One-minute pause
Six slow breaths: in for 4, out for 6. Exactly one minute, no pauses, no holds. The simplest one when there's no time for more.
Breathing to
Breathing exercises for a quick reset
Four breathing exercises for when a moment is all you've got: between two tasks, after a hard phone call, before you walk in the door at home. The shortest takes exactly one minute.
Breathings to start with
Screen break
In for 4, out for 4, rest for 2, for two minutes. For dropping your shoulders and resting your eyes after a long stretch at the screen.
Cyclic sighing
Two inhales in a row through the nose and one long exhale through the mouth. For letting go after a tense moment. The guide runs five minutes, and you can stop sooner.
After a scare
Three long sighs, then a minute of slow breathing at 4 and 6. For the stretch right after a jolt, sitting down.
How to use them
No setup needed. Stay where you are, plant your feet, let your shoulders drop, and follow the guide to the end. If you're around people, the first two go unnoticed: they're through the nose and make no sound.
It helps to hook them onto something you already do: when a meeting wraps up, when you hang up the phone, before you open your email. Don't do them while driving. If you're in the car, do them parked.
What to expect
Not much, and sometimes that's enough. Nobody has studied a single minute of slow breathing. What has been measured are longer sessions: a 2022 meta-analysis of 223 studies found that heart rate variability goes up while people breathe slowly and right after a single session. In the 2023 Stanford trial of 108 adults, the practice was five minutes a day for a month, and cyclic sighing improved mood the most.
As for breaks themselves, a 2022 meta-analysis pooled 22 samples from studies of short breaks during work or study. It found small effects in favor of more vigor and less fatigue, and no clear effect on performance. None of those breaks was a breathing exercise. The sensible way to take these is as a break with a shape, not as a fix.
There's one more for when you're alone and want to let go with gusto: Lion's breath (simhasana), mouth wide open and tongue out. It comes from yoga tradition and has almost no research behind it.
When to ask for help
If you feel dizzy, tingly, or short of breath, drop the count and breathe normally. If a scare comes with chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, or fainting, call 911 or your local emergency number: a breathing exercise isn't first aid.
If you need these pauses many times a day because the distress won't ease, or if the fear keeps coming back, talk with a mental health professional.
Frequently asked questions
Does breathing for just one minute do anything?
There are no studies of a single stray minute, so we can't say what changes in your body. What it does do is interrupt whatever you were doing and give you six slow breaths. Many people find they go back to the task in a different frame of mind.
How many times a day can I do them?
As often as you like. These are slow, gentle breaths with no holds. If you need them constantly just to get through the day, that's worth talking over with someone you trust or with a professional.
Can I do them at the office without anyone noticing?
Yes. The One-minute pause and the Screen break are done through the nose, silently, with your eyes open. Cyclic sighing breathes out through the mouth, so it's a little more noticeable.
Which one should I use after an argument?
Try cyclic sighing or the After a scare sequence, which starts with three sighs and follows with a slow minute. Do it sitting down. If you're still shaken, give yourself more time before picking the conversation back up.
Sources
- Laborde et al. (2022), Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (Europe PMC)
- Balban et al. (2023), brief structured respiration practices and mood, Cell Reports Medicine
- Albulescu et al. (2022), meta-analysis of micro-breaks, well-being and performance, PLOS ONE
- Cleveland Clinic, on lion's breath
More breathings for this
4-6 breathing
Breathe out a little longer than you breathe in. The simplest place to start.
7-11 breathing
Breathe in to a count of 7 and out to a count of 11, without strain.
Breath of joy
Three short inhales in a row and one big exhale through the mouth.
Lion's breath (simhasana)
Breathe in through the nose and out with your mouth wide open and your tongue out.
Catching your breath
After effort: nose in, pursed lips out, twice as long.