Breathing exercises are simple techniques that can help you relax, reduce stress, improve focus, or fall asleep more easily. This page gives you an overview of some of the best breathing exercises and how to use them in different situations.
Each technique includes a clear breathing pattern, step-by-step instructions, and an animated guide you can follow directly.
Which breathing exercise should you choose?
Different breathing exercises are suited for different situations. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose:
- For falling asleep → 4-7-8 breathing
- For stress and anxiety → slow paced breathing
- For focus and performance → box breathing
- For deep relaxation → heart coherence breathing
- For shortness of breath → COPD breathing technique
Breathing Exercises Overview: Techniques, Patterns, and Benefits
The following table gives you a quick overview of some of the best breathing exercises, their breathing patterns, and when to use them. Use it to find the technique that best fits your current goal.
| Technique | Breathing pattern | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| 4-7-8 breathing | Inhale 4s – hold 7s – exhale 8s | Falling asleep, sleep support |
| Box breathing | Inhale 4s – hold 4s – exhale 4s – hold 4s | Focus, stress control |
| Heart coherence breathing | Inhale 5s – exhale 5s | Relaxation, HRV, emotional balance |
| COPD breathing (pursed-lip) | Inhale 2–3s – exhale 4–6s | Breathlessness, COPD |
| Slow paced breathing | Inhale 4s – exhale 6s | Stress reduction, anxiety relief |
How to choose the right breathing technique
The best breathing exercise depends on your goal and situation:
- If you want to sleep better, choose slower patterns with longer exhalation (e.g. 4-7-8)
- If you want to reduce stress, use steady rhythms like 4-6 breathing
- If you want to improve heart rate variability, 10-second long patterns like 5-5 can help
- If you want to improve focus, structured patterns like box breathing can help
- If you experience shortness of breath, techniques with controlled exhalation may be useful
Try different methods and choose the one that feels most natural to you.
4-7-8 Breathing: A technique for better sleep
With Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing technique, you inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and slowly exhale for 8 seconds. It is commonly used as a breathing technique to fall asleep faster and support sleep.
Breathing pattern: 4-7-8-0
High performance through Box Breathing
Box Breathing is a performance enhancement and stress management technique. Inhale, hold your breath, exhale and again hold your breath for four seconds each.
Breathing pattern: 4-4-4-4
Deep relaxation through heart coherence
Practice the heart coherence breathing exercise for a few minutes each day and it can lead into a meditative trance that’s best described as deep relaxation.
Breathing pattern: 5-0-5-0
Catch a breath with the COPD breathing technique
If you experience shortness of breath, this technique – recommended by organizations such as the COPD Foundation – can help you breathe more calmly and in a more controlled way.
Breathing pattern: 2-0-4-0 to 3-0-9-0
Relieve stress through slow paced breathing
Slow paced breathing is used to cope with stress and anxiety. It is a simple breathing technique that can be used in many everyday situations.
Breathing pattern: 4-0-6-0
Downloads for these Breathing Exercises
The animated images have been created using the breathing app Breath Ball, which allows you to customize colors, audio guides, breathing rate and more.
These breathing exercises are most effective when done with the Breath Ball app. You can download it for free:
Please consult a healthcare professional before using any of these breathing exercises to treat a health problem!
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Having difficulties with a breathing exercise?
The goal of these breathing exercises is to slow down, relax, and let go. If you experience any difficulties or if it feels unnatural, please read these articles:
Missing a breathing technique?
Is your favorite breathing exercise missing? Please let us know!
Meanwhile, you can add your own breathing exercises. Breath Ball makes this incredibly easy. This tutorial shows you how.