Regulating Arousal: Breathwork for Calming, Focus, and Amping

By Susie Reiner, PhD and Erik Korem, PhD

In high-level pickleball, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to more than skill—it’s about how well you can manage under pressure. Enter breathwork: a simple but science-backed tool that can help you stay calm, focused, and physically primed, whether you're mid-rally or facing match point.

Whether it’s sharpening your focus between points or speeding up recovery after a long rally, breathwork taps into your body's deepest systems to enhance performance. Here’s how it works—and how you can use it to your advantage on the court.

Why Breathwork Matters in Sport—and in Pickleball

Breathwork is the deliberate control of breathing to influence your physical, mental, and emotional state. More than just a relaxation tool, breathwork is a powerful method for regulating arousal, improving motor control, enhancing reaction time, and accelerating recovery—all by influencing the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

In sport psychology and exercise physiology, arousal refers to your level of alertness, activation, or readiness to perform. Too little, and you're sluggish. Too much, and anxiety can hijack your focus and coordination. The goal? Stay in your optimal zone, where your mind is sharp, your body is relaxed and primed, and you're in control.

Breathwork helps you get there by modulating your autonomic nervous system (ANS), particularly the balance between its two branches:

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): The Gas Pedal

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activates during moments of stress, competition, and intense training. It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate, priming the body for “fight or flight.” This response is essential for short bursts of energy, explosive movements, and aggressive play. 

However, when the SNS becomes overactive—such as when you're anxious, overly tense, or over-aroused—it can actually hinder performance by disrupting smooth motor control, slowing reaction time, and impairing decision-making. This is where breathwork serves as a powerful tool to regulate your arousal levels and restore balance for optimal performance.

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): The Brake Pedal

Breathwork activates the parasympathetic response, especially when you engage in slow, rhythmic, nasal or diaphragmatic breathing. By slowing the heart rate and deepening the breath, it supports the vagus nerve, a major parasympathetic pathway which connects the brain to the heart, lungs, and gut and controls recovery, digestion, and cognitive processing. 

Breathwork helps restore a sense of calm and balance after moments of stress, making it easier to regain focus and control.This physiological reset is key to maintaining composure during intense rallies and allows athletes to return to a performance-ready baseline between points. It’s like flipping the switch from chaos to clarity. 

The Ideal Arousal Zone for Pickleball

Pickleball demands quick reactions, spatial awareness, and fluid movement—but it's also played in a social, unpredictable setting that can create over-arousal. Loud environments, close scores, and external distractions all raise sympathetic activation.

Staying in the "optimal arousal zone" is key:

• Too low = under-stimulated, low energy, mentally flat.

• Too high = jittery, tight muscles, overthinking.

• Just right = energized, present, focused—but calm.

Breathwork helps self-regulate arousal in real time, giving you more control over your physiology when the pressure is on. 

How Breathwork Boosts Pickleball Performance

Here’s how breath control transfers to on-court benefits:

Breathwork Techniques Every Pickleball Player Should Know

These drills help you regulate arousal, recover faster, and sharpen focus. 

1. Box Breathing (Balanced Control)

• Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds

• Hold for 4 seconds

• Exhale through the mouth for 4 seconds

• Hold for 4 seconds

• Repeat for 1–3 minutes

Best for: Settling nerves before or during a match

2. Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)

• Place one hand on your chest, one on your stomach.

• Inhale deeply through your nose so only your belly expands.

• Exhale slowly through your mouth (4–6 seconds).

• Do 3–5 breaths between points.

Best for: Quick recovery between points or after long rallies

3. Coherent Breathing (Resonant Frequency Breathing)

• Inhale for 5 seconds, exhale for 5 seconds (6 breaths per minute)

• Use before practice, post-match, or during breaks

Best for: Enhancing HRV and emotional regulation by synchronizing breath and heart rhythms

4. 4-7-8 Breathing (Deep Relaxation)

• Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds

• Hold for 7 seconds

• Exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds

• Repeat for 4–6 cycles

Best for: Post-match recovery or calming pre-match jitters

How to Integrate Breathwork Into Your Pickleball Routine

Bottom Line: Control Your Breath, Control the Game

Your nervous system is part of your performance toolkit. Breathwork gives you real-time control over how you feel, how you move, and how you think on the court.

Want to return faster, reset easier, and finish stronger?

Start with a breath.

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