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- Coherent Breathing Timer30 × 5-5Five seconds in and five out, thirty times: six breaths a minute, the pace slow breathing research uses, for five minutes.Frontiers in Psychology
- Box Breathing Timer19 × 4-4-4-4Four counts in, held, out and held, nineteen times over: the five minutes Mark Divine asks for at the least.TIME magazine
- 4-7-8 Breathing Timer4 × 4-7-8In for four, held for seven, out for eight, four times: the most Dr Weil advises at one sitting in the first month.DrWeil.com
- Triangle Breathing Timer20 × 3-3-3LoadedThree counts in, three held, three out, twenty times: the three sides an NHS trust teaches, for three minutes of our own.Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
- Cyclic Sighing Timer23 × 4+1-8Two breaths in through the nose and one long breath out, 23 times: the daily five minutes of a 2023 Stanford trial.Cell Reports Medicine
- Meditation Timer1 × 10:00Ten minutes of sitting with one bowl to begin and two to end, the ten minutes Plum Village suggests.Plum Village
Where the three counts of triangle breathing come from
Triangle breathing gives each side of a triangle one part of the breath: in for a count of 3, hold for 3, out for 3, then round again. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, an NHS trust, teaches it in that form, and so does a 2017 post by Janine Halloran that has children trace the triangle as they breathe.
Source: Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Breathing techniques Source: Coping Skills for Kids Janine Halloran, Using Shapes to Teach Deep Breathing, 23 June 2017
No study we could find tests triangle breathing by name, and no source we found says where the name began. A count has no fixed length either. A University of Illinois handout for firefighters gives 4 seconds a side, and this timer runs 3 seconds a side, a second per count, which is ours.
The triangle breathing pattern
In, hold, out, 3 counts each, which this timer runs as 3 seconds: a 9 second breath, a little under 7 a minute. There is no hold after the breath out.
20 breaths take 3 minutes. The NHS trust says to repeat as needed and gives no length, so the three minutes are ours.
Picture a triangle and start at its bottom left corner: breathe in along the first side, hold along the second, breathe out along the third.
Source: Coping Skills for Kids Janine Halloran, Using Shapes to Teach Deep Breathing, 23 June 2017
Breathe through your nose if it is comfortable, and keep the hold soft, with your throat open.
This timer sounds a rising tone for each breath in, a falling tone for each breath out and a quiet tap for each hold, has a fullscreen key, and keeps the screen awake where the browser allows; it is free and needs no account. Keep this tab in front, because a browser may pause the sound of a tab you cannot see.
Triangle breathing sessions
These are our suggestions. Where one follows a published source, that source is cited under it.
- Standard
3 in, 3 held, 3 out, 20 breaths: the counts the timer opens on.
- Four seconds
The firefighters’ handout timing: set all three sides to 4 and Breaths to 15, which is still 3 minutes.
Load this session- Five minutes
33 breaths at 3 seconds a side run 4:57, for a longer sitting.
Load this session- Into a square
When 3 feels easy, set Hold empty to 3. The hold after the breath out adds a fourth side.
Load this session
Common triangle breathing mistakes
Clamping the throat in the hold. Stop the breath with the chest still open, not by shutting the throat.
Hurrying the sides. Each one is a full 3 seconds, so spread the breath in and the breath out across the whole count.
Pausing at the bottom. The triangle has no hold after the breath out, so start the next breath in straight away.
Keeping going when you feel dizzy. Stop and breathe normally; no source sets a length you have to reach.
Triangle breathing questions
What is triangle breathing?
A breath in three equal parts, one for each side of a triangle: breathe in for 3, hold for 3, breathe out for 3. An NHS trust and a 2017 post on teaching children to breathe, by Janine Halloran, both teach it this way.
Source: Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Breathing techniques Source: Coping Skills for Kids Janine Halloran, Using Shapes to Teach Deep Breathing, 23 June 2017
What is the difference between triangle and box breathing?
Box breathing adds a fourth side, a hold after the breath out. A University of Illinois handout for firefighters teaches both at 4 seconds a side, its square with that one extra hold.
How long should you do triangle breathing?
No source we read sets a length: the NHS trust says to repeat it as needed. This timer opens on 3 minutes, and setting Breaths to 33 gives just under 5.
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