Breathing exercises for stress
The fastest way to calm your nervous system – 1 to 5 minutes.
This week: 0 min for you · Focus span 15 min
How are you right now?
After a few days you'll see here how your mood and stress develop.
Breathe
The fastest way to calm your nervous system – 1 to 5 minutes.
Physiological sigh
2 minInhale twice through the nose, exhale long through the mouth.
Lowers tension fast; in a study, 5 minutes a day lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation.Balban et al., Cell Reports Medicine 2023
Box breathing 4-4-4-4
3 minIn, hold, out, hold – 4 seconds each.
A steady rhythm, good before talks and exams. The effect is calm through structure rather than magic.
4-7-8 for falling asleep
2 min4 in, 7 hold, 8 out.
The long exhale activates the rest-and-digest system. Popular before sleep; the evidence is thin.
Resonance breathing
5 min5.5 seconds in, 5.5 out – about 5.5 breaths a minute.
At this pace your heartbeat resonates most strongly (heart rate variability) – the basis of HRV biofeedback.Lehrer & Gevirtz 2014
Exercises are no substitute for help if you've been feeling bad for a while. Talk to your university's counselling service. In a crisis: call your local emergency number or a crisis line in your country.