SlowerThe most useful breathing exercises for anger all slow down the breath out. Try the candle breath: breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds, then blow out through pursed lips for 6, for one to three minutes. Other options are the cooling breath, ten long sighs counted down, and box breathing. None has been tested for anger specifically.
Before you start
When you are angry your breathing is fast and high in the chest, and being told to "take a deep breath" is irritating. So skip deep. Go for slow, and make the breath out the long part. Each exercise below is a different way to do that.
If you can, step away first. Another room, the hallway, outside.
1. Candle breath (pursed lips)
This is the default in the timer above, because it needs no learning and you can manage it when you are furious.
- Breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds.
- Purse your lips as if you were about to whistle.
- Blow out slowly for 6 seconds, like making a candle flame flicker without putting it out.
The small opening pushes back a little against your lips, so the breath out cannot be rushed. The technique comes from lung rehabilitation, where it is taught as 2 counts in and 4 out for breathlessness. The ratio is the same here, a bit slower.
2. Cooling breath
A yoga exercise, and the one that feels most like what it promises.
- Curl your tongue into a tube and let the tip stick out past your lips.
- Breathe in slowly through the tube for about 5 seconds. The air feels cold on your tongue and throat.
- Close your mouth and breathe out through your nose for about 8 seconds.
Plenty of people cannot curl their tongue. It is genetic, not a lack of skill. In that case put your teeth lightly together, part your lips and draw the air in through your teeth. Same cool feeling.
If 5 and 8 is too long, do 4 in and 6 out without the timer, which is how it is usually taught. Three to five minutes is typical. Skip this one in very cold air or when you have a cold or chest infection.
3. Ten long sighs
The grown-up version of counting to ten. Breathe in through your nose, let it out through your mouth as one long sigh, and count "ten". Then nine. All the way down to one, before you say or send anything.
It takes about a minute and a half. Many people find the urge to snap back fades around five. No timer needed, which makes it the one to use in the middle of an argument or with your hand already on the keyboard.
4. Box breathing
In for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. Where the other three let something go, this one puts your energy into a strict pattern. Some people prefer that when they are angry: it feels like taking control back, not like being told to relax. The box breathing timer paces it.
If holding your breath makes you feel more wound up, drop it and go back to the candle breath.
Which one to pick
| Exercise | Pattern | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Candle breath | 3 in, 6 out | You are too angry to follow anything complicated |
| Cooling breath | 5 in, 8 out | You feel hot in the face and can be alone |
| Ten long sighs | Your own pace, counted 10 to 1 | You are about to reply to someone |
| Box breathing | 4-4-4-4 | You want control more than release |
What is known, and what is not
No breathing technique has been tested for anger specifically. Not the cooling breath, not pursed lips, not counting sighs.
What does exist is research on slow breathing in general. A 2018 review of studies in healthy people found that breathing at under ten breaths a minute went with more relaxation and with less anxiety and anger, though the review had only 15 studies to work with. A 2014 study found that a longer exhale than inhale adds to the relaxing effect. Three of the four exercises on this page are slow with a long breath out, so that is the likely mechanism.
Breathing will not fix whatever made you angry. What it can do is put a minute or two between the feeling and what you do next. For a plain version without the props, see long exhale breathing or how to breathe to calm down. For a slow build of pressure, try breathing exercises for stress.
If you feel dizzy or tingly, you are breathing too hard. Stop and breathe normally; it passes within a minute. Keep the holds in box breathing comfortable, and skip them if you are pregnant or have a heart or blood pressure condition.
Questions people ask
What is the best breathing exercise for anger?
There is no tested best one. The easiest to do when angry is the candle breath: in through the nose for 3 seconds, out through pursed lips for 6, for one to three minutes.
Does breathing really help with anger?
No breathing technique has been tested for anger specifically. A 2018 review of slow breathing in healthy people did list less anger among the outcomes, and a slow breath out gives you a pause before you react.
What is the cooling breath and how do you do it?
Curl your tongue into a tube, breathe in slowly through it for about 5 seconds, then close your mouth and breathe out through your nose for about 8. The air feels cool on your tongue and throat.
What if I cannot curl my tongue?
Put your teeth lightly together, part your lips and breathe in through your teeth. Then close your mouth and breathe out through your nose. The cooling feeling is the same.
How long should I do it?
One to three minutes is a reasonable first try. If you are still worked up after that, carry on for up to five minutes or switch to a different exercise.
Why make the exhale longer than the inhale?
A 2014 study found that a longer exhale than inhale adds to the relaxing effect of slow breathing. Pursed lips or a sigh make a long exhale easier to keep slow.
Sources
- Zaccaro et al. 2018: systematic review of slow breathing in healthy people; outcomes included less anger. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6137615
- Van Diest et al. 2014: a longer exhale than inhale adds to the relaxation effect of slow breathing. doi.org/10.1007/s10484-014-9253-x
- Roberts et al. 2009: systematic review of pursed-lip breathing for breathlessness in lung disease. uhra.herts.ac.uk/id/eprint/672/
Keep going
Last updated 11 November 2026. Written by the makers of Slower. This page is general information, not medical advice.