Breathing
Box breathing
Breathing · Seated or standing
- How to do it
- Breathe in for 4 counts, hold 4, out for 4, hold 4. Repeat for the cued rounds. Keep it easy, don’t strain.
- Dose
- 4 rounds
- What you should feel
- Your breathing settle into an even rhythm
- Common mistake
- Straining or forcing the breath.
- Make it easier
- Shorten every side of the box to two seconds.
- Avoid this movement if
- Breath holds make you dizzy or anxious.
- Why DeskBreak uses it
- A structured breath for the end of a reset, so you return to work calmer than you left it.
Stop this movement if it causes sharp or worsening pain, numbness, weakness or dizziness.
Evidence
Moderate evidence.
- How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018)