Cyclic Sighing

Breathe in through your nose, take a short second sip of air on top, then breathe out slowly through your mouth. The wave shows the double inhale and the long exhale, and the voice calls each part.

Cyclic Sighing timer

Ready 2 In 2 + sip 1, out 6 · press Start
Round 1 0:00

The session keeps going if you open another page; pause or end it from the player at the bottom of the screen.

Pattern (seconds)
Length
Guide

Listen as an audio session (5:16)

In 2 · Sip 1 · Out 6 for about 5 minutes, with the same voice as the timer, as one recording: press play and close your eyes.

Download MP3 (2.4 MB)

How to do cyclic sighing

Cyclic sighing is a double inhale through the nose (a full breath, then a short top-up sip) followed by a long, slow exhale through the mouth, repeated at a relaxed pace. It copies the sigh your body does on its own. In a 2023 Stanford study, 5 minutes a day of cyclic sighing raised positive mood more than mindfulness meditation did.

  1. Sit or lie down comfortably.
  2. Breathe in through your nose until your lungs feel comfortably full.
  3. Without breathing out, take a second short sip of air through your nose.
  4. Breathe out slowly through your mouth until your lungs feel empty. The exhale should be the longest part.
  5. Repeat at a relaxed pace for up to 5 minutes, or for just 2 or 3 sighs in a stressful moment.

How to use this timer

  • The sip is short: just top up the breath you already have. If your lungs already feel full, a tiny sip is fine.
  • Let the exhale be slow and unforced, through the mouth, until your lungs feel empty.
  • If you feel lightheaded, slow down and make the inhales smaller.
  • The voice and the mini player keep going if you open another page. Pause or end the session from the player at the bottom of the screen.

When to use it

  • When you want to calm down quickly: even 2 or 3 sighs can be enough to notice a shift.
  • As a daily 5-minute practice, the way it was done in the Stanford study.
  • After a stressful moment, once you have a minute to yourself.

Go easy, or ask your doctor first, if

  • You feel lightheaded (slow down and make the inhales smaller)
  • Slowing down makes you feel air hungry or more anxious (use the shorter counts)
  • Epilepsy (over-breathing can trigger some kinds of seizures, so keep the breaths soft and ask your doctor if unsure)
  • High blood pressure (keep following your treatment plan; slow breathing does not replace it)

Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, short of breath or anxious.

Questions

What is cyclic sighing?

A double inhale through the nose, one full breath and then a short top-up sip, followed by a long, slow exhale through the mouth, repeated for a few minutes.

Is cyclic sighing the same as the physiological sigh?

It repeats it. The physiological sigh is the double inhale and long exhale your body does on its own from time to time; cyclic sighing does it on purpose, breath after breath.

What did the Stanford study find?

In the study (Balban et al., 2023), 108 adults did one of three breathing techniques or mindfulness meditation for 5 minutes a day for a month. Cyclic sighing raised positive mood significantly more than meditation and lowered breathing rate more. Anxiety fell in every group, by a similar amount. The authors call it exploratory: it was small, fully remote and lasted four weeks.

How long should I do it?

The study used 5 minutes a day, which is where this timer starts. In a stressful moment, 2 or 3 sighs can be enough to notice a change; choose "1 min" for a quick reset.

Do I have to breathe out through my mouth?

That is how the study did it: in through the nose, out through the mouth. If that is uncomfortable, a slow exhale through the nose still keeps the exhale long.

Sources

  1. Balban et al., Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal (Cell Reports Medicine, 2023) (opens in a new tab)
  2. Zaccaro et al., How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018) (opens in a new tab)
  3. Cleveland Clinic: Hyperventilation Syndrome (opens in a new tab)