Breathing exercises for stress — two techniques that buy you time

Breathing exercises for stress work best when you stop seeing them as a way of switching off stress and instead see them as a way of buying time. Slow breathing with an emphasis on exhalation can somewhat dampen the body’s stress response, and the best single study found that five minutes a day improved mood. But the real benefit in everyday life is simpler: whilst you are breathing, you are not acting. Here are two exercises and how to use them in the moment when an impulse or stress strikes.

Why breathing is a lever you can actually control

Most of the body’s stress responses cannot be controlled at will. You can’t simply decide to lower your heart rate or stop sweating. Breathing is an exception: it happens automatically, but you can take control of it whenever you want. This makes it one of the few ways to access a system that otherwise runs on autopilot.

A systematic review by Zaccaro and colleagues examined the research on slow breathing – fewer than ten breaths per minute. It found a link to increased activity in the part of the nervous system that calms the body, and to participants feeling less anxious. However, the studies were often small and varied in design, so the effects should be regarded as moderate and not entirely certain.

Exercise 1: the double inhalation

This exercise is the one that was tested in the most widely cited study. Balban and colleagues had participants perform a five-minute breathing exercise every day for a month and compared different variations with mindfulness meditation. The variant emphasising exhalation — known as ‘cyclic sighing’ — produced the greatest improvement in mood.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Breathe in through your nose until your lungs feel full.
2. Immediately take a short, extra breath in through your nose on top of the first one.
3. Breathe out slowly through your mouth until your lungs are empty. The exhalation should be longer than both inhalations combined.
4. Repeat. A couple of breaths are enough for the moment; five minutes was the duration used in the study.

It is the same movement the body makes naturally when you take a deep sigh, for example after crying.

Exercise 2: prolonged exhalation

This one is simpler and is suitable when you don’t want anyone to notice, for example during a meeting.

1. Breathe in through your nose whilst counting silently to four.
2. Breathe out through your nose or mouth whilst counting to six or eight.
3. Continue for one to two minutes.

The important thing is the ratio, not the exact numbers. The out-breath should be longer than the in-breath. If it feels strained, shorten both.

How to use it in the moment

Stress and impulses are linked: under stress, it becomes harder to rein yourself in, and many impulses — checking your phone, eating, buying something — are attempts to relieve an unpleasant tension. Breathing gives you an alternative way to deal with that tension that isn’t the impulse itself.

Use it as a fixed first action. When you notice the urge or stress, take three breaths with a double inhale before doing anything else. Sometimes that’s enough for the urge to start subsiding, and in any case it gives you the chance to choose. Combined with ‘urge surfing’ — observing the craving as it rises and falls — your breathing becomes the anchor you hold on to whilst the wave passes. More quick tips for the moment can be found in the article on managing cravings and desires.

What breathing doesn’t do

Breathing is not a treatment for an anxiety disorder and is no substitute for medical care. Anyone experiencing recurrent panic attacks, long-term insomnia or persistent stress should speak to a healthcare professional — breathing exercises can be part of that process, but they are not the whole solution.

It’s also worth being honest about how small the study is in relation to how often it’s cited. Balban’s study was randomised and well-designed, but it involved a limited number of healthy adults over the course of one month. That’s a good reason to give it a go, not proof that it will work for you.

What makes this breathing technique worth learning is that it costs almost nothing: it takes a few seconds, it can be done anywhere, and it gives you precisely what impulse control is all about — a moment’s pause between wanting to do something and actually doing it. How that moment is built up over time is described in the article on practising impulse control.

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The Zenith Protocol is a 30-day programme for impulse control, featuring a button to press the moment an impulse arises and twelve short exercises to choose from. It’s free to get started.