Breathe

Settings

Applies to every session. Stored on this device only.

Sound

You should hear a rising tone, “breathe in”, then two pips. If you hear the tone and pips but no voice, your device has no speech voice installed — the beat will still count for you.

Display
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Movement

We follow your device’s “reduce motion” setting automatically the first time you visit.

Counting

The number on screen and the spoken count always match.

Access

Slide right to make every phase longer, left to make it shorter. Ratios stay the same.

Physiological Sigh

Two breaths in, one long breath out. Short enough to use mid-meeting.

Beginner5 breaths / minAlso called Cyclic sighing, double inhale

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The pattern

  1. Breathe in through the nose2 seconds
  2. Sip a little more air in1 second
  3. Long slow breath out6 seconds
  4. Rest3 seconds

What it is

You already do this. It is the shuddering double in-breath after crying, and the involuntary sigh you produce every few minutes without noticing. The physiological sigh is that reflex done deliberately.

The second, smaller inhale is thought to reopen alveoli — the tiny air sacs in the lungs — that have collapsed slightly, making the following exhale more efficient at offloading carbon dioxide. That is the usual explanation for why people tend to notice an effect from this one quickly, though the mechanism is better established than the size of the effect.

The one for right now

Most techniques on this site want several minutes. Many people find this one does something noticeable within two or three breaths, which makes it worth trying mid-meeting, before you walk into a room, or the moment after something goes wrong.

As a daily practice

A 2023 randomised trial at Stanford compared five minutes a day of cyclic sighing against mindfulness meditation and other breathwork over a month. Cyclic sighing came out ahead on daily mood improvement and reduction in breathing rate — one of the few head-to-head trials in this area.

How to do it without the app

  1. Breathe in through your nose until your lungs feel comfortably full.
  2. Without breathing out, sip a second, shorter breath in through your nose.
  3. Let a long, slow breath out through your mouth until your lungs are empty.
  4. Rest for a moment, then repeat.

Safety

  • No breath-holding, safe for most people.
  • Do not force the second inhale. If your lungs already feel full, the top-up should be tiny.

What the evidence says

Balban et al. (2023, Cell Reports Medicine) randomised 108 adults to five minutes daily of cyclic sighing, box breathing, cyclic hyperventilation or mindfulness meditation for a month; cyclic sighing produced the largest improvement in positive affect and the biggest drop in respiratory rate.

A plain-English summary for a general audience, not a systematic review. See the medical disclaimer.

Start 2-minute session
Related

If this one doesn’t suit you

Belly Breathing

The foundation. Four seconds in, six seconds out.

6 breaths / min

Box Breathing

Four equal sides, and nobody at the next desk can tell you are doing it.

3.75 breaths / min

Coherent Breathing

The pace most adults settle into. 5.5 seconds in, 5.5 out.

5.5 breaths / min