Guided breathing patterns
Pick a rhythm and breathe with the tide: in as the water rises, out as it falls. Or set your own in, hold and out times.
Press start when you are ready
The rhythms
- Resonance 5.5: equal in and out breaths of about 5.5 seconds. Around five to six breaths a minute is the pace heart-rate-variability researchers call resonance breathing.
- Even 5-5: the same idea in round numbers, six breaths a minute.
- Long exhale 4-6: a breath out longer than the breath in, an easy way to slow down without holds.
- Cyclic sigh: breathe in through the nose, take a second short sip to fill up, then let a long breath out. In a 2023 Stanford study it lifted mood the most of the exercises tested.
- Triangle 4-4-4: box breathing without the empty hold.
- Equal 4-4: a gentle place to start.
Making your own
Choose Your own and set each phase in half-second steps; a hold of 0 is skipped. Under each rhythm you will see breaths per minute. Slower is not always better: if you feel short of breath, shorten the phases. Your choices are remembered on this device.
Sources
- Lehrer PM, Gevirtz R. Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work? Frontiers in Psychology 2014;5:756. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00756
- Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine 2023;4(1):100895. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
Questions
Which rhythm should I start with?
Equal 4-4 or long exhale 4-6. Neither has a hold, so they suit almost anyone. Move to resonance breathing once a slow, even rhythm feels natural.
Should I breathe through my nose?
Breathe in through your nose for all of these rhythms. Breathe out through your nose or softly through your mouth, whichever lets the out-breath stay smooth.
Why does the water move slowly at the ends?
The tide eases in and out, like real breath: lungs fill fastest mid-breath and slow down near full and empty. The count in the middle stays exact.