Box Breathing
4-4-4-4 · 3.8 breaths a minute
Steady and balanced, for stress and focus
Triangle breathing timer
Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, and breathe out for 4. Each cycle takes 12 seconds, 5 breaths a minute: 3 sides instead of box breathing's 4.
Triangle Breathing4-4-4 · 5 breaths a minute
Cues
Keyboard, while the timer has focus
SpaceStart or pauseEscStopFFocus mode
Session complete
3 minutes · 12 cycles of triangle breathing
In the app, each session builds your streak and saves to Apple Health when you allow it.
How to do it
Sit upright with your feet flat. Let the dot lead: up the left side as you breathe in, down the right as you hold, along the base as you breathe out.
- Breathe in for 4 seconds.
- Hold for 4 seconds with your lungs full.
- Breathe out for 4 seconds, then begin again.
An NHS leaflet from St George's in London teaches the same route with 3 counts on each side, starting at the bottom left.1 If 4 feels long, set 3-3-3-0 on the custom timer and build up.
Hold the air in gently, without clamping down, the advice Mark Divine gives for the same hold in box breathing.2 Keep the inhale quiet and take no more air than is comfortable. Give the out breath along the base its full 4 seconds instead of rushing back to the next in breath.
A variant in a University of Washington CBT+ handout has no hold: 3 counts in along the first side, then 6 out along the other 2.3 That makes it a 1:2 breath with a triangle to picture; the extended exhale timer paces a 4-8 version.
Other breathing timers
The same timer for every pattern, plus the full comparison.
Equal Breathing
4-0-4 · 7.5 breaths a minute
A simple, even rhythm to start with
4-7-8 Breathing
4-7-8 · 3.2 breaths a minute
A long exhale to wind down for sleep
When people use it
Triangle breathing suits people who like box breathing but find the fourth side one step too many, or who get tense holding with empty lungs.
It appears in NHS and university therapy handouts as a shape to trace or picture while you count.1,3 An NHS staff leaflet teaches the 4-sided version, box breathing, for stress at work.4
The CBT+ handout suggests practicing breathing exercises when your anxiety is at its usual level, so they work better in stressful moments, and at times other than bedtime, so you don't get used to falling asleep to them.3
What the research says
There are no studies of triangle breathing specifically. The relevant evidence is for slow breathing in general: a systematic review of practices under 10 breaths a minute found higher heart rate variability and respiratory sinus arrhythmia during practice, and greater comfort and relaxation in several studies.5
At 5 breaths a minute, triangle breathing is slower than typical resting breathing, which Lehrer and Gevirtz put at about 9 to 24 breaths a minute.6
The nearest tested pattern is box breathing. In the 2023 Stanford trial, 5 minutes a day of box breathing improved positive mood over a month against its own starting point, but not significantly more than mindfulness meditation, and its arm had only 21 people.7
The closest study involving holds is a 2021 laboratory comparison with 30 people. Tactical breathing (4-4-4-4) brought lower physiological arousal than prolonged exhalation, while prolonged exhalation led to better scores on a timed interference task.8 Nobody has tested whether dropping one hold, as triangle breathing does, changes either result.
Questions
Is triangle breathing box breathing without a hold?
Yes. Box breathing is in, hold, out, hold. Triangle breathing is in, hold, out, with no empty hold at the end.
What if 4 seconds is too long?
Use the custom timer and set 3 seconds on each side. You can keep the triangle shape at any length.
Should I hold with full or empty lungs?
Full. The one hold comes after the in breath, as in the NHS leaflet1 and the app's 4-4-4-0. If you want an empty hold as well, that is box breathing.
How is triangle breathing different from equal breathing?
Equal breathing is in and out with no hold, 8 seconds a cycle at 4 and 4. Triangle breathing adds a 4-second hold after the in breath, so each cycle takes 12 seconds, 5 breaths a minute.
How long should I do triangle breathing for?
There is no set length for triangle breathing. The NHS breathing exercise for stress suggests at least 5 minutes as part of a daily routine,9 which here is 25 cycles. For a short break, the 1-minute session runs 5 cycles.
Can I do it with my eyes closed?
Yes, once the counts are familiar. Turn on sound or voice in the Cues menu (the sliders button) and the timer marks each phase for you. In the app, Apple Watch taps your wrist at each phase.
Is it good for children?
The shape helps children follow a count. Keep the counts short and the holds gentle or absent; see the guide for children.
Sources
- St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Wandsworth Community Feeding Service. Triangle breathing. April 2020.An NHS leaflet teaching triangle breathing: 3 counts on each side, tracing from the bottom left, holding after the in breath
- Divine, M. (2016). A Navy SEAL breathing technique to stay calm and focused. Time.Holding without clamping down
- University of Washington, CBT+. Ways to relax by using breathing.The 3-in, 6-out triangle variant, and when to practice
- Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Breathing exercises (staff wellbeing leaflet).NHS staff guidance on box breathing for stress at work
- 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 systematic review of slow breathing under 10 breaths a minute
- Lehrer, P. M., & Gevirtz, R. (2014). Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work? Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 756.Typical resting breathing rates
- 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's result for box breathing and its limits
- 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 2021 comparison: lower arousal with tactical breathing, better task scores with prolonged exhalation
- NHS. Breathing exercises for stress. Reviewed 12 June 2026.NHS guidance to practice for at least 5 minutes as part of a daily routine
3 sides, guided on your wrist
BreathKit marks each phase with a tap on Apple Watch, so you can close your eyes. Set a daily reminder, and each session saves to Apple Health.
