3 breathing exercises to relieve stress (2024)

Breathing exercises offer many physical and mental health benefits. Discover three deep breathing techniques you can use to feel calmer.

Whether you’re living with a heart condition, caring for someone who has one, or are concerned about having a heart problem in the future, it’s normal to experiencestress.

Breathing exercises can be a powerful way to manage that stress.

What’s on this page?

• How can deep breathing help with stress?
• Benefits of breathing exercises
• Deep breathing relieves stress
• Deep breathing lowers your heart rate
• Deep breathing helps you sleep better


• 3 powerful deep breathing exercises

1. Box breathing
2. The 4-7-8 breathing technique
3. Alternate nostril breathing

How can deep breathing help with stress?

Studies suggest that regular deep breathing can promote relaxation and combat stress. Stress is the way your body responds to danger or a threat, real or imagined. Your body releases stress hormones, getting you ready to take emergency action, otherwise known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.

During the fight-or-flight response, you may feel overwhelmed, agitated or panicked. Your muscles tense up, your heart pounds and your breathing quickens.

It’s normal for your breathing to become fast and shallow when you feel stressed. But if you take slow, deep breaths using the muscle under your ribs (called the diaphragm), it can help you relax.

This kind of deep breathing is sometimes called ‘diaphragmatic breathing’. It triggers your body and mind to move from the tense fight-or-flight state to a calmer state.

Benefits of breathing exercises

Deep breathing relieves stress

Because deep breathing can make you feel more relaxed, breathing exercises can be useful in situations that make you feel stressed. For example, if you experience stress ahead of a doctor’s appointment, try practising one of the three deep breathing exercises set out below beforehand.

Deep breathing can also offer welcome relief if you become stressed unexpectedly, such as when symptoms flare up, or when negative thoughts catch you off guard.

Deep breathing lowers your heart rate

When your body is under stress, it responds by raising your heart rate and blood pressure. Over time, this can put a strain on your heart. Using deep breathing exercises to relax the body when you are feeling stressed may help to keep your heart rate and blood pressure from climbing too high.

Sometimes a racing heart (or ‘palpitations’) can be a sign of a more serious medical problem, rather than just stress. It’s important to speak to your GP if your heart is pounding and you also feel dizzy or short of breath. If you have a history of heart problems, it is even more important to see a doctor quickly.

• Find out which symptoms mean you should seek urgent medical help.
• Read more about palpitations and when to worry about them.

Deep breathing helps you sleep better

Sleep is vital for heart health and your general wellbeing. But in our fast-paced society, many people find it difficult to unwind and fall asleep. In turn, lack of sleep can lead to stress, fatigue and low mood.

A small study from 2004 suggests that deep breathing as part of daily yoga practice is linked to higher levels of melatonin, a hormone which helps us relax and fall asleep. If you struggle with insomnia, deep breathing at or around bedtime could be a soothing way to drop into a deep, restorative sleep.

3 powerful deep breathing exercises

Whatever your motivation, the beauty of deep breathing exercises is how easy they are. You can do them anytime and anywhere, and they are completely free. All you need to do is remember to breathe.

At its most basic, deep breathing involves slowly breathing in and out as fully as you can, so that with each breath your belly expands like a balloon.

There are also specific deep breathing exercises that are designed to help you get the most out of this form of breathing. These include ‘box breathing’, ‘4-7-8 breathing’ and ‘alternate nostril breathing’, which are described below.

As you get to know what works for you, you might try out other breathing techniques, or even make up your own.

If you're new to deep breathing exercises, start with an achievable aim. For example, you could do two minutes just before bedtime for a week and see how that feels. Find a quiet, comfortable spot where you won't be disturbed.

1. Box breathing

One simple deep breathing technique is known as box breathing. It's named this because the exercise’s four steps make a box shape.

To begin box breathing, sit or stand with your back straight. Or, if you prefer, you can lie down with your arms by your side. Choose whatever position feels most relaxing.

Close your eyes if it feels right for you.

Take a moment to relax your shoulders, release any tension in your jaw and let your body settle. Then follow the steps below.

1. Breathe in slowly to a count of four. If you want to, place your hands on your belly and feel it expand like a balloon.
2. After breathing in, hold your breath for another count of four.
3. Breathe out slowly and steadily through your mouth, again counting to four in your mind.
4. After breathing out, hold your breath again for another count of four.
5. Go back to step 1 and repeat the process for as long as you want to.

2. The 4-7-8 breathing technique

This technique is based on an ancient yogic breathing method called pranayama. While there isn’t much scientific research on 4-7-8 breathing, people say it helps them to cope with stress and to fall asleep more quickly.

To begin 4-7-8 breathing, sit comfortably with a straight back. Or, if you’re using this exercise to help you fall asleep, lie down instead.

Throughout the session, your tongue should be resting gently against the roof of your mouth, just behind your top front teeth.

When you’re ready, follow the steps below.

1. Breathe in silently through your nose for a count of four.
2. After breathing in, hold your breath for a count of seven.
3. Breathe out forcefully through your mouth for a count of eight, making a ‘whoosh’ sound as you let the air out. This may be easier if you purse your lips.
4. Go back to step 1 and repeat the process up to three more times, for a total of four rounds.

If you're a beginner, you might feel a bit lightheaded at first. This is normal. At first, you should only practice four rounds at a time. As you get used to the exercise, you can do it up to eight times.

3. Alternate nostril breathing

Like 4-7-8 breathing, alternate nostril breathing is based on yogic breathing practices. This doesn’t mean you need to do yoga to try it. Alternate nostril breathing can be its own practice.

Research shows that doing regular alternate nostril breathing for 30 minutes a day can lower your stress levels. Other studies suggest it also helps to reduce your heart rate, lower blood pressure, promote feelings of wellbeing and improve lung function.

To begin alternate nostril breathing, sit comfortably on the floor or on a chair, keeping your back straight but relaxed. Then follow the steps below.

1. Using your right thumb, press gently on your right nostril to close it.
2. Take a slow, smooth deep breath in through your left nostril.
3. Close your left nostril with your right ring finger (the one next to little finger) while releasing your thumb from your right nostril. Breathe out slowly through your right nostril.
4. Keeping your left nostril closed, breathe in through your right nostril. Then close this nostril again.
5. Open your left nostril and breathe out through it.
6. Go back to step 1 and repeat the process for as long as you want to.

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Published December 2023