Exercises Breathing
Box Breathing
Equal counts: in, hold, out, hold. It can help you focus.
Rhythm: 4 · 4 · 4 · 4
Makes focusing easier.
How does it help?
Equal counts give your mind a simple task to follow, so attention shifts from anxious thoughts to counting. Deliberately slowing your breath also softens the body's stress response and brings back a sense of control.
On screen
On screen, the dot travels the edges of the square at a steady pace: up as you breathe in, right as you hold, down as you breathe out, left as you hold. The square is the front face of a cube sketched in faint dotted lines. Each time you complete a square, that face fills with colour and the cube turns slowly, bringing an empty face to the front. Six squares make a box. You choose at the start how many boxes to make (one box takes about a minute and a half), and each box has its own colour. At the end, the boxes you made glow together.
Safety
Includes breath holds. If you have a heart, blood pressure or breathing condition, or are pregnant, check with your doctor first. Don't force your breath; if you feel dizzy or short of breath, stop and breathe normally.
Research and sources
Where does it come from?
Also known as square breathing: four equal counts, like the four sides of a square.
What does research say?
In a 30-person lab study it lowered the body's stress response. In the 28-day Stanford study, people who practised it regularly also felt better and less anxious.
Sources
- Röttger S, Theobald DA, Abendroth J, Jacobsen T. The effectiveness of combat tactical breathing as compared with prolonged exhalation. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2021.
doi.org/10.1007/s10484-020-09485-w - Balban MY, … Spiegel D, Huberman AD. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 2023.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873947/