Nazareth Castellanos, neuroscientist: “Observing your breathing and slowing down the rate activates analgesic effects.”

Regulating breathing can become an effective neurobiological tool against pain and anxiety , as researcher Nazareth Castellanos has demonstrated. With a PhD in neuroscience from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a theoretical physicist by training, Castellanos highlights the direct influence of breathing rhythm on the brain networks involved in emotional regulation and the perception of well-being.

During an interview with Helena García Melero on the program Tot Es Mou , the author of El puente donde habitan las mariposas explained that simple practices such as lengthening the exhalation activates mechanisms in the brain that mitigate pain and reduce anxiety levels. “ By moderating breathing, analgesic and anxiety-reducing processes are activated in the brain ,” stated the neuroscientist, who promotes a comprehensive vision of mental health that merges science, consciousness, and philosophy.

Breathe to calm down and remember better

Castellanos' studies reveal that being aware of our breathing, and inhaling through the nose and exhaling slowly for five minutes, not only calms the mind but also enhances cognitive functions such as memory and attention. " When we exhale, the brain deactivates. But to calm down, these networks need more time ," she noted. The researcher highlights that the olfactory bulb and hippocampus activate synchronously with nasal breathing, which improves memory encoding.

Castellanos's book takes its name from a double metaphor: the "bridges" between neurons that symbolize brain plasticity, and the "butterflies" with which Ramón y Cajal described neurons. This poetic approach combines philosophical references such as Heidegger to address topics such as reconstruction after trauma and the way we inhabit our emotions.

“ It's almost an ode to taking better care of our mental health, just as we've normalized going to the gym or taking care of our diet, ” he expressed in the same conversation. His work proposes a new way of looking at the body and mind: from the bridge between science and conscious experience, with breathing as the guiding thread of a deeply human well-being.