Box breathing timer (4-4-4-4)

How to do box breathing

1. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds as the orb grows.
2. Hold with your lungs full for 4 seconds. Keep your shoulders and jaw soft. The music goes quiet during holds.
3. Breathe out slowly for 4 seconds as the orb shrinks.
4. Hold with your lungs empty for 4 seconds, then start the next box.

Do it for 3 to 5 minutes. If 4 seconds feels long, start at 3. If it feels easy, try 5 or 6.

What happens in your body

It slows you right down. With the holds, box breathing runs at under four breaths a minute, far below the 12 to 20 of ordinary resting breathing. Slow breathing in general is linked to higher heart-rate variability and to feeling more relaxed. Counting also gives a busy mind something simple to hold onto.

The holds are safe for most people. During any breath hold, your brain's breathing rhythm keeps running underneath, and an automatic reflex makes you breathe again long before you could come to harm. Four-second holds are well within that.

What the research says

Direct evidence for box breathing is still thin.

• Stanford study, 2023. Five minutes a day of box breathing improved mood and reduced anxiety over a month. Its benefit wasn't statistically different from mindfulness meditation, while cyclic sighing's was.
• Lab study, 2021. Thirty people did a stressful task using either the military's "tactical breathing" (closely related to box breathing) or a long-exhale technique. Tactical breathing lowered physical arousal more, while the long exhale led to better task performance.

Different patterns may suit different moments: box breathing to settle, a long exhale to stay sharp.

Want the bigger picture? Read how breathing affects your body and mind: the heart, the nervous system, blood pressure and mood, with illustrations and 20+ studies.

Make it yours in Breathcharge

Tap any of the four parts on the timeline to change one side of the box, or type exact values like 4.5 seconds in Settings. If holding with empty lungs is uncomfortable, remove the second hold to make a "triangle" breath. Save the result as your own preset.

Breathing safely

The slow patterns here are gentle, but holds and deep inhales can make you light-headed. Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy. Never practise breath holds in or near water, or while driving. If you are pregnant, or have a heart, lung or seizure condition or panic disorder, check with a clinician first. Breathing exercises can complement medical care but don't replace it.