Breathing Timer: Set Your Own Pattern

How to do it

Start from one of the 8 patterns, or set your own: inhale and exhale from 1 to 20 seconds, holds from 0 to 20. A hold of 0 leaves that pause out.

Choose a preset, or use the plus and minus buttons on each step.
Press Copy link to share your pattern.

A comfortable pattern usually has the exhale equal to or longer than the inhale. Holds add time without adding air, so keep them short unless you are used to them.

Change one step at a time, by a second, and give each version a few minutes before you judge it.

The app's custom patterns allow 1 to 10 seconds for the inhale and exhale and 0 to 10 for the holds; this timer goes up to 20.

Each side of the square is one step. Blue is in, purple is hold, coral is out.

Other breathing timers

The same timer for every pattern, plus the full comparison.

Box Breathing

4-4-4-4 · 3.8 breaths a minute

Steady and balanced, for stress and focus

4-7-8 Breathing

4-7-8 · 3.2 breaths a minute

A long exhale to wind down for sleep

Coherent Breathing

5-0-5 · 6 breaths a minute

Six slow breaths a minute to settle the body

When people use it

Use the custom timer when the 8 presets are close but not quite right: a 5-second inhale with a 7-second exhale for an anxious moment, a 6-0-6-0 before bed, or a 3-3-3-3 box while you work up to 4.

Teachers, therapists and coaches can set a pattern and copy the link, so a group follows the same pace on their own phones. The shape control gives the group a square, triangle or circle to watch.

If you are building a pattern for resonance-style breathing, the adult range used in heart rate variability biofeedback is about 4.5 to 6.5 breaths a minute,¹ a cycle of roughly 9 to 13 seconds.

What the research says

There is no single study of choosing your own phase lengths. The evidence that matters is about the pace you end up with: practices under 10 breaths a minute are associated with higher heart rate variability and respiratory sinus arrhythmia during practice, and with greater comfort and relaxation in several studies.²

A 2022 meta-analysis of 223 studies found that vagally mediated heart rate variability rose during slow breathing, straight after a single session, and after programs of several sessions.³ Its outcome was heart rate variability, a measure of the heart, rather than mood or symptoms.

In the 2023 Stanford trial, exhale-focused cyclic sighing was the only practice to improve mood significantly more than mindfulness meditation over a month of 5 minutes a day.⁴ Cyclic sighing is its own pattern, a double inhale and a long exhale, so the result doesn't carry over to any long-exhale timing.

For the split between in and out, the evidence is mixed. A 2024 study at 6 breaths a minute found the same heart rate variability with equal halves and with a 1:2 ratio, and its authors recommend respecting the person's preference.¹ On holds, the closest comparison is a 2021 laboratory study: prolonged exhalation without holds led to better scores on a timed task than tactical breathing with holds, while tactical breathing brought lower physiological arousal.⁵

Questions

What is a good custom breathing pattern?

Try 4-0-6-0 for a gentle start: 10 seconds a cycle, 6 breaths a minute. For sleep, try 4-7-8. For a longer exhale, try 4-0-8-0.

Why do holds go up to 20 seconds?

The web timer allows 20 seconds on every step so you can try slower patterns than the presets. The app's custom patterns stop at 10.

How do I share my pattern?

Press Copy link. The link carries the 4 timings, the session length and the shape, for example ?p=4-7-8-0&min=5&shape=circle.

Can I save a pattern?

On the web, the last pattern and settings stay in this browser. In the app, custom patterns come with Premium: you can save your own, and they sync from iPhone to Apple Watch.

How do I work out breaths a minute?

Add the 4 steps to get the cycle length in seconds, then divide 60 by it. A 4-4-4-4 cycle takes 16 seconds, 3.75 breaths a minute, which the timer rounds to 3.8. A 10-second cycle is 6 breaths a minute, 12 seconds is 5, and 15 seconds is 4.

Sources

Meehan, Z. M., & Shaffer, F. (2024). Do longer exhalations increase HRV during slow-paced breathing? Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 49(3), 407–417.The adult resonance range of 4.5 to 6.5 breaths a minute, and no difference between 1:1 and 1:2 at 6 breaths a minute
Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.The evidence on slow breathing under 10 breaths a minute
Laborde, S., Allen, M. S., Borges, U., et al. (2022). Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 138, 104711.The 2022 meta-analysis of slow breathing and vagally mediated heart rate variability
Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895.The 2023 trial in which cyclic sighing was the only practice to improve mood significantly more than meditation
Röttger, S., Theobald, D. A., Abendroth, J., & Jacobsen, T. (2021). The effectiveness of combat tactical breathing as compared with prolonged exhalation. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 46, 19–28.The comparison of prolonged exhalation with tactical breathing

Your pattern, on your wrist

BreathKit saves your own patterns and guides them on Apple Watch, with a tap at every phase.