A science-backed guide to mindful breathing

If you’ve ever been told to “take a deep breath” during a stressful moment, know that this advice isn’t merely a platitude—it’s backed by science.

Research shows conscious breathing comes with a host of immediate and long-term benefits that include improved heart health, reduced anxiety, boosted mood, improved cognitive function, and better sleep quality.

“Breathwork is one of the simplest and profoundly effective tools we have for calming the nervous system and boosting physical and mental resilience,” says Guy Fincham, founder of the breathwork lab at Brighton & Sussex Medical School in England and co-author of breathwork research. “And yet, precisely because it’s so accessible, its power is often underestimated.” 

Here’s why mindful inhaling and exhaling can be so good for you, plus which breathing techniques are best and how to ensure you’re doing them safely and effectively. 

The long-term benefits of breathwork 

Emerging science suggests that how you breathe—day in and day out—can influence everything from heart health and mood to memory and sleep.

One of the clearest examples comes from the cardiovascular system. Diaphragmatic, or “belly,” breathing stimulates the vagus nerve. This nerve originates in the brainstem and extends down through the neck into many branches of the large intestine and other vital organs. When this nerve is activated through deep breathing, it sends calming signals throughout the body, helping to regulate heart rate, lower blood pressure, and improve circulation.

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Adjusting your breathing pattern can also subtly shift your body’s internal chemistry. “When you slow your breathing and gently take in less air, carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and blood rise slightly,” says Patrick McKeown, an advisor of the International Academy of Breathing and Health and the author of The Breathing Cure: Develop New Habits for a Healthier, Happier, and Longer Life. This is a good thing, he explains, as carbon dioxide is not just a waste gas but “acts as a natural vasodilator by opening up blood vessels and allowing more oxygen-rich blood to reach the brain and the heart.”

Since the vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system—the system that counteracts the body’s fight-or-flight response by triggering a “rest and digest” response—breathing slower and consciously can also ease symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, the longer and slower your breath, “the more you activate the calming effects of this system,” says Raj Dasgupta, a pulmonary and sleep medicine physician at Huntington Memorial Hospital in California.

Fincham agrees, as he has co-authored a meta-analysis demonstrating the positive effects conscious breathing has “on stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.”

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In 2017, Stanford researchers similarly identified a cluster of neurons in the brainstem that links the breathing control center with the brain’s arousal system. “This neural pathway explains how slow, controlled breathing can further induce a state of calm,” says McKeown.

That sense of calm isn’t only good for easing frazzled nerves—it’s also been shown to reduce cravings for food and addictive substances, suggesting a wider reach of breathwork’s regulatory power.

Reduced pain and muscle tension are additional benefits of intentional breathing techniques because doing so triggers the body’s endogenous opioidergic system, which is critically involved in the cognitive modulation of pain. That’s one reason deep breathing has long been encouraged during labor, athletic exertion, and military training: it’s an accessible, nonpharmacological tool for managing discomfort.

Similarly, breathwork can even reduce migraine frequency, muscle tension, and pain severity, says Helen Lavretsky, director of integrative psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

Improved cognitive function occurs as well as breathing techniques such as coherent breathing “improve communication between the right and left hemisphere of the brain and increase oxygen levels so the brain works better,” says Patricia Gerbarg, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at New York Medical College and a co-author of dozens of prominent breathwork studies.

Recent research even hints at breathwork’s potential role in detecting or influencing neurodegenerative conditions. One 2025 study showed how breathing impacts brain structures like the amygdala and hippocampus, both associated with focus and memory. It’s a connection that explains how “breathing patterns can directly influence cognitive function,” says McKeown. 

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Another recent study found that people with Alzheimer’s disease breathe significantly faster at rest than more cognitively healthy individuals. This elevated respiratory rate “may reflect underlying neurovascular dysfunction that could serve as an early biomarker for Alzheimer’s-related brain changes,” says McKeown.

Better sleep also occurs, Dasgupta notes, as breathing calms the nervous system and promotes the relaxation needed to release the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Breathing through your nose while you fall asleep and throughout the night has also been shown, both in recent and older research, to provide a better night’s rest. “Nasal breathing during sleep reduces snoring, improves sleep quality, and supports healthy breathing rhythms overnight,” says McKeown.

Effective breathing techniques and how to do them

So, what kind of breathing works best? That depends on what you need—a quick mental reset, support during physical effort, or a few minutes of deeper relaxation.

One of the fastest ways to calm the body is the physiological sigh. It’s performed as a double nasal inhale (the first inhale longer, immediately followed by a shorter second one on top of the first one), before exhaling through the mouth. “This technique can shift you out of fight-or-flight in seconds,” says Fincham. “It’s a rapid and reliable reset that’s also useful before a big test or speech or anything that’s got you nervous.”

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The pursed-lip technique is another exercise to turn to for quick calming or to push through physical exertion, such as lifting weights. It’s done by inhaling through your nose, then exhaling slowly through pursed lips, “as though blowing out through a straw,” Dasgupta explains.

If you have more time, several meditative styles can help shift your body into a more relaxed state. These include box breathing (sometimes called square breathing), coherent, quiet, and diaphragmatic (belly) breathing.

Box breathing controls your inhales, exhales, and breath holds for specific periods. “Breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for four, exhale through your mouth for four, and count to four again before repeating,” says Dasgupta. Note that the amount of time doesn’t matter, so long as the ratios are equal. “You could start with a 3-3-3-3 repetition but extend each second count out until you’re reaching a yogic one-breath-per-minute,” says Lavretsky.

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Coherent breathing is similar to box breathing, but without the breath holds. Inhale through the nose for six seconds, then exhale through the nose for six seconds. “The key is a conscious, connected rhythm with no pauses between inhale and exhale, just a smooth flow,” advises Fincham. Gerbarg agrees and calls coherent breathing “the safest, most useful, and most adaptable breath practice.” 

Quiet breathing is another option and is done by taking a soft, quiet breath in through your nose, “followed by an even softer, silent breath out through your nose,” says McKeown. “The goal is to breathe so lightly that it feels as if you’re hardly breathing at all—you should even feel a slight air hunger, which signals the exercise is working.” 

Diaphragmatic breathing can be performed in five- to 10-minute sessions, two or three times daily. It’s done by inhaling deeply and slowly through your nose, “allowing your abdomen to expand as you fill your lungs with air,” says Dasgupta. “Then exhale through your mouth as you allow your belly to contract.” Beginners should try this one lying on their back with their knees bent and hands over the belly to better feel each breath expand their stomach.

Dasgupta recommends practicing breathwork in a peaceful environment where you can relax fully before trying to employ the techniques in school, work, or gym settings. “If you feel dizzy or uncomfortable while doing breathwork, stop and return to normal breathing,” he advises.

Also, remember that “breathing should never be forced or strained,” ​adds Fincham. “The aim is to remove layers of stress, not create more.”