Breathing Techniques: How to Do 4-7-8, Box Breathing and Resonance Breathing (and Which to Choose)

The short answer: every technique is built on “slow down and make the exhale long”

Breathing techniques come with many names, but almost all of those meant to calm you share two things: you breathe fewer times per minute than usual, and you make the exhale as long as or longer than the inhale. An adult normally breathes about 12–20 times a minute; the five techniques below all bring that down to roughly 3–7. What differs is whether there is a breath hold and how much longer the exhale is.

If you're not sure where to start, begin with belly breathing without a hold (in for 4 seconds, out for 6). Once you're comfortable, match the technique to the goal: 4-7-8 breathing before bed, box breathing right before a stressful moment, the physiological sigh when you need to reset quickly, and resonance breathing as a daily habit.

Why breathing calms you down

Your heartbeat, sweating and digestion are run by the autonomic nervous system, which you can't control at will. That is why your heart races and your breathing becomes fast and shallow when you're nervous. Breathing is unusual: it is driven by the autonomic nervous system, yet you can also change it on purpose. It helps to think of breathing techniques as using that “manual entrance” to influence the state of your body.

• Inhaling raises your heart rate slightly and exhaling lowers it: your heart beats a little faster while you breathe in and slows while you breathe out (respiratory sinus arrhythmia). A longer exhale means a larger share of time with a slower heart rate.
• Around 6 breaths a minute, heart rate variability grows: when you slow your breathing to about 5–7 breaths a minute, the rhythms of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure fall into step and heart rate variability (HRV) increases. Resonance breathing is designed to do exactly this.
• Breathing out fully restores the carbon dioxide balance: anxiety makes breathing fast and shallow, and you can blow off too much carbon dioxide, causing tingling hands and feet or breathlessness (hyperventilation). Slow, long exhales push in the opposite direction.
• Counting pulls you away from your thoughts: counting seconds or following a circle or a sound draws your attention away from spiraling thoughts.

In a study published in 2023 by a group at Stanford University, people did five minutes of breathing exercises a day for a month. The “cyclic sighing” group, which repeats the physiological sigh with its long exhale, showed the largest improvement in mood and the largest drop in resting breathing rate, and a bigger improvement in mood than the mindfulness meditation group in the same study. Breathing techniques need no equipment and take only minutes, yet they tend to show changes when you keep them up.

How to do 4-7-8 breathing (inhale 4 seconds, hold 7, exhale 8)

4-7-8 breathing was popularized by the American physician Dr. Andrew Weil, based on yogic breathing (pranayama). It is known as a technique you can do in bed to fall asleep faster, and it is sometimes called the “relaxing breath.”

1. 1

   Get into position

   Sit or lie down. Place the tip of your tongue on the ridge just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there for the whole exercise.

2. 2

   First, exhale completely through your mouth

   Breathe all the air out through your mouth, hard enough to make a “whoosh” sound.

3. 3

   Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds

   Close your mouth and breathe in quietly through your nose to a count of four.

4. 4

   Hold your breath for 7 seconds

   Keep your shoulders relaxed and hold for a count of seven.

5. 5

   Exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds

   With your tongue in place, breathe out through your mouth with a “whoosh” to a count of eight. That is one cycle (19 seconds).

6. 6

   Repeat for 4 cycles

   Go back to the start and do 4 cycles in total (about 1 minute 16 seconds).

• What matters is the 4:7:8 ratio, not the seconds themselves. If holding for 7 seconds is too hard, speed everything up and start around 3-5.25-6 seconds. With practice you'll naturally be able to slow down.
• Dr. Weil recommends doing it at least twice a day, but cautions against more than 4 cycles at a time until you're used to it (roughly the first month). Even after that, keep it to 8 cycles at a time.
• A 19-second cycle works out to about 3.2 breaths a minute, which is very slow. You may feel a little light-headed at first; this usually fades with practice. If it's strong, stop and return to normal breathing.
• When you use it before bed, sound or voice cues let you keep going without looking at a screen.

How to do box breathing (4-4-4-4)

Box breathing (also called square breathing) repeats “inhale, hold, exhale, hold” for the same number of seconds each. The four steps are pictured as the four sides of a square that you trace in your mind, which is where the name comes from. It is known for being popularized by a former U.S. Navy SEAL, and as “tactical breathing” it is used by police, firefighters and athletes to manage stress.

1. 1

   Breathe out fully

   Start by slowly exhaling all the air through your mouth.

2. 2

   Inhale for 4 seconds

   Breathe in through your nose to a count of four (up the left side of the square).

3. 3

   Hold for 4 seconds

   Count to four at the top of the breath (across the top side).

4. 4

   Exhale for 4 seconds

   Breathe out through your nose or mouth to a count of four (down the right side).

5. 5

   Hold for 4 seconds

   Count to four with your lungs empty (across the bottom side). That is one 16-second cycle.

• A session is about 4 minutes (around 15 cycles). Right before the big moment, 1–2 minutes is fine.
• Because the inhale and exhale are the same length, it is less likely to make you drowsy than 4-7-8 breathing, which suits situations where you want to calm down but stay sharp.
• If 4 seconds is hard, use 3 seconds per side; if it's too easy, use 5–6. The key is keeping all four steps equal.
• It's easy to do in public — with your mouth closed and breathing through your nose, hardly anyone will notice.

How to do resonance (coherent) breathing (about 5.5 breaths a minute)

Resonance breathing means breathing in for 5.5 seconds and out for 5.5 seconds without holding, for a slow rhythm of about 5.5 breaths a minute. It is also called coherent breathing. It grew out of research on heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback and makes use of the fact that at 5–7 breaths a minute, the rhythms of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure line up (resonate).

1. 1

   Sit comfortably

   Lean lightly against the back of the chair and relax your shoulders and jaw.

2. 2

   Inhale through your nose for 5.5 seconds

   Breathe in smoothly, feeling your belly expand.

3. 3

   Exhale for 5.5 seconds without pausing

   As soon as you've finished inhaling, breathe out at the same pace. The trick is not to stop at the turn, but to keep going like a wave.

4. 4

   Continue for 5–20 minutes

   Start with 5 minutes. Doing it at the same time every day makes it easier to turn into a habit.

• It is also taught as “6 breaths a minute (in for 5, out for 5).” The rate at which resonance is strongest varies from person to person, roughly 4.5–7 breaths a minute, so there's no need to worry about 5.5 versus 6.
• With no breath hold, it suits people who dislike holding their breath and people who want to practice longer every day.
• If you track HRV with a smartwatch, comparing the numbers with how long you've kept up the practice makes the effect easier to see.

How to do the physiological sigh (cyclic sighing)

The physiological sigh is two inhales in a row followed by a long, complete exhale. People breathe this way naturally while asleep or after crying. The short second inhale is said to reopen the tiny air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) that had collapsed, and the long exhale that follows clears carbon dioxide efficiently. In the Stanford study described above, it was the technique with the biggest improvement in mood.

1. 1

   Inhale deeply through your nose (about 2 seconds)

   Breathe in until your lungs are almost full.

2. 2

   Take a short second sip of air through your nose (about 1 second)

   From that full point, sniff in just a little more.

3. 3

   Exhale fully through your mouth (about 6 seconds)

   Breathe everything out slowly, like a sigh. Aim for an exhale about twice as long as the inhale.

4. 4

   Repeat

   To calm down on the spot, 1–3 times is enough. As a habit, repeat for about 5 minutes (about 9 seconds per cycle, around 33 cycles in 5 minutes).

• Even 1–3 rounds can make a noticeable difference, which makes it ideal for “right now” moments such as before a meeting or the instant you feel irritated.
• You don't have to follow the seconds exactly. What matters is the shape — inhale, top up, long exhale — and keeping the exhale long.
• If you can't fit in the second inhale, make the first one a little smaller so there's room left to top up.

How to do belly breathing (inhale 4 seconds, exhale 6)

Belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) means lowering the diaphragm so your belly expands as you breathe in, and drawing your belly in as you breathe out. Here we introduce a basic form that leads into every other technique: “in for 4 seconds, out for 6” with no hold (6 breaths a minute, with an exhale 1.5 times the inhale). If you're new to breathing exercises, this is the least likely place to go wrong.

1. 1

   Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly

   Lie on your back or sit well back in a chair. Which hand moves tells you whether you're breathing from the belly.

2. 2

   Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds

   Breathe so that the hand on your belly rises and the hand on your chest barely moves.

3. 3

   Exhale through your mouth or nose for 6 seconds

   Slowly draw your belly in as you breathe out fully. Pursing your lips and breathing out in a thin stream makes a long exhale easier.

4. 4

   Repeat for about 3 minutes

   That's about 18 cycles. Once it feels easy, extend to 5 and then 10 minutes.

• If only your chest moves, lie on your back with a light book on your belly and breathe so the book rises and falls. This helps you get the feel.
• Straining to push your belly out actually makes it harder. Think of it as “once you've breathed out fully, the air comes back in by itself.”
• The goal is a longer exhale, so if 4-6 is hard, try 3-5; when it feels easy, try 4-8 — keep the ratio as you adjust.

By situation: which breathing technique should you choose?

When you want to shake off sleepiness in the morning or at work, do the opposite and make the inhale longer (for example, in for 6 seconds and out for 4), which nudges you toward alertness. When choosing a technique, remember: the more the exhale ÷ inhale ratio exceeds 1, the more calming it is; the further below 1, the more energizing.

What to do when it feels hard or doesn't work

How to measure your resting breathing rate, and normal ranges

Measuring your usual breathing rate (resting respiratory rate) is a useful way to see whether your practice is having an effect. Sit and rest for 1–2 minutes, then count the number of exhales over 30 or 60 seconds. One breath in and out counts as one. If you count for 30 seconds, double it to get breaths per minute.

• Your breathing tends to slow down the moment you pay attention to it. It's more accurate to have someone else, such as a family member, count by watching your chest or belly move.
• It goes up when you're nervous, right after exercise and when you have a fever. Measuring at the same time and in the same position every day makes comparisons easier.
• People who practice breathing techniques regularly may come out below the range (around 10 per minute).
• If an adult's rate is above 25 per minute even at rest, or there is shortness of breath, see a medical professional. These ranges are the ones commonly used in nursing and pediatrics and cannot be used to diagnose illness.

When not to do breathing exercises, and precautions

• Don't do them while driving, cycling or operating machinery: slow breathing can make you drowsy or slightly light-headed.
• Never practice breath holds in water: repeated breath holding underwater can make you pass out without feeling short of breath (shallow water blackout). Don't use techniques with a hold in the bath or the pool.
• Stop immediately if you feel dizzy, tingly or short of breath: return to normal breathing and stay seated until it settles.
• If you are pregnant or have heart or lung disease, high blood pressure or panic attacks, talk to a doctor before techniques with a breath hold: starting with belly breathing or resonance breathing, which have no hold, is the safer choice.
• Don't stand up right after finishing: especially if you were lying down, return to normal breathing and stay seated for about 30 seconds.

Breathing techniques are a supporting tool for better sleep and a calmer mind. Screens and caffeine before bed also have a big effect on sleep, so reviewing them at the same time makes it easier to see results. For how late you can drink coffee, see how many hours before bed to stop drinking coffee, and if you can't stop watching videos before bed, see how to stop doomscrolling.

Keep going without counting, using the Breathing timer

A common stumbling block is that counting the seconds takes so much attention that you can't relax. With the Breathing timer, you simply breathe in while the circle on the screen grows and breathe out while it shrinks, and you can follow all five rhythms described in this guide as they are.

1. 1

   Pick a technique under “Choose a breathing pattern”

   Choose from 4-7-8 breathing, box breathing, resonance breathing, the physiological sigh and belly breathing. With “Set my own,” you can set the seconds for inhale, top-up inhale, hold, exhale and hold after exhale in 0.5-second steps.

2. 2

   Adjust the tempo and holds

   You can make the whole rhythm faster or slower while keeping the ratio (0.75–1.5×). If it's uncomfortable, check “Don't hold my breath” to skip the hold steps.

3. 3

   Choose how it ends

   Pick “By cycles” or “By time” (1–20 minutes). 4-7-8 breathing is set to 4 cycles from the start.

4. 4

   Choose sound, voice and vibration cues

   Combine “Chime on each change” (a bell), “Guide with pitch” (a tone that rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale), spoken prompts and vibration so you can keep going with your eyes closed.

5. 5

   Press “Start”

   Box breathing shows a dot tracing the sides of a square; the others show the size of the circle and the seconds remaining so you know what's next. You can also start and pause with the space bar.

“What's in this rhythm” shows the length of one cycle, breaths per minute and the exhale ÷ inhale ratio, which is handy for checking a custom rhythm. On the “Measure breathing rate” tab, you just tap each time you breathe out to measure your resting breathing rate and compare it with the range for your age group. The “Log” tab keeps your streak and your time over the last 7 days. Your log and settings are stored only in your browser and are never sent to a server.

FAQ

How many times should I do 4-7-8 breathing?

The basic set is 4 cycles (about 1 minute 16 seconds). Dr. Weil, who popularized it, recommends doing it at least twice a day, but cautions to keep it to 4 cycles at a time for roughly the first month and to no more than 8 cycles at a time after that. A typical use is one set in bed before sleep.

What if holding my breath for 7 seconds in 4-7-8 breathing is too hard?

What matters is the 4:7:8 ratio, so you can speed everything up and start with about 3 seconds in, a 5.25-second hold and 6 seconds out. If that's still hard, begin with belly breathing without a hold (in for 4, out for 6) or resonance breathing, and return to 4-7-8 once you're comfortable.

Which is better, box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing?

It depends on the goal. In 4-7-8 breathing the exhale is twice as long as the inhale and the rhythm is the slowest, so it suits deep relaxation, such as before bed. In box breathing the inhale and exhale are equal and it's less likely to make you sleepy, so it suits moments when you want to calm down but stay sharp, such as right before an exam or interview.

How quickly do breathing techniques work?

Many people feel tension ease on the spot after 1–3 physiological sighs or about 4 cycles (around a minute) of 4-7-8 breathing. Changes in mood or resting breathing rate come from practicing about 5 minutes a day for several weeks. The Stanford study also reported effects when comparing 5 minutes a day over a month.

Why do I feel dizzy when doing breathing exercises?

If you breathe in too deeply and blow off too much carbon dioxide, your blood vessels constrict and you can feel dizzy or get tingling in your hands and feet. Stop immediately, return to normal breathing and stay seated until it passes. When you restart, inhale only about 70–80% of a full breath and focus on a slow exhale; it will happen less often.

Should I breathe through my nose or my mouth?

Breathe in through your nose as a rule. Air breathed in through the nose is warmed, and it's easier to inhale slowly. For the exhale, 4-7-8 breathing and the physiological sigh use a long exhale through the mouth, while box breathing and resonance breathing can be done breathing out through the nose. If your nose is blocked, just use your mouth.

What is a normal resting breathing rate for adults?

For adults (13 and over), the commonly used normal range for resting breathing rate is 12–20 breaths per minute. Children breathe faster: about 18–30 for school-age children, 24–40 for young children and 30–60 for infants. If an adult's rate is above 25 per minute at rest, or there is shortness of breath, see a medical professional.

Is it OK to look at my phone while doing breathing exercises before bed?

Screen light and information interfere with sleep, so it's best to do it without looking at a screen. The Breathing timer can use a bell, a changing pitch and spoken “breathe in” and “breathe out” prompts as cues, so you can set it up, put the screen face down and keep going with your eyes closed.