4-6 breathing
The simplest: in for 4, out for 6, no pauses. Pick it if this is your first time or you don't feel like counting much today.
Breathing to
Breathing exercises to calm down
Four slow, simple breathing exercises for when your body feels revved up. Start with the first one: it takes no experience, and five minutes is enough to try it.
Breathings to start with
Belly breathing
For when your breath feels high and short, up in your chest: a hand on your belly helps you bring it lower, without hurry.
Coherent breathing 5-5
Five seconds in, five seconds out. An even rhythm you can stay with for several minutes, and a good daily practice.
Cyclic sighing
Two inhales in a row through the nose, then one long exhale through the mouth. For letting go after a tense moment.
How to use them
Pick just one and stay with it for three to five minutes. Sit tall or lie down, let your shoulders drop, and breathe through your nose. Don't fill your lungs to the top: a slow, comfortable breath does more than a huge one.
All four share one thing: the exhale lasts as long as the inhale or longer, and the pace is slower than your everyday breathing. If a count feels too long, go back to 4-6 breathing or shorten the counts until there's no strain.
When to practice
You can use them in the moment: before a hard conversation, after a scare, when you notice your pulse racing. But they're easier to learn when nothing is wrong. A few minutes a day at a quiet time means the rhythm already feels familiar when you need it.
Don't practice while driving or in water.
What to expect
Many people feel their body ease up within a few minutes. Others notice nothing the first few times, and that's normal too.
A 2018 review pulled together 15 studies in healthy people and found that slow breathing, under ten breaths a minute, is linked with higher heart rate variability and with feeling more relaxed and comfortable. Its authors note that the mechanism is still debated. In a 2023 Stanford University study of 108 people, five minutes of daily breathing exercises for a month improved mood more than the same amount of mindfulness meditation, and cyclic sighing did the most. A 2023 meta-analysis of 12 trials and 785 adults found lower self-reported stress than in control groups, with a small-to-medium effect and studies of uneven quality.
Those are group averages, not a forecast for you.
When to ask for help
If you feel dizzy, tingly, or short of breath, stop and breathe normally. If paying attention to your breath makes you more uneasy, leave it: it isn't for everyone.
These exercises are a practice, not a treatment. If anxiety is frequent, keeps you from sleeping or working, or you have panic attacks, talk with a mental health professional. If you're pregnant or have a heart, lung, or blood pressure condition, check with your care provider first.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest breathing exercise to calm down?
4-6 breathing: breathe in through your nose for a count of 4 and out for a count of 6, no pauses. It has no holds and takes a minute to learn. If it still feels long, try 2-to-1 breathing, at 3 and 6 seconds.
How long do you need to breathe to calm down?
There's no set number. Many people notice a shift in three to five minutes, and in the 2023 Stanford study the practice was five minutes a day. Start small and stay as long as it feels comfortable.
Do breathing exercises help during a panic attack?
Slow exhales help some people, while for others focusing on the breath makes things worse. Skip big, fast breaths, which can add to dizziness and tingling. If you have panic attacks, the right step is to talk with a mental health professional and practice these exercises at calm times.
Should I breathe through my nose or my mouth?
Through your nose, in and out, for almost all of them. The exception here is cyclic sighing, where the exhale goes out through the mouth. If your nose is stuffed up, breathe out through barely parted lips.
Sources
More breathings for this
Resonant breathing 5.5-5.5
A little slower than coherent breathing: about five and a half breaths a minute.
Long exhale 4-8
The exhale lasts twice as long as the inhale.
4-7-8 breathing
In for 4, hold for 7, out through the mouth for 8. Four cycles are enough.
4-4-8 breathing
A short pause with the air in, then a long exhale.
7-11 breathing
Breathe in to a count of 7 and out to a count of 11, without strain.
2-to-1 breathing
The exhale is twice as long: 3 and 6, for anyone who prefers shorter breaths.
5-5-2 breathing
Like coherent breathing, with a brief rest before you breathe in again.
Pursed-lip breathing
Breathe in through the nose and out slowly, as if blowing on a candle without putting it out.
Lengthening breath
The exhale grows little by little, from 6 to 10 seconds, as you let go.
Moon breath (chandra bhedana)
Breathe in through the left nostril and out through the right.
Box breathing 4-4-4-4
Four equal counts: in, hold, out, hold.
Triangle breathing 4-4-4
Three equal counts: in, hold and out.
Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana)
In through one nostril, out through the other, and back again.
Soft breathing with a pause
Small, quiet breaths through the nose, with a comfortable pause on empty.
Ujjayi, the ocean breath
Through the nose, with the throat slightly narrowed: it sounds like the sea.
Bhramari, the bee breath
Breathe out with a long, soft hum, lips closed.
Sitali, the cooling breath
Breathe in through a curled tongue like a straw and out through the nose.
Three-part breath (dirga)
Fill the belly, the ribs and the chest, then let it all go at once.
Counting breaths (susokukan)
Count each exhale from one to ten, then start again.
Qigong abdominal breathing
Slow, even and low, with your attention below the navel.
One-minute pause
Six slow breaths. Exactly one minute.
Before you speak in public
Two minutes to settle before a meeting, an exam or a stage.