Breathing exercises for stress
Short, discreet resets you can do at your desk with your eyes open.
Box Breathing
Four equal sides, nothing to remember, and completely undetectable to anyone watching. The two holds stop it tipping into drowsiness.
Breathe with me — 4 minutesA voice counts you through it, with a tone that rises and falls with the breath. Free, nothing to install. Read how it works first.
Work stress has an awkward shape. It is low-grade rather than dramatic, it lasts all day rather than arriving in a spike, and you are usually surrounded by people. Most relaxation advice assumes a quiet room and twenty spare minutes, which is not what a Wednesday afternoon looks like.
What works instead is short and invisible. Every technique below can be done sitting upright with your eyes open, and nobody at the next desk will notice. The ones with holds tend to leave you alert rather than sleepy, which is the right effect during working hours — save the long-exhale patterns for the end of the day.
If you have ninety seconds, take the physiological sigh. If you have three minutes and headphones, put them on, turn on audio-only mode so the screen dims, and let the voice do the counting.
All 7 techniques for work stress
Ordered from gentlest to most demanding. Every one is free and guided.
Belly Breathing
The foundation. Four seconds in, six seconds out.
6 breaths / minBox Breathing
Four equal sides, and nobody at the next desk can tell you are doing it.
3.75 breaths / minCoherent Breathing
The pace most adults settle into. 5.5 seconds in, 5.5 out.
5.5 breaths / minExtended Exhale
In for four, out for six. The simplest version of the longer-exhale idea.
6 breaths / minPhysiological Sigh
Two breaths in, one long breath out. Short enough to use mid-meeting.
5 breaths / minAlternate Nostril Breathing
In one side, out the other, then reverse. Takes concentration, which is the point.
4.3 breaths / minTactical Reset
Steady before performance. Alert, not sleepy.
4.3 breaths / min