These 9 Breathing Exercises Can Help Relieve Anxiety

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAlternate-Nostril BreathingBelly BreathingBox Breathing4-7-8 BreathingLion’s BreathMindfulness BreathingPursed-Lip BreathingResonance BreathingSimple Diaphragmatic Breathing ExerciseCheat Breathing vs. Abdominal BreathingHow Can I Tell If I’m Breathing Properly?

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Alternate-Nostril Breathing

Belly Breathing

Box Breathing

4-7-8 Breathing

Lion’s Breath

Mindfulness Breathing

Pursed-Lip Breathing

Resonance Breathing

Simple Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

Cheat Breathing vs. Abdominal Breathing

How Can I Tell If I’m Breathing Properly?

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Sometimes we forget, that when we’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, our breath is a powerful tool for self-regulation.

Breathing is a necessity of life that usually occurs without much thought. When we breathe in, blood cells receive oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a waste product that’s carried back through your body and exhaled.

Improper breathing can upset the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and contribute toanxiety,panic attacks, fatigue, and other physical and emotional disturbances.

The next time you’re feeling anxious, there are a variety of anxiety breathing exercises to try. Learn how to use breathing exercises to help relieve feelings of anxiety and stress.

If you have a lung condition likeCOPDorasthma, or you’re experiencing pain or difficulty breathing, speak with a healthcare provider before trying any type of breathing exercise.

How to Reduce Stress With Breathing Exercises

Alternate-nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) involves blocking off one nostril at a time as you breathe through the other, alternating between nostrils in a regular pattern.It’s best to practice this type of anxiety-relieving breathing in a seated position to maintain your posture. Here’s how it’s done:

According to The American Institute of Stress, 20 to 30 minutes of “belly breathing,” also known as abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, each day canreduce stressand anxiety.

Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit or lie down. For example, try sitting in a chair, sitting cross-legged, or lying on your back with a small pillow under your head and another under your knees.

Verywell / Laura Porter

Also known as four-square breathing,box breathingis very simple to learn and practice. In fact, if you’ve ever noticed yourself inhaling and exhaling to the rhythm of a song, you’re already familiar with this type of paced breathing. It goes like this:

Relaxation Response for Reversing Stress

The4-7-8 breathing exercise, also called the relaxing breath, acts as a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. At first, it’s best to perform the exercise seated with your back straight. Once you become more familiar with this breathing exercise, however, you can perform it while lying in bed.

Lion’s breath, orsimhasanain Sanskrit, during which you stick out your tongue and roar like a lion, is another helpful deep breathing practice. It can help relax the muscles in your face and jaw, alleviate stress, andimprove cardiovascular function.

The exercise is best performed in a comfortable, seated position, leaning forward slightly with your hands on your knees or the floor.

Mindfulness meditationinvolves focusing on your breathing and bringing your attention to the present without allowing your mind to drift to the past or future. Engaging in mindfulness breathing exercises serves the same purpose, which can help ease your anxiety.

One mindfulness breathing exercise to try involves choosing a calming focus, including a sound (“om”), positive word (“peace”), or phrase (“breathe in calm, breathe out tension”) to repeat silently as you inhale or exhale. Let go and relax. If you notice that your mind has drifted, take a deep breath and gently return your attention to the present.

Pursed-lip breathing is a simple breathing technique that will help make deep breaths slower and more intentional. This technique has been found to benefit people who haveanxiety associated with lung conditionslike emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

To get the correct breathing pattern, experts recommend practicing pursed-lip breathing four to five times a day.

Resonance breathing, orcoherent breathing, can help you get into a relaxed state and reduce anxiety.

You can perform this simple breathing exercise as often as needed. It can be done standing up, sitting, or lying down. If you find this exercise difficult or believe it’s making you anxious or panicky, stop for now. Try it again in a day or so and build up the time gradually.

Most of us aren’t really conscious of the way we’re breathing but generally, there are two types of breathing patterns.

Thoracic (Chest) Breathing

When anxious, we tend to engage in thoracic or chest breathing, which causes an upset in the body’s oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, resulting in increased heart rate, dizziness, muscle tension, and other physical sensations.Your blood is not being properly oxygenated, and this may signal astress responsethat contributes to anxiety and panic attacks.

This type of breathing comes from the chest and involves short, rapid breaths. When you’re anxious, you might not even be aware that you’re breathing this way.

Diaphragmatic (Abdominal) Breathing

Diaphragmatic or deep breathing, on the other hand, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is part of theperipheral nervous systemresponsible for regulating heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion.

This type of breathing is deep, even breathing that engages your diaphragm, allowing your lungs to expand and creating negative pressure that drives air in through the nose and mouth, filling your lungs.This is the way newborn babies naturally breathe. You’re also probably using this pattern of breathing when you’re in a relaxed stage of sleep.

Deep breathing helps you avoid the"fight-or-flight" response(acute stress response) to mentally or physically terrifying situations.

The easiest way to determine your breathing pattern is to put one hand on your upper abdomen, near the waist, and the other in the middle of your chest. As you breathe, notice which hand raises the most.

If you’re breathing properly, your abdomen should expand and contract with each breath (and the hand on it should raise the most). It’s especially important to be aware of these differences during stressful and anxious times when you’re more likely to breathe from your chest.

Pay attention to how you breathe when you are relaxed vs. when you feel stressed and anxious. Practicing breath exercises regularly can help you learn to consciously shift to this type of breathing when stressed, which can calm your body and induce a relaxation response.

These 9 Breathing Exercises Can Help Relieve Anxiety

Keep in Mind

How we breathe in and out depends on the type of breathing exercise we’re using. Many breathing exercises involve breathing in slowly through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, but some others may direct you to breathe in and out through your nose.

To make deep breathing work for you, it’s essential to listen to your body and be mindful of how anxiety is impacting your everyday life. If, after practicing deep breathing, you still feel severe anxiety, consider consulting a mental health professional or medical doctor for assessment and recommendations for treatment.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with anxiety, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Deep Breathing for Panic Disorder

10 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.Paulus MP.The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety.Depress Anxiety. 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076Telles S, Verma S, Sharma SK, Gupta RK, Balkrishna A.Alternate-nostril yoga breathing reduced blood pressure while increasing performance in a vigilance test.Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2017;23:392-398. doi:10.12659/MSMBR.906502The American Institute of Stress.Take a deep breath.Sharma VK, Trakroo M Subramaniam V, Rajajeyakumar M, Bhavanani AB, Sahai A.Effect of fast and slow pranayama on perceived stress and cardiovascular parameters in young health-care students.Int J Yoga.2013; 6(2):104-10. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.113400American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing [video].Cleveland Clinic.Pursed lip breathing.Steffen PR, Austin T, DeBarros A, Brown T.The impact of resonance frequency breathing on measures of heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mood.Front Public Health. 2017;5:222. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222Cleaveland Clinic.Diaphragmatic breathing.Cleveland Clinic.Syncope.Chen Y-F, Huang X-Y, Chien C-H, Cheng J-F.The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety.Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2017 Oct;53(4):329–36.Additional ReadingMa X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

10 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.Paulus MP.The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety.Depress Anxiety. 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076Telles S, Verma S, Sharma SK, Gupta RK, Balkrishna A.Alternate-nostril yoga breathing reduced blood pressure while increasing performance in a vigilance test.Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2017;23:392-398. doi:10.12659/MSMBR.906502The American Institute of Stress.Take a deep breath.Sharma VK, Trakroo M Subramaniam V, Rajajeyakumar M, Bhavanani AB, Sahai A.Effect of fast and slow pranayama on perceived stress and cardiovascular parameters in young health-care students.Int J Yoga.2013; 6(2):104-10. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.113400American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing [video].Cleveland Clinic.Pursed lip breathing.Steffen PR, Austin T, DeBarros A, Brown T.The impact of resonance frequency breathing on measures of heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mood.Front Public Health. 2017;5:222. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222Cleaveland Clinic.Diaphragmatic breathing.Cleveland Clinic.Syncope.Chen Y-F, Huang X-Y, Chien C-H, Cheng J-F.The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety.Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2017 Oct;53(4):329–36.Additional ReadingMa X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

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.

Paulus MP.The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety.Depress Anxiety. 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076Telles S, Verma S, Sharma SK, Gupta RK, Balkrishna A.Alternate-nostril yoga breathing reduced blood pressure while increasing performance in a vigilance test.Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2017;23:392-398. doi:10.12659/MSMBR.906502The American Institute of Stress.Take a deep breath.Sharma VK, Trakroo M Subramaniam V, Rajajeyakumar M, Bhavanani AB, Sahai A.Effect of fast and slow pranayama on perceived stress and cardiovascular parameters in young health-care students.Int J Yoga.2013; 6(2):104-10. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.113400American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing [video].Cleveland Clinic.Pursed lip breathing.Steffen PR, Austin T, DeBarros A, Brown T.The impact of resonance frequency breathing on measures of heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mood.Front Public Health. 2017;5:222. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222Cleaveland Clinic.Diaphragmatic breathing.Cleveland Clinic.Syncope.Chen Y-F, Huang X-Y, Chien C-H, Cheng J-F.The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety.Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2017 Oct;53(4):329–36.

Paulus MP.The breathing conundrum-interoceptive sensitivity and anxiety.Depress Anxiety. 2013;30(4):315–320. doi:10.1002/da.22076

Telles S, Verma S, Sharma SK, Gupta RK, Balkrishna A.Alternate-nostril yoga breathing reduced blood pressure while increasing performance in a vigilance test.Med Sci Monit Basic Res. 2017;23:392-398. doi:10.12659/MSMBR.906502

The American Institute of Stress.Take a deep breath.

Sharma VK, Trakroo M Subramaniam V, Rajajeyakumar M, Bhavanani AB, Sahai A.Effect of fast and slow pranayama on perceived stress and cardiovascular parameters in young health-care students.Int J Yoga.2013; 6(2):104-10. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.113400

American Lung Association.Pursed lip breathing [video].

Cleveland Clinic.Pursed lip breathing.

Steffen PR, Austin T, DeBarros A, Brown T.The impact of resonance frequency breathing on measures of heart rate variability, blood pressure, and mood.Front Public Health. 2017;5:222. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222

Cleaveland Clinic.Diaphragmatic breathing.

Cleveland Clinic.Syncope.

Chen Y-F, Huang X-Y, Chien C-H, Cheng J-F.The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety.Perspect Psychiatr Care. 2017 Oct;53(4):329–36.

Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

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