How to do coherent breathing

Most counted breathing patterns have holds and uneven counts. Coherent breathing has neither. It is just a slow, even in and out, which makes it easy to keep going for longer and easy to do in the middle of the day without anyone noticing. The name comes from Stephen Elliott, who introduced it in 2005, but the pace itself had been studied well before that.

Why that particular pace

Your heart rate rises a little each time you breathe in and falls a little each time you breathe out. Separately, your body has a slower rhythm of its own that keeps blood pressure steady, and that rhythm cycles roughly once every ten seconds.

Breathe at about six breaths a minute, five seconds in and five out, and the two rhythms line up. The rise and fall in heart rate becomes noticeably larger and smoother than it is at your ordinary breathing speed. That lining up is what both "coherent" and "resonance" refer to. It is one of the better studied breathing patterns, mostly under the name resonance frequency breathing, but what it offers is a way to settle, not a cure for anything.

How to do it

1. Sit or lie comfortably, and breathe through your nose if you can.
2. Breathe in gently for about five seconds. Let your belly move more than your chest.
3. Without pausing at the top, breathe out for about five seconds. Let the air go rather than pushing it out.
4. Turn straight back into the next in-breath, the way a swing changes direction.
5. Keep going for a few minutes, or for ten if it suits you.

The breaths should be ordinary in size. If you start to feel short of air, or slightly light-headed, you are breathing too deeply. Make each breath smaller, not faster.

Five, five and a half or six

Five seconds in and five out gives six breaths a minute, and that is the usual starting point. Elliott himself used a slightly slower pace, about five breaths a minute. The rate at which the effect is strongest differs a little from person to person, which is why some people settle better at five and a half seconds each way, or six.

You do not need to measure anything to benefit. An even rhythm that feels unhurried matters more than hitting an exact number. But if you are curious, heart rate variability is exactly what shows which pace lines up best for you.

How Calm Moments does it

The app has it as Calm breath: five in, five out, with a circle to follow so you do not have to count. Next to it is the calm check-in. You rest a fingertip on the camera, and for about two minutes the app reads your pulse while you breathe at six, five and a half and five breaths a minute. It keeps the pace at which your heart rate varied most, and that becomes the breathing rhythm the app uses. It shows no numbers, stores nothing except that rhythm, and it is not a medical measurement.

For other patterns, and what each one is for, see breathing exercises to slow down.

Is it safe?

For most people, yes. It is slow, ordinary breathing. Stop if you feel dizzy, and make your breaths smaller if you feel short of air. If you have a lung or heart condition, ask the person who treats you rather than a website.

Calm Moments is a feed of slow scenes, with guided breathing and a grounding exercise alongside it. Free, no ads, collects no data.

Common questions

How many breaths per minute is coherent breathing?

Around five to six. Five seconds in and five out gives six a minute, which is the usual starting point. Stephen Elliott, who named it, used a slightly slower pace of about five. An even rhythm matters more than the exact rate.

How long should you do coherent breathing?

A few minutes is enough to feel the pace settle. Ten minutes is a common session length. A short session you actually do is worth more than a long one you keep putting off.

Is coherent breathing the same as resonance breathing?

Nearly. Resonance breathing means breathing at the individual rate where your heart rate swings most, usually between four and seven breaths a minute. Coherent breathing is the name for breathing at about that pace without measuring it.