Interactive timer

Guided breathing timer

Pick a pattern and a length, press start, and follow the circle and the words on screen. It is a relaxation exercise for taking a few quiet minutes, not a treatment for anything, and it cannot tell you whether something is wrong.

The four patterns

Slow paced (in 4, out 6) has no holds and a longer out-breath than in-breath. It is the easiest place to start and the one to pick if holds feel uncomfortable. Even breathing (in 5, out 5) is six breaths a minute, a slow, steady rhythm with no holds. Box breathing splits the breath into four equal parts of four seconds: in, hold, out, hold. 4-7-8 style uses a longer hold and a long out-breath. If seven seconds is too long, hold for less and keep the out-breath longer than the in-breath. The exact numbers are conventions. Nothing special happens at four or seven, so adjust to what feels easy.

How to use it

Start with a short session, one to three minutes. Breathe in a way that feels slightly slower than normal, not bigger. Many people breathe too hard when they first follow a guide, which can cause lightheadedness. Let the belly and lower ribs move a little, keep the jaw and shoulders loose, and if your mind wanders, return to the circle. That return is the practice. If you notice yourself straining, shorten the counts or switch to the slow paced pattern.

It helps to try a pattern when you are fairly calm, so that it is familiar later. Practising only in moments of stress can make the exercise feel like one more thing to get right. For the longer context, read can breathing exercises help with anxiety, and for a wider routine see how to build a daily mindfulness practice.

What it can and cannot do

Slow breathing is a widely taught relaxation technique, and many people find a few minutes of it settling. It is not a medical treatment, it does not replace care for anxiety, panic or any health condition, and it is not suitable as the only response to chest pain, breathing difficulty or a crisis. Those need medical attention. If anxiety or stress is interfering with your daily life, talk to a doctor or a licensed mental health professional.

How the timer works

Each pattern is a list of phases with a length in seconds. The timer adds them up to get the length of one round, works out where you are in the current round from the time since you pressed start, and shows the phase name and a countdown for it. The circle grows during the in-breath, shrinks during the out-breath and stays still during holds. The session ends when the chosen number of minutes has passed, and it can end in the middle of a round. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere. If your device is set to reduce motion, the circle does not animate, but the words and numbers still guide you.

Where this comes from

The patterns are common relaxation-training conventions. The general framing, that breathing exercises are a relaxation technique to be used alongside, not instead of, professional care, follows the overview of relaxation techniques published by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The specific counts are conventions, not findings from a study, and the safety notes (stop if dizzy, ask a clinician about health conditions) are general caution rather than quoted advice. This page was written from that published overview. It has not been clinically tested, and it is general information, not medical advice. See the disclaimer.