Tight box breathing exercise for a study session — when you have woken up too early

How it works

Four equal sides: 4 in, 1 held, 4 out, 1 held. Nothing else to remember. Waking too early is a specific kind of frustrating. This helps with the frustration. Stay with what you can actually feel.

Why it can help

The equal sides keep your breathing from drifting into the shallow, fast pattern that stress tends to produce.

The pattern, in seconds

One round is 10 seconds. At the default 4 rounds this practice runs 40 seconds — about a minute — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.

Good for

• when you are the only person awake in the house
• when someone has annoyed you and you need to not react
• when you notice your shoulders are up near your ears

Tips

• Try it once with a hand on your ribs so you can feel whether they are moving.
• Keep your jaw loose. People clench it without noticing during holds.
• If holding for the full count feels tight, drop every number by one. The shape matters more than the size.

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.