information regarding memory and breathing synchronization that your team could have trialed this 30 years ago!
It would be a good idea to keep the tiger team from communicating their work with your BAU research team until or unless Leadership makes the decision to move forward with internal research.
And you would need to allow the Tiger Team to be able to utilize a more open subset of databases to perform their research than your standard policy for your standard research teams.
Hope this helps and finds someone that can give this serious consideration. Please ceel free to contact me for any qu3stions.
Chris