Free · runs in your browser · no signup

Online breathing exercise timer with custom patterns

Breathcharge is a breath pacer you can keep open while you work. Pick a technique or set your own inhale, holds and exhale. Add a quick second inhale for a physiological sigh, then follow the orb and the music. When the music fades, it's time to switch.

Start breathing

How to use it

Choose a pattern. Start from a preset (Calm, Coherent 5.5, Physiological sigh, Box, 4-7-8) or drag the sliders to set your own durations.
Pick a session length. 1 to 20 minutes, or open-ended. Sessions finish at the end of a full breath.
Press Start or Space. Breathe in as the orb grows and out as it shrinks. The sharp second inhale tops the orb up to full.
Keep it beside your work. Press P to float a small always-on-top window (Chrome and Edge), or just glance at the browser tab: its title counts down each phase.

Made for breathing at your desk

Any pattern, to 0.1 s. Inhale, hold full, exhale and hold empty, plus an optional second sharp inhale.
Music that breathes with you. A calm piece fades in with each phase, brightens as you breathe in, settles lower as you breathe out, and fades out early so you know a switch is coming. You set how long that fade-out is.
Stays on time in the background. Audio is scheduled ahead, so switching tabs doesn't throw the rhythm off.
Private by design. No account, no tracking of your sessions. Settings and your own presets stay in your browser.

Why slow, paced breathing helps

Slowing your breathing to around five to six breaths per minute, with a longer exhale than inhale, is linked in research to higher heart-rate variability and to feeling calmer and more alert. A pacer makes this easy, because you follow a rhythm instead of counting in your head. A 2023 Stanford study found that five minutes a day of cyclic sighing (the double-inhale pattern) lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation did over a month.

Questions

Is Breathcharge free?

Yes. It runs in your browser with no account, no ads and no install. You can add it to your dock or home screen like an app.

Can I set my own breathing pattern?

Yes. Set inhale, hold (full), exhale and hold (empty) to any length in steps of 0.1 seconds, add an optional second sharp inhale, and save the pattern as your own preset.

Does it work in the background while I work?

Yes. The sound is scheduled ahead on the audio clock, so it stays on time when the tab is in the background. The tab title and icon show the current phase, and in Chrome or Edge you can float a small always-on-top window.

What is a good breathing pattern for stress?

A slow rhythm with a longer exhale is a good start, for example 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out. For quick relief, try the physiological sigh: two inhales through the nose, then a long exhale.