Use cases
Breathing for what, exactly?
Nine condition-specific protocols. Which one to do depends entirely on what you're trying to solve — and most generic 'breathing exercise' content gets this backwards.
Breathing for anxiety
Breathwork shows small-to-medium effects on anxiety in trials. One protocol with a meta-analysis behind it, one popular one with much less.
Primary protocol · 4-7-8 + resonance
Breathing for sleep
4-7-8 is the best-known pre-bed protocol, not the best-studied. What the sleep research actually tested, and what to skip before bed.
Primary protocol · 4-7-8 + extended exhale
Breathing for panic attacks
A panic attack peaks within minutes. The long exhale is the tool worth rehearsing, and here is what the trials do and don't show.
Primary protocol · 4-7-8 + box
Breathing for focus
Box breathing and resonance at 7 BPM for the first hour of the day. What the attention research supports, and where caffeine fits.
Primary protocol · Box + resonance 7 BPM
Breathing for stress
Acute and chronic stress ask different things of a breathing practice. What the research supports for each, and where it runs out.
Primary protocol · Resonance + box
Breathing for runners
Two different breathing problems: during the run and after it. What the trials show, including where they found nothing.
Primary protocol · Nasal + resonance
Breathing for anger
Turn the heat down; don't vent it. That is where 154 studies land. The long exhale for the spike, resonance breathing if anger is chronic.
Primary protocol · Physiological sigh + 4-7-8
Breathing for hiccups
The breathing tricks worth trying for hiccups, how thin the evidence behind each is, and when to see a doctor.
Primary protocol · Slow extended exhale + breath-hold
Deep breathing for the vagus nerve
Slow breathing reliably moves the heart-rate measures researchers use to index vagal activity. What that supports, and what it doesn't.
Primary protocol · Resonance + extended exhale