ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Differences in acute physiological response to a Qigong exercise among middle-aged adults with varying durations of Qigong practice
Provisionally accepted
Jingyu Sun
Zhangxiaohe ZhangNannan JiaJiajia ChenDuran QinJing WangZhengyi ZhangTianfeng Lu
Antonio Cicchella
Tao Chen*- Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Qigong combines physical movement, breath control, and mental focus, offering potential benefits for healthy aging. Since physiological decline begins in midlife, this stage is critical for preventive intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in acute physiological responses, including autonomic (heart rate variability) and respiratory indicators, during a single session of combined Yijinjing and Liuzijue Qigong in middle-aged adults with varying durations of practice experience (≥4 years vs. ≤6 months) Methods: Forty adults aged 40 to 59 were included and divided into two groups based on Qigong exercise experience: an experienced group (n = 20) with ≥4 years of practice, and an inexperienced group (n = 20) with <6 months. All participants performed 20 minutes of fitness Qigong, following prerecorded tapes to standardize pace and posture sequence. Heart rate variability (HRV) and respiration were measured using the Biofeedback 2000x-pert system before, during, and after the session. Results: Significant Group × Time interactions were found for SDNN (F = 5.58, p = 0.012), RMSSD (F = 20.52, p < 0.001) and LF (F = 5.47, p = 0.025). Between-group comparisons indicated that experienced group had slightly higher SDNN at rest (p = 0.039) and significantly higher RMSSD during the recovery phase (p < 0.001); no other between-group differences emerged at other phases. There was a significant Group × Time interaction for abdominal breathing depth (F = 3.911, p = 0.024) and thoracic breathing frequency (F = 4.956, p = 0.016). Between-group comparisons revealed deeper abdominal breathing during exercise and slower thoracic breathing during recovery in the experienced group. Conclusions: Middle-aged adults with prolonged practice of Qigong exercise have improved HRV compared to those in the inexperienced group, and these improvements may be achieved through a combination of breathing adjustments with mental focus and relaxation.
Keywords: Heart rate variability, middle-aged adults, Physical Fitness, Qigong, Respiration
Received: 09 Sep 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Zhang, Jia, Chen, Qin, Wang, Zhang, Lu, Cicchella and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tao Chen
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.