NEW DELHI: Feeling a sense of relief after a sigh could be related to how lung movements during a deep breath reduce surface tension of the organ's fluid, making it easier to breathe, a study has found.

Researchers, including those from Switzerland's ETH Zurich, observed how the lung fluid behaves when it is stretched and compressed through experiments in the laboratory.

Lung movements during inhaling and exhaling subject the lung fluid to similar stresses.

"The fluid coats the entire surface, making the lungs more deformable or -- with a more technical word -- compliant," Jan Vermant, professor of soft materials at ETH Zurich and author of the study published in the journal Science Advances, said.

Simulating lung movements of a normal and deep breath, the team measured surface tensio

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