Promoting Emotional and Autonomic Control Through Guided Breathing Exercises for Emerging Adults With Autism

For many autistic individuals, transitioning into adulthood can be challenging and stressful. This stress often affects their mental health. The autistic community has highlighted the need for better mental health support, including accessible and effective ways to manage stress. Among the non-pharmacological interventions aimed at improving mental health via stress reduction, guided breathing interventions are promising, also on a psychophysiological level. During a stressful situation, internal regulatory processes take place to maintain balance, starting by activating the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Prior work indicates that a dysfunction of the ANS contributes to the heightened mental health challenges observed in autistic individuals. Heart rate variability (HRV), the variation in time between heartbeats, is an physiological index of the functioning of the ANS. The Neurovisceral Integration Theory highlights the role of parasympathetic regulation of the heart rate, associating higher vagally mediated HRV with better health, emotional regulation and executive functioning.In autistic individuals, the overall levels of cardiac vagal modulation are lower compared to neurotypical peers.

To date, research investigating the potential of interventions aimed at increasing HRV in autistic individuals is scarce. Moreover, HRV is influenced by several aspects (e.g., sleep, physical activity) and knowledge on their combined impact is necessary to understand how HRV can be used in research and clinical practice. Therefore, in this project, the investigators will explore the role of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep on HRV and determine what constitutes a significant change in HRV.

The investigators will also examine the psychophysiological effects, feasibility, and acceptability of the two leading protocols in guided breathing interventions (heart rate variability biofeedback and slow-paced breathing). HRV-BF optimizes HRV by guiding individuals to breathe at their resonance frequency, synchronizing heart rate and breathing. SPB prescribes to breathe at a fixed pace of 6 breaths per minute.

• Change in mental health indicators [Срок оценки: At all assessment points: at the start of the study (week 0, time point 0) before the intervention (week 5, time point 1) + after 5 weeks of intervention (week 10, time point 2) + after 5 weeks at the follow-up (week 15, time point 3)]
• Change in mental health indicators [Срок оценки: At all assessment points: at the start of the study (week 0, time point 0) before the intervention (week 5, time point 1) + after 5 weeks of intervention (week 10, time point 2) + after 5 weeks at the follow-up (week 15, time point 3)]
• Change in mental health indicators [Срок оценки: At all assessment points: at the start of the study (week 0, time point 0) before the intervention (week 5, time point 1) + after 5 weeks of intervention (week 10, time point 2) + after 5 weeks at the follow-up (week 15, time point 3)]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: For 5 weeks 4 times per day (before and after each sessions) during the intervention phase (between week 5 and week 10)]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: For 5 weeks 4 times per day during the intervention phase (between week 5 and week 10)]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: During the intervention phase (between week 5 and week 10) and during the once per week guided intervention sessions at week 5, 6 and 7.]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: During the guided intervention sessions at week 5, 6 and 7.]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: During the intervention phase (between week 5 and week 10) and during the once per week guided intervention sessions at week 5, 6 and 7.]
• feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: At time point 3 (week 15) during the follow-up assessment]
• Feasibility and acceptability of the HRV-BF and SPB interventions. [Срок оценки: At time point 3 (week 15) during the follow-up assessment]