The calm sheet
Three ways to breathe your way calmer
Sit down, set a timer, start with the first one. Five minutes a day for four weeks is the dose that worked in the trial.
- 1
Cyclic sighing Two in through the nose, one long out, 6 breaths a minute
Breathe in through your nose. When your lungs feel full, sip in a little more. Then breathe out slowly through your mouth until you are empty.
How long: Five minutes a day. One or two sighs any time stress spikes.
In a month-long trial of 108 adults, five minutes a day of it lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation and slowed breathing the most. Balban and others, Cell Reports Medicine, 2023.
- 2
Six a minute 5 in, 5 out, no holds, 6 breaths a minute
Breathe in for five seconds and out for five, smoothly, through your nose. No holds.
How long: Five to twenty minutes a day.
In a 2026 trial of 88 adults, four weeks of slow breathing at six a minute lowered stress and anxiety against a waiting list. Sumińska and others, Scientific Reports, 2026.
- 3
Box breathing 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold, 3.75 breaths a minute
Breathe in for four, hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four.
How long: Five minutes a day, or a few rounds before a hard moment.
Tested as one small group of 21 people in the same 108-person trial. Mood rose, but not clearly more than with meditation. Balban and others, Cell Reports Medicine, 2023.
Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy or short of breath. Never practice breathing exercises in or near water, or while driving.
The bigger picture: across 20 trials, people who practiced breathing ended up a little less anxious than people who didn't (Fincham and others, Scientific Reports, 2023). The effect is small, so give it four weeks before you judge it.
breathwork.guide, with a free timer that runs all three
