SlowerCyclic sighing is a double inhale followed by a long exhale, repeated. Breathe in through your nose for about 3 seconds, take a second short sip of air on top for 1 second, then sigh out slowly through your mouth for about 7 seconds. Five minutes a day is the dose that was studied.
How to do cyclic sighing
- Sit or lie down and let your shoulders hang.
- Breathe in through your nose for about 3 seconds, until your lungs are nearly full.
- Sip a second, short breath in through your nose on top of the first. About 1 second.
- Sigh out slowly through your mouth for about 7 seconds, until you are empty. Let it fall out; do not push.
- Go straight into the next breath and keep the cycle going.
One cycle on the default setting takes 11 seconds, which is about five and a half breaths a minute.
Physiological sigh, double inhale, double sigh
You will see this exercise under several names: the physiological sigh, double inhale breathing, the double sigh, the double-inhale sigh. They all describe the same breath. The difference is the dose. One to three sighs is the on-the-spot version for a tense moment. "Cyclic sighing" means repeating the sigh continuously for several minutes, which is what the timer does.
The pattern is not invented. Sighing is a reflex: it is the breath you take without thinking when you finally sit down at the end of a long day. The exercise is doing it on purpose.
Picking a pace and a length
| Setting | In, sip, out | One cycle | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 · 1 · 7 | 3 s, 1 s, 7 s | 11 s | Most people, from the first session |
| Slower | 4 s, 1 s, 9 s | 14 s | Once a 7-second sigh feels short |
This is one of the easiest breathing exercises to get right, because there is no hold and the long exhale happens almost by itself after a full inhale. If the 7-second sigh runs out early, let it: breathe out for 5 seconds and wait for the pacer. It usually lengthens with practice.
The one common mistake is the sip. People turn it into a second huge breath and end up light-headed. It should be small, a sniff that tops you up, not a heave.
For length: 1 minute, about five sighs, is a fair short version. 5 minutes is the dose from the research. Longer sessions were not part of that trial.
What it feels like
A release in the chest and shoulders on each sigh. After two or three minutes many people notice a warm, heavy loosening, and an urge to yawn is common. Yawn if you need to and pick the rhythm back up.
It is the exercise we would point a stressed person to first, because it works with a breath your body already knows. If you want something steadier for a daily habit, the coherent breathing timer is an even wave with no double inhale. If you like the long breath out but not the sip, try long exhale breathing. Our guide to breathing exercises for stress compares the options.
Where the evidence comes from
The main evidence is one trial, and it is a decent one. In a 2023 Stanford trial, 108 people did five minutes a day of cyclic sighing, box breathing, a fast breathing exercise or mindfulness meditation for a month, at home. Box breathing and the fast exercise helped too. Cyclic sighing improved mood more than mindfulness meditation did, and it lowered resting breathing rate more.
That is a single study with self-reported mood, so "moderate" is the fair label. It fits a wider pattern: an earlier experiment found that making the exhale longer than the inhale adds to the relaxing effect of slow breathing, and a 2023 analysis of breathwork trials found a small to medium drop in self-reported stress overall, with a warning to read the results cautiously.
If you feel dizzy or tingly, your breaths are too big. Stop and breathe normally through your nose; it passes within a minute. Make the sip smaller next time.
Questions people ask
What is cyclic sighing?
Cyclic sighing is a breathing exercise where you inhale through the nose, add a second short inhale on top, then exhale slowly through the mouth, and repeat that cycle for a few minutes.
How long should I do cyclic sighing?
Five minutes a day is the dose used in the 2023 trial. One minute, around five sighs, is a reasonable short version when you only have a moment.
Is cyclic sighing the same as the physiological sigh?
It is the same breath. A physiological sigh is one double inhale and long exhale, done once to three times. Cyclic sighing repeats it continuously for several minutes.
Why two inhales instead of one?
The short second inhale tops your lungs up a little beyond a normal full breath, which makes the long exhale that follows feel like a real sigh. Keep it small, about one second.
Should the exhale be through the nose or the mouth?
Through the mouth, slowly, the way you would sigh naturally. Both inhales go through the nose.
Is cyclic sighing safe, and what if I feel dizzy?
It is a very low-risk exercise. Dizziness or tingling means you are taking in too much air, so stop, breathe normally for a minute, and use smaller breaths when you start again.
Sources
- Balban et al. 2023, Cell Reports Medicine: five minutes a day of cyclic sighing, box breathing or mindfulness for a month. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873947/
- Van Diest et al. 2014: longer exhales relative to inhales and relaxation during slow breathing. doi.org/10.1007/s10484-014-9253-x
- Fincham et al. 2023, Scientific Reports: meta-analysis of breathwork trials for stress. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9828383/
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Last updated 11 November 2026. Written by the makers of Slower. This page is general information, not medical advice.