“Deep breathing goes against our natural human instinct, but it just takes practice.
Shiri T. Macri, LMHCYou take 20,000 breaths a day. Most of them you might hardly notice.
But what if you paid attention to your breathing even for one minute every day? You can easily incorporate deep breathing into your daily routine—-it can help make you feel better relatively quickly.
“Deep breathing is like a remote control for the nervous system,” says Shiri T. Macri, LMHC, our clinical therapist for Dartmouth Health’s Employee Assistance Program. “It’s a button we can push to gradually feel calmer.”
How deep breathing works
Focusing on deep breathing involves consciously inhaling and exhaling in a rhythmic pattern. Exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing, 4-7-8 breathing or box breathing can shift your body from a stressful fight-or-flight state to feelings of relaxation and safety (we’ll tell you how later).
That’s because your body’s autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions like blood pressure, heart rate and digestion, has two parts.
One part is the sympathetic nervous system that manages your fight-or-flight, or stress, response. The other is the parasympathetic nervous system that controls your rest-and-relax response.
Both parts are always working, but deep breathing can calm your sympathetic nervous system and put the brakes on your fight-or-flight response.
Deep breathing can help:
- Boost your mood
- Ease muscle tension
- Enhance focus
- Improve digestion
- Improve sleep
- Manage pain
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower heart rate
- Reduce cortisol levels
- Send more oxygen to your organs.
A 2025 study also found that deep breathing exercises can improve sleep quality, anxiety and depression in coronary artery bypass graft patients.
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What if your mind wanders?
If you’re practicing a deep breathing exercise but can’t focus, don’t worry, Macri says. With patience, you can train your brain.
“Deep breathing goes against our natural human instinct, but it just takes practice,” Macri says. “Prehistorically, we were running from a tiger or other predators. So as humans, we're wired to pay attention to everything that's going on around us.”
If your mind wanders while you’re trying to focus on deep breathing, Macri suggests to:
- Acknowledge your drifting thoughts as normal
- Instead of telling yourself, “I can’t do this,” stop the inner dialogue
- Mentally whisper to yourself, “thinking, thinking”
- Come back to focus on your breath.
Make it a habit
One way to add deep breathing to your routine is by habit stacking, Macri says.
Habit stacking involves using established habits—like brushing your teeth before bedtime—and attaching a new habit afterward so you're more likely to remember it.
Macri suggests another way to establish a habit is to practice deep breathing during transitions throughout the day.
Transitions can be from sitting to standing or walking from your car to your house.
Whether you perform your breathing exercises multiple times a day, once a day or every other day, Macri advises being consistent.
“Deep breathing is a standalone technique that can have gradual but quick physiological effects,” she says.
Getting started
How you can practice diaphragmatic breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing focuses on using your diaphragm to take deep breaths. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing means your stomach moves with each breath, expanding while inhaling and contracting while exhaling.
- Lie on your back on a flat surface or in bed, with your knees bent and your head supported.
- Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out, causing your hand to rise. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
- Tighten your stomach muscles so that your stomach dips, causing your hand to lower as you exhale through pursed lips. The hand on your upper chest should remain as still as possible.
4-7-8 breathing in four easy steps
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is based on an ancient breath practice called pranayama.
Make sure to sit comfortably with your back straight for 4-7-8 breathing. If you’re using this exercise to help you fall asleep, lie down instead.
- Breathe in silently through your nose counting to 4.
- After breathing in, hold your breath counting to 7.
- Breathe out heavily through your mouth counting to 8, making a 'whoosh' sound as you let the air out.
- Go back to step 1 and repeat the process up to 3 more times, for a total of 4 rounds.
Give box breathing a go
Box breathing gets its name from the breath having equal parts. Box breathing is also known as equal breathing.
To start box breathing, sit up straight and relax your shoulders and jaw.
- Breathe in slowly to a count of 4. Place your hands on your belly and feel it expand.
- After breathing in, hold your breath for another count of 4.
- Breathe out slowly and steadily through your mouth, again counting to 4 in your mind.
- After breathing out, hold your breath again for another count of 4.
- Go back to step 1 and repeat.
"It’s something we’re already doing"
With practice, deep breathing will eventually feel natural, Macri says.
“Breathing is a tool that we carry with us. It’s something we’re already doing all day long,” she says. “And we can start this practice with just one breath.”
