How to use it
- Pick a quick pick, or choose a pattern and a length.
- Press Start (or Space) and breathe with the shape: in while it grows, out while it shrinks, still while it holds.
- Breathe through your nose if you can, and let the out-breath be slow rather than forced.
- Feeling light-headed? Stop, breathe normally, and pick a gentler pattern like Coherent.
Why it works
Slow breathing with a long exhale is one of the few calming tools you can use mid-session. In a month-long trial, five minutes a day of exhale-focused "cyclic sighing" improved mood and lowered breathing rate, a little more than mindfulness meditation did; box breathing was one of the techniques tested (Balban et al., 2023).
Breathing at around six breaths a minute makes your heart rate rise and fall in larger waves with each breath, which is the basis of heart-rate-variability biofeedback; the best pace varies a little from person to person (Lehrer & Gevirtz, 2014). The evidence for 4-7-8 is thin: one small study saw heart rate and blood pressure dip right after a few rounds (Vierra et al., 2022).
When to use it
- Between rounds or on a respawn timer: two or three physiological sighs.
- After a loss that stings: two minutes of Coherent before you queue again.
- Before ranked: a few minutes of Box to settle your hands.
- When you can't switch off after a late session: 4-7-8 with the lights low.
Not medical advice. This is a wellbeing tool, not a treatment. If things feel heavy, talk to someone.