Paced breathing
Paced breathing means breathing slower than usual at an even, set pace, most often with the exhale longer than the inhale. The timer on this page starts at four seconds in and six out: a ten-second cycle, six breaths a minute. Pick another pace from the presets or step each phase up or down. A tone marks every change, so you can close your eyes and follow the sound.
Before you start
Stop if dizzy. Never in water or while driving. Pregnant or have a health condition? Ask a doctor.
- If you are pregnant, or live with a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, talk to a doctor before you start.
- Never practice while driving, cycling, or in or near water.
- Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, lightheaded or short of breath, or have pain or pressure in your chest.
Done
Sound & length
Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
Open your browser menu, then choose Install app or Add to Home screen.
How to do it
- Sit upright somewhere you won’t need to move for a few minutes. Rest your hands and let your shoulders drop.
- Pick a pace. The default is four seconds in and six out; the line under the phases shows the cycle and how many breaths a minute it makes.
- Tap the speaker in the corner of the timer to turn the sound on — it’s off until you choose it.
- Press start. The timer counts down from three.
- Breathe in through your nose while the dot travels the inhale arc, then breathe out slowly, without forcing it, along the exhale arc.
- Keep going until the session ends. Five minutes is the default length; change it under Sound & length.
If a pace feels like work, pick a quicker one: three in and five out is a gentler place to start than five and five. The timer never changes the pace on its own. It holds whatever you set.
Choosing a pace
The pace is counted in breaths a minute: sixty seconds divided by the length of one cycle. Four in and six out is a ten-second cycle, six breaths a minute. Five and five is six a minute too, with the two phases even.
| Preset | Inhale | Exhale | Cycle | Breaths a minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-6 | 4 s | 6 s | 10 s | 6 |
| 5-5 | 5 s | 5 s | 10 s | 6 |
| 5-6 | 5 s | 6 s | 11 s | about 5.5 |
| 4-8 | 4 s | 8 s | 12 s | 5 |
| 3-5 | 3 s | 5 s | 8 s | 7.5 |
Any other pace is a few taps away: each phase steps by one second, from one up to twenty. The link in the address bar follows your numbers, so the page you share opens with the same pace.
Where the pattern comes from
Paced breathing names a way of practicing rather than one fixed pattern: breathe more slowly than you normally would, keep the pace even, and let the exhale take at least as long as the inhale. It is known by several names, among them slow breathing, resonance breathing and six breaths a minute, and it is one of the skills taught in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). It is a way of pacing your breath, not a treatment.
How it differs from coherent breathing
Coherent breathing is one fixed pace: five seconds in, five out. Paced breathing starts from the same idea, a slow and even rhythm, and leaves the numbers to you. The holds are set to zero here; raise them if you want a pause, or open the custom breathing timer, which starts from box breathing.
Research
Studies that examined this pattern. Each one describes what was measured in the people who took part, not what the pattern will do for you.
A systematic review of studies on slow breathing — under ten breaths a minute — and the physiological and psychological measures recorded during it.
Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
Other techniques
Same timer, different pattern. Each one opens with its own rhythm and its own default session length.
Box breathing
Four equal phases: in, hold, out, hold.
4-4-4-4 seconds
4-7-8 breathing
A short inhale, a long hold, a longer exhale.
4-7-8 seconds
Coherent breathing
Even in and out, no holds, six breaths a minute.
5-5 seconds
Diaphragmatic breathing
Slow belly breaths, the exhale longer than the inhale.
4-6 seconds
Physiological sigh
Two inhales back to back, then one long exhale.
3-1-6 seconds
4-6-8 breathing
Like 4-7-8, with the hold a second shorter.
4-6-8 seconds
Set your own pace
The same timer with the numbers left to you: pick a preset, or step each phase up and down.
Published , updated . Written by the Breathe Cadence team, from personal practice rather than clinical training.