Box breathing, also known as square breathing, is a breathing technique that can relieve stress and reset the mind and body after a stressful situation. The technique works by slowing down the breath and distracting the mind by drawing the focus to a 4-4-4-4 pattern of inhale, hold, exhale, hold.
Box breathing is a simple yet powerful relaxation technique that can be practiced anywhere at any time. In this article, you will learn how and where to practice box breathing, its benefits, who should avoid box breathing, tips to get started, and other deep breathing techniques.
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How Box Breathing Works
Breath is vital to health. How you breathe affects your entire being. The rhythm and depth of your breath have a direct effect on your oxygen levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and mental state.
In basic breathing, the inhale increases the heart rate, and the exhale decreases the heart rate. When you’re stressed, your heart rate increases. When you’re at rest and relaxed, your heart rate decreases.
Breathing techniques that help with stress and overall wellness focus on varying the inhale and the exhale.
Techniques that lengthen the inhale have been associated with reduced anxiety. Techniques that focus on an extended exhale, or a sighing, have been associated with improved mental state and a sense of relief.
Box breathing, which emphasizes equal-length inhales and exhales, works by balancing the two and has been shown to regulate stress and improve performance.
How to Practice the Box Breathing Technique
The box breathing technique is simple and easy to learn. The entire practice focuses on the inhale, a hold, an exhale, and a hold. There are four basic steps:
- Inhale through your nose for four counts. Expand the belly and ribs to ensure a full breath.
- Hold for four counts without inhaling or exhaling.
- Exhale through your mouth for four counts, emptying the lungs and allowing the belly and ribs to return to their normal position.
- Hold with empty lungs for four counts.
Continue to repeat these steps until you feel a sense of relief. You can also practice box breathing regularly, incorporating it into your daily routine.
Where to Practice Box Breathing
Box breathing can be practiced anywhere and requires no special equipment. It can also be done at any time. The technique is used by military and law enforcement to relieve stress and maintain performance abilities in dangerous situations.
Navy SEALS, who are some of the top trained military personnel, often use the technique in high-stress combat situations.
Though most people aren't purposely working through stressful situations, everyone faces stress in day-to-day life. When you become frustrated at work, in traffic, or at home, you can take a few minutes to practice box breathing.
The next time you become overwhelmed or stressed, you can try box breathing. Stop in the moment and box breathe, or take a step away and find a quiet location to eliminate distractions so you can focus on the breath.
Either way, bring your attention to your breath. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. Repeat as necessary.
Benefits of Box Breathing
Box breathing has both physical and mental benefits.
Reduced Physical Stress in the Body
Physical stress is felt when the sympathetic nervous system—or the fight-or-flight response—is activated. When you are stressed, your sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive to get you out of danger.
The problem is that even if you're not in immediate physical danger, you still may feel all the symptoms of physical stress—a tight chest, anxiety, difficulty breathing, and an increased heart rate.
Box breathing can get you out of this state. Controlled deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which counters the sympathetic nervous system’s response, lowering heart rate and blood pressure and allowing the body to enter a state of relaxation.
Positively Affects Mental Well-Being
Breathing techniques like box breathing have been shown to reduce stress and improve anxiety and depression.
Reducing stress can improve mental well-being. Deep breathing has been shown to improve biomarkers (or measurable indicators) for stress, decreasing blood pressure and levels of cortisol or stress hormone in saliva.
Increases Mental Clarity, Focus, and Energy
People who practice deep breathing exercises, like box breathing, have been shown to have increased attention, which leads to better focus and mental clarity.
Athletes or musicians who have performance anxiety may find that deep breathing can aid in their focus. It can help them deal with theiranxiety, which in turn leads to better performance.
Energy levels are often dictated by good health. People who practice techniqueslike box breathing have improved health—lower blood pressure and less stress.
Breathing techniques have even been shown to improve endurance during physical activity.
Improves Future Reactions to Stress
The more you practice box breathing, the easier using the technique will be when stress arises. Incorporating box breathing into a daily routine can improve reactions to stress. Practicing box breathing on a regular basis has been shown to reduce biomarkers for stress like cortisol levels.
Who Should Avoid Box Breathing?
Pregnant people and people with high blood pressure should talk to their provider before box breathing for the first time.
Shortness of breath is a common pregnancy symptom due to changes pregnancy effects in the body. Box breathing slows down the respiratory rate, which could potentially decrease the amount of oxygen in the body further, making breathing more difficult. A healthcare provider can give you guidance on whether box breathing is appropriate during pregnancy.
Though deep breathing can have a positive effect on high blood pressure, talking to a healthcare provider before beginning a new exercise with underlying conditions is always wise.
Tips to Get Started With Box Breathing
To help you get started with box breathing, try one or more of the following:
- Close your eyes. If you are easily distracted, close your eyes. Shut out the outside world to draw focus to your breath.
- Vary the pace of your four counts. When trying a breathing practice for the first time, you might find that it’s hard to hold your breath for four counts. Start with a quicker pace, holding for short periods of time, then build your way up to a slower pace to hold for longer periods of time.
- Set a time to practice every day. Committing to a specific time each day can help make box breathing part of your daily routine. Find a time that works for you and do it consistently. It could be when you wake up, during a daily commute, or before bed.
- Enlist a friend. Having an accountability partner—someone to check in with every day—can help you stay committed to the practice.
Other Deep Breathing Techniques
Other deep breathing techniques can offer benefits that are similar to those of box breathing. These include but aren’t limited to:
Yogic breathing: Yogic breathing is often included in a yoga practice. Referred to as pranayama, the Sanskrit word for breath practice, yogic breathing focuses on slow, deep inhales and long exhales.
To practice, inhale through your nose, allow your belly and diaphragm (the muscle at the bottom of your ribs) to expand, exhale through your nose, and draw your belly in. The lengths of your inhales and exhales do not need to be the same but do need to be long enough to completely fill your lungs and fully empty them. Repeat this pattern in a slow, deliberate manner
Cyclic sighing: This method focuses on a longer exhale and can help provide a sense of relief or “letting go.” Take adeep inhale through the nose, and when the lungs are filled, try to inhale a little more even if it’s only a tiny bit of air. Then open your mouth and slowly exhale, or “sigh it out.” Repeat until you feel relaxed.
Cyclic hyperventilation with sighing: This method focuses on longer inhales and aids in lowering anxiety. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose, then allow the air to gently fall out of the mouth naturally on the exhale. Try to repeat this pattern for 30 breaths.
4-7-8 breathing: Like box breathing, four, seven, eight breathing focuses on inhaling, holding, and exhaling for a certain length of time. For this technique, inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight. The emphasis is on the exhale, which promotes relaxation and can relieve stress before sleep.
Summary
Box breathing is an exercise that can be done virtually anywhere and without any equipment. The technique focuses on a 4-4-4-4 pattern of inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Military and law enforcement personnel use the method to reduce stress and improve performance in dangerous situations.
Box breathing has a variety of mental and physical benefits—improved mental health, reduced stress, lower blood pressure, and better mental clarity, focus, and energy.
Tips for practicing box breathing include making it a part of your daily routine, varying the pace of your four counts, and finding a quiet place to practice. Other deep breathing techniques focus on diaphragmatic breathing, longer exhales, and longer inhales.
