Coherent Breathing

Coherent breathing is the simplest pattern here: breathe in for 5.5 seconds, then out for 5.5, with no holds at all. That works out at about five and a half breaths a minute, far slower than the twelve to twenty most of us take at rest.

There is nothing to count and nothing to hold. Just follow the wave as it rises and falls, and let your breathing settle into it. If 5.5 seconds feels long at first, breathe a little more shallowly rather than forcing the length.

Around six breaths a minute is the rate at which your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing fall into step with one another. Breathing at that pace tends to increase heart rate variability, which is one of the more reliable physiological markers of a relaxed, recovered state.

You can read more about the evidence behind breathing exercises on our science page, or explore how breathing affects anxiety and sleep in Lungy Learn.