SlowerThe breathing exercise for stress with the best trial behind it is cyclic sighing: breathe in through your nose for about 3 seconds, take a 1-second sniff on top, then sigh out slowly through your mouth for about 7 seconds. Five minutes is the dose used in research. Long exhale breathing (4 in, 6 out), coherent breathing (5.5 in, 5.5 out) and belly breathing are slower-acting options.
The order below is by how soon you tend to feel something, from the first breath to a few weeks. That ranking is our reading of how each one is taught and how it feels in practice. No study has raced them against each other for speed.
1. Cyclic sighing: the quickest
- Breathe in through your nose until you are nearly full, about 3 seconds.
- Sip in a little more air through your nose, about 1 second.
- Sigh out slowly through your mouth until you are empty, about 7 seconds.
- Repeat for 5 minutes, or do one to three sighs if that is all the time you have.
Many people feel a release in the chest and shoulders on the first sigh, then a warm, heavy loosening after two or three minutes, often with an urge to yawn. Keep the second sniff small; over-inflating it is how people end up light-headed. If 7 seconds out is too long, 5 is fine. The cyclic sighing timer has more paces.
2. Long exhale breathing: minutes, and nobody notices
Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds and out for 6, with no pauses. That is six breaths a minute. The body settles a little on each out-breath, and a slower heartbeat by minute two or three is common. Give it 3 to 10 minutes.
It is silent and invisible, which makes it the one for meetings and open offices. If 4-6 feels tight, start with 3 in and 5 out. Paces and a pacer are on the long exhale breathing page.
3. Coherent breathing at 5.5: slower to arrive, steadier
Breathe in for 5.5 seconds and out for 5.5 seconds, through the nose, smooth, with no pauses. It feels like a slow wave. Warm hands after about five minutes are common. It is usually taught as 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice a day, so it suits the end of the day better than the middle of it.
The honest catch: five and a half seconds is a long inhale when you are new to it. Start at 4 in and 6 out and slow down over a few sessions; how to breathe slower has the steps. The second chip on the timer above runs 5.5, and the coherent breathing timer has the neighboring paces.
4. Belly breathing: the foundation
Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Breathe in through your nose so the belly hand rises and the chest hand barely moves. Breathe out slowly and let the belly fall. Keep your natural pace at first, then slow toward 4 in and 6 out. Five to ten minutes, lying or seated.
This one is less a quick fix than a skill. Stress pushes breathing high and tight into the chest, and belly breathing is practice at the opposite. Many people find it makes the three exercises above easier.
Which one when
| Situation | Exercise | How long |
|---|---|---|
| At your desk, between tasks | Cyclic sighing | 1 to 5 minutes, or just three sighs |
| In a meeting or on a call | Long exhale, 4 in and 6 out | 3 minutes |
| After work, to switch off | Coherent breathing, 5.5 and 5.5 | 10 minutes |
| As a daily habit | Coherent or belly breathing | 5 to 10 minutes, same time each day |
What the research says, honestly
A 2023 meta-analysis of randomized trials found that breathwork gave a small-to-medium reduction in self-reported stress, with similar results for anxiety and depression. The authors rated the risk of bias as moderate and said the results should be interpreted cautiously. So: a real effect on how people say they feel, not a large one, and not proven beyond doubt.
For single exercises, the best data is on cyclic sighing. In a 2023 Stanford trial, 108 people did five minutes a day of a breathing exercise or mindfulness meditation for a month. Cyclic sighing improved mood and lowered resting breathing rate more than meditation did. For belly breathing, a 2017 trial with 40 people found better sustained attention, less negative mood and lower cortisol after 8 weeks. Coherent breathing has good evidence for raising heart rate variability, but in one placebo-controlled trial a faster "placebo" pace gave similar stress gains after a month. The habit may matter more than the exact pace.
If you feel dizzy or tingly, you are breathing too much. Stop and breathe normally through your nose; it passes within a minute. Breathing exercises are not a treatment for any condition.
Questions people ask
What is the best breathing exercise for stress?
Cyclic sighing has the best evidence for a short daily practice: in a 2023 trial, five minutes a day improved mood more than mindfulness meditation. The best one for you is the one you will repeat, so try all four.
What is cyclic sighing and how long should I do it?
Breathe in through your nose, take a second short sniff on top, then breathe out slowly through your mouth until empty. Five minutes is the studied dose. One to three sighs is the short version for a tense moment.
How long does it take for breathing exercises to reduce stress?
A sigh can loosen your chest and shoulders on the first breath. With a long exhale, many people notice a slower heartbeat after two or three minutes. Effects on mood in studies came from daily practice over about a month.
What is coherent breathing, and is it 5.5 or 6 breaths per minute?
Coherent, or resonance, breathing is slow even breathing with no pauses. 5.5 seconds in and 5.5 out is about 5.5 breaths a minute; 5 in and 5 out is 6. Both are used, and personal best rates range from 4.5 to 7.
How many times a day should I practice?
Once a day for five minutes is what the main trial used. Coherent breathing is often taught as 10 to 20 minutes once or twice a day. Short extra rounds when you feel tense are fine.
Is it safe, and what if I feel dizzy?
Slow breathing exercises are very low risk. Dizziness or tingling means you are breathing too much: stop, breathe normally through your nose, and it passes within a minute.
Sources
- Fincham et al. 2023, Scientific Reports: meta-analysis of breathwork trials for stress, anxiety and depression. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9828383/
- Balban et al. 2023, Cell Reports Medicine: daily 5-minute breathing practices compared with mindfulness. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873947/
- Ma et al. 2017: 8 weeks of diaphragmatic breathing, attention, negative affect and cortisol. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5455070/
- Lehrer and Gevirtz 2014: review of heart rate variability breathing near six breaths a minute. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4104929
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Last updated 11 November 2026. Written by the makers of Slower. This page is general information, not medical advice.