How to use 4-8 breathing for a hospital waiting room, when you cannot concentrate on anything else (4 · 8)

How it works

Take 4 counts to breathe in, and 8 to breathe out. Keep the out-breath unhurried. When concentration is gone, work with what is left. Start with what's physical. Everything else can wait.

Why it can help

The extra seconds on the way out give your body a longer signal that nothing is chasing you.

The pattern, in seconds

Phase	Length	Starts at
Inhale	4s	0s
Exhale	8s	4s

One round is 12 seconds. At the default 12 rounds this practice runs 144 seconds — about 2 minutes — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.

Good for

before you open the email you have been avoiding
as a way to mark the end of the working day
when you have read the same paragraph three times

Tips

Count in your head, or let the circle on this page count for you.
Two minutes done properly beats ten minutes done while checking your phone.
There are no holds in this one, which makes it a good choice if breath-holding makes you anxious.

Please note

If holding your breath makes you dizzy or uncomfortable, skip the holds entirely and breathe slowly and evenly instead. Never push through lightheadedness. If you are pregnant, or manage a heart, blood pressure or lung condition, check with a doctor before doing breath holds.