The Breath Interval Blog
Practical guides to box breathing, paced breathing, breath holds and building your own breathing intervals, from the makers of The Breath Interval.
Daily Practice
The benefits of breathwork come from daily practice. Use habit science, if-then plans and a 4-week plan to build a breathing habit, with no streaks or data tracking.
Anxiety and Stress
Meta-analyses of randomized trials show breathwork lowers stress and anxiety. Learn which breathing techniques work best, how long to practice and what the evidence says.
Sleep
Slow breathing before bed calms your nervous system and, in studies, improved sleep quality and helped insomnia. Learn 4-7-8 breathing and a simple bedtime routine.
Breathing and Health
Nasal breathing filters and warms air, adds nitric oxide and syncs brain rhythms tied to memory and emotion. Here is the science of nose vs mouth breathing, and mouth taping.
Breathing and Health
Slow breathing at about 6 breaths a minute modestly lowers blood pressure, and the American Heart Association rates device-guided breathing as reasonable. Here is the research.
Breathing and Health
Can breathing exercises increase lung capacity? Not much in healthy adults, but diaphragmatic breathing strengthens breathing muscles, boosts efficiency and lowers stress.
Anxiety and Stress
The physiological sigh, a double inhale and long exhale, is a natural reflex that resets your lungs and your stress. Learn how to do it and what the research says.
Vagus Nerve and Nervous System
Can you really reset your vagus nerve? A research-based look at vagal tone, HRV and breathing: what slow breathing can do for your nervous system, and the myths to skip.
Techniques
Breathing out longer than you breathe in activates the vagus nerve and the rest-and-digest response. Learn the 4-8 method, the best inhale-to-exhale ratio and what studies show.
Vagus Nerve and Nervous System
You don't need a smart ring or watch to regulate your nervous system. Research shows slow breathing raises vagal activity on its own. Here is how, and how to track progress.
Anxiety and Stress
A Stanford study found 5 minutes of daily breathwork improved mood, and cyclic sighing worked best. Learn how to do the physiological sigh and what the research shows.
Techniques
Resonance breathing, or coherent breathing, is slow breathing at about 6 breaths a minute. Learn how to find your rate, why it calms the vagus nerve, and what the research says.
Techniques
Box breathing is inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. Learn the steps, what the latest research says about stress and anxiety, and how to practice.
Anxiety and Stress
Triangle breathing is inhale 6, hold 6, exhale 6. Learn how to do it, why slow breathing can ease anxiety, and what the research says.
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