Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Coherent Breathing?How Coherent Breathing WorksWhat Are the Effects of Coherent Breathing?How to Do Coherent BreathingHow to Get Help With Coherent BreathingOther Breathing ExercisesWhen Coherent Breathing Isn’t Helping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Coherent Breathing?
How Coherent Breathing Works
What Are the Effects of Coherent Breathing?
How to Do Coherent Breathing
How to Get Help With Coherent Breathing
Other Breathing Exercises
When Coherent Breathing Isn’t Helping
Close
Coherent breathing is a form of breathing that involves taking long slow breaths at a rate of about five per minute. Coherent breathing, ordeep breathing, helps to calm the body through its effect on the autonomic nervous system.
Whether it is practiced as part of yoga ormeditation, or simply on its own as a relaxation strategy, coherent breathing is a simple and easy way to reduce stress and calm down when feeling anxious.
At a GlanceCoherent breathing is a simple breathing technique that can significantly impact health and well-being. It involves taking deep, controlled breathes at a rate of six seconds per breath. Try this type of breathing if you are struggling with stress, anxiety, low mood, or other problems to see if it might help.
At a Glance
Coherent breathing is a simple breathing technique that can significantly impact health and well-being. It involves taking deep, controlled breathes at a rate of six seconds per breath. Try this type of breathing if you are struggling with stress, anxiety, low mood, or other problems to see if it might help.
What makes up a breath? There’s the inhale, or the time during which you draw air into your lungs, and the exhale, when you expel the air from your body. Coherent breathing involves simply adjusting the length of time that you spend on each of these phases of breathing.
Our natural tendency is to breathe at a rate of two to three seconds per inhale and exhale. We naturally consume an amount of air that is proportional to the length of our breaths.
In coherent breathing, the goal is to extend the length of both the inhale and exhale to around six seconds (perhaps longer if you have a longer torso).
This type of controlled breathing is sometimes practiced as part of yoga (the term “pranayama” refers to breath control within yoga practice). It is also used within meditation. However, controlled breathing can be practiced on its own without any fancy tools, detailed instructions, or the need for a therapist. All you need to do is change the length of your breaths.
An altogether different type of breathwork isholotropic breathwork, which is usually performed in a group setting.
How Yoga Can Help Reduce Stress
How does coherent breathing work to slow down your body? Breathing is one of many components of theautonomic nervous system(ANS), which also includes your heart rate, digestive system, and more.
The Role of the Vagus Nerve
Yourvagus nerveruns from your brain all the way down to the opening of your diaphragm to the gut, and its purpose is to send signals to adjust the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system that forms the ANS. This affects heart rate, digestion, and general feelings of being calm.
In general, your vagus nerve has the job of slowing down your heart when it speeds up to keep it at a steady resilient rate of 70 to 100.
This is why the easiest way to activate your vagus nerve to put the neural brake on a racing heart is to slow down your breath. It’s almost like a hack for your nervous system—you can do something within your conscious control that has an effect on processes that you otherwise can’t directly control.
In effect, if you can get your breathing to leave a stressed state, the rest of the parts of your autonomic nervous system will follow suit, creating a chain reaction that can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and related problems.
Breathwork as Vagus Nerve Therapy
Coherent breathing and other forms of breathwork can be an effective way to activate the vagal nerve. And while more research is needed, somepractitioners suggest that vagus nerve therapycan be an effective tool for regulating mood and anxiety.
Coherent breathing can also affect the phrenic nerve, which improves blood circulation, and the amygdala, a part of the brain that regulates emotions, fear, and anxiety.
Research is still in its infancy regarding the effects of coherent breathing. However, there is lots of promising news suggesting that this type of breathing has a number of important mental and physical health benefits.
We know that this type of breathing may be helpful for insomnia, anxiety, depressive symptoms, stress, immune system response, alertness, concentration, vitality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit disorder.
Research indicates that controlling your breathing can have a number of positive effects:
If you are interested in practicing coherent breathing, the following steps will show you how to get started:
During this process, keep your hand on your stomach to ensure you are breathing deeply from your diaphragm and not shallowly from your chest.
You might feel as though you need to take a deep breath or that you can’t stop your thoughts from wandering. That’s okay! Just bring yourself back to focusing on your breathing and counting the length of your breaths in your head.
If you find that you feel comfortable taking even longer breaths, feel free. Breaths as long as 10 seconds may feel right for some people. It’s also okay to have a longer exhale than inhale.
Once you’re able to do this for five minutes, gradually work your way up to 20 minutes. You can practice anywhere! In bed at night, while waiting at the doctor’s office, or even when driving.
Don’t try to force the breath or try to take in more air. This will happen naturally as you lengthen your breaths and get used to how it feels.
You don’t have to try and practice coherent breathing all on your own without help. There are several options for you to try if you are having trouble.
Yoga
Join a yoga class. Most yoga classes will involve a breathwork component where you practice this type of breathing.
A good instructor will also check to make sure you are not holding your breathing, and are making the most of your breath practice. This sort of group setting could be just the thing to get you breathing in a way that helps to calm your body.
Breathing Workshops
Yes, there are workshops just for breathing! Attend a workshop where you will learn how to practice coherent breathing.
Most likely, you will practice with one or two other people and take turns making sure that each of you is doing it correctly. This can be an excellent way to get hands-on instruction and practice in this technique.
Technology
Technology can help you to practice coherent breathing. Download an app for your mobile phone that guides you through the proper lengths of inhaling and exhaling.
Smart watches may also have this technology, so check all your devices to see what options are available to you. Even the simplest app could make the difference in helping you breathe correctly for the right length of time.
I’m an Insomniac Who Tried the Breathwrk App to See if It Could Help Me Sleep
Interested in trying some other breathing exercises? Here are a couple of variations for you to try:
Belly Breathing
Sit on the floor or the edge of a chair. Place your hand on your stomach and as you inhale, lean forward. Then, as you exhale, curl forward to squeeze out your breath. Repeat this 15 to 20 times more.
Energizing breathing
Are you stuck at work and can’t get energized? Try energized breathing in a standing position. Bend your elbows and face your palms up.
As you inhale, draw your elbows back, palms continue to stay up. Then, as you exhale, thrust your palms forward and turn them downward, saying “HA.” Repeat 15 times.
If you’ve been practicing coherent breathing but still feel anxious and depressed, you may wonder what you’re doing wrong. Coherent breathing can be helpful, but that doesn’t mean it is an instant fix for serious mental health conditions.
Negative thoughtsmight make coherent breathing less effective. When you experience negative thinking, it makes it difficult or impossible for your body to stay in a relaxed state.
Other methods, such ascognitive-behavioral strategies, may be helpful for you to manage these types of thoughts and reduce their impact. A good app to try for this isWoebot, a chat app that includes a thought challenger for dealing with negative thoughts.
If after practicing coherent breathing you still find that your symptoms are severe, it might be helpful to make an appointment with a doctor or mental health professional to discuss your options.
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Coping Strategies for Stress
8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Jerath R, Crawford MW, Barnes VA, Harden K.Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015 Jun;40(2):107-15. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Brown RP, et al.Thalamic gamma aminobutyric acid level changes in major depressive disorder after a 12-week iyengar yoga and coherent breathing intervention.J Altern Complement Med. 2020;26(3):190-197. doi:10.1089/acm.2019.0234Balasubramanian K, Harikumar K, Nagaraj N, Pati S.Vagus nerve stimulation modulates complexity of heart rate variability differently during sleep and wakefulness.Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017;20(4):403-407. doi:10.4103/aian.AIAN_148_17Bordoni B, Purgol S, Bizzarri A, Modica M, Morabito B.The influence of breathing on the central nervous system.Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2724. doi:10.7759/cureus.2724Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study.J Altern Complement Med. 2017;23(3):201-207. doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0140Twal WO, Wahlquist AE, Balasubramanian S.Yogic breathing when compared to attention control reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers in saliva: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16:294. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1286-7Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yFitzpatrick KK, Darcy A, Vierhile M.Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial.JMIR Ment Health. 2017;4(2):e19. doi:10.2196/mental.7785Additional ReadingAlderman L. Breathe.Exhale. Repeat: The benefits of controlled breathing.Huffpost Healthy Living.HuffPost stress-less challenge, Day 5: Coherent breathing.Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P, Buscemi A, Di Corrado D, Bertolo L, et al.The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurol Sci. 2017 Mar;38(3):451–8.Serafim SD, da Ponte FDR, Lima FM, Martins DS, Rosa AR, Kunz M.Effects of deep breathing in patients with bipolar disorder. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018 Sep 6;Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, Owen L, Johnston J, Silveri MM, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with Iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Mar;23(3):201–7.
8 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Jerath R, Crawford MW, Barnes VA, Harden K.Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015 Jun;40(2):107-15. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Brown RP, et al.Thalamic gamma aminobutyric acid level changes in major depressive disorder after a 12-week iyengar yoga and coherent breathing intervention.J Altern Complement Med. 2020;26(3):190-197. doi:10.1089/acm.2019.0234Balasubramanian K, Harikumar K, Nagaraj N, Pati S.Vagus nerve stimulation modulates complexity of heart rate variability differently during sleep and wakefulness.Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017;20(4):403-407. doi:10.4103/aian.AIAN_148_17Bordoni B, Purgol S, Bizzarri A, Modica M, Morabito B.The influence of breathing on the central nervous system.Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2724. doi:10.7759/cureus.2724Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study.J Altern Complement Med. 2017;23(3):201-207. doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0140Twal WO, Wahlquist AE, Balasubramanian S.Yogic breathing when compared to attention control reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers in saliva: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16:294. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1286-7Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yFitzpatrick KK, Darcy A, Vierhile M.Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial.JMIR Ment Health. 2017;4(2):e19. doi:10.2196/mental.7785Additional ReadingAlderman L. Breathe.Exhale. Repeat: The benefits of controlled breathing.Huffpost Healthy Living.HuffPost stress-less challenge, Day 5: Coherent breathing.Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P, Buscemi A, Di Corrado D, Bertolo L, et al.The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurol Sci. 2017 Mar;38(3):451–8.Serafim SD, da Ponte FDR, Lima FM, Martins DS, Rosa AR, Kunz M.Effects of deep breathing in patients with bipolar disorder. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018 Sep 6;Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, Owen L, Johnston J, Silveri MM, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with Iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Mar;23(3):201–7.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Jerath R, Crawford MW, Barnes VA, Harden K.Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015 Jun;40(2):107-15. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Brown RP, et al.Thalamic gamma aminobutyric acid level changes in major depressive disorder after a 12-week iyengar yoga and coherent breathing intervention.J Altern Complement Med. 2020;26(3):190-197. doi:10.1089/acm.2019.0234Balasubramanian K, Harikumar K, Nagaraj N, Pati S.Vagus nerve stimulation modulates complexity of heart rate variability differently during sleep and wakefulness.Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017;20(4):403-407. doi:10.4103/aian.AIAN_148_17Bordoni B, Purgol S, Bizzarri A, Modica M, Morabito B.The influence of breathing on the central nervous system.Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2724. doi:10.7759/cureus.2724Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study.J Altern Complement Med. 2017;23(3):201-207. doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0140Twal WO, Wahlquist AE, Balasubramanian S.Yogic breathing when compared to attention control reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers in saliva: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16:294. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1286-7Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-yFitzpatrick KK, Darcy A, Vierhile M.Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial.JMIR Ment Health. 2017;4(2):e19. doi:10.2196/mental.7785
Jerath R, Crawford MW, Barnes VA, Harden K.Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015 Jun;40(2):107-15. doi:10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8
Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Brown RP, et al.Thalamic gamma aminobutyric acid level changes in major depressive disorder after a 12-week iyengar yoga and coherent breathing intervention.J Altern Complement Med. 2020;26(3):190-197. doi:10.1089/acm.2019.0234
Balasubramanian K, Harikumar K, Nagaraj N, Pati S.Vagus nerve stimulation modulates complexity of heart rate variability differently during sleep and wakefulness.Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2017;20(4):403-407. doi:10.4103/aian.AIAN_148_17
Bordoni B, Purgol S, Bizzarri A, Modica M, Morabito B.The influence of breathing on the central nervous system.Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2724. doi:10.7759/cureus.2724
Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study.J Altern Complement Med. 2017;23(3):201-207. doi:10.1089/acm.2016.0140
Twal WO, Wahlquist AE, Balasubramanian S.Yogic breathing when compared to attention control reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers in saliva: a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16:294. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1286-7
Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K.Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials.Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):432. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y
Fitzpatrick KK, Darcy A, Vierhile M.Delivering cognitive behavior therapy to young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety using a fully automated conversational agent (Woebot): A randomized controlled trial.JMIR Ment Health. 2017;4(2):e19. doi:10.2196/mental.7785
Alderman L. Breathe.Exhale. Repeat: The benefits of controlled breathing.Huffpost Healthy Living.HuffPost stress-less challenge, Day 5: Coherent breathing.Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P, Buscemi A, Di Corrado D, Bertolo L, et al.The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurol Sci. 2017 Mar;38(3):451–8.Serafim SD, da Ponte FDR, Lima FM, Martins DS, Rosa AR, Kunz M.Effects of deep breathing in patients with bipolar disorder. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018 Sep 6;Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, Owen L, Johnston J, Silveri MM, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with Iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Mar;23(3):201–7.
Alderman L. Breathe.Exhale. Repeat: The benefits of controlled breathing.
Huffpost Healthy Living.HuffPost stress-less challenge, Day 5: Coherent breathing.
Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P, Buscemi A, Di Corrado D, Bertolo L, et al.The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurol Sci. 2017 Mar;38(3):451–8.
Serafim SD, da Ponte FDR, Lima FM, Martins DS, Rosa AR, Kunz M.Effects of deep breathing in patients with bipolar disorder. Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2018 Sep 6;
Streeter CC, Gerbarg PL, Whitfield TH, Owen L, Johnston J, Silveri MM, et al.Treatment of major depressive disorder with Iyengar yoga and coherent breathing: A randomized controlled dosing study. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Mar;23(3):201–7.
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