4-⁠7-⁠8 breathing.

How to do it

1. Lie down or sit back, and breathe out fully through your mouth.
2. Breathe in quietly through your nose for a count of four.
3. Hold your breath for seven.
4. Breathe out slowly through your mouth for eight — let it be heard, like a long sigh.
5. That is one round. Do four, then breathe normally.

Four rounds take a little over a minute. It is often suggested to stay at four rounds at first and build up to eight over a few weeks. The counts are a ratio, not a rule: if seven feels long, count faster — and keep the out-breath about twice as long as the in-breath.

When it helps

4-⁠7-⁠8 breathing was made popular by the doctor Andrew Weil, who drew on the breathing practices of yoga (pranayama). Its long out-breath and slow pace make it a natural fit for the end of the day.

Use it in bed with the lights out, when you wake in the night and your thoughts start to run, or to come down after a long day. The hold is long, so it suits moments when you need to stay alert less well — then box breathing keeps you steadier.

What the research says

• In a small study of 43 healthy young adults, three short sets of 4-⁠7-⁠8 breathing slowed their heart rate straight away; in those who had slept normally, heart rate variability shifted towards rest.

  Vierra et al., Physiological Reports, 2022

• When 64 young adults spent 15 minutes each evening breathing slowly for 30 days, they rated their sleep better than a group who spent the time on social media — and their hearts showed more of the body’s resting activity through the night.

  Laborde et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2019

• Across 12 randomised trials with 785 adults, breathwork lowered stress compared with control groups.

  Fincham et al., Scientific Reports, 2023

Few studies test 4-⁠7-⁠8 breathing on its own; the second is a study of slow breathing in general. These are studies of the exercises, not of Halebloom.

Questions