Breathing exercises at work: small breaks for your workday

Four moments in your workday

These four moments are a good fit for a short breathing break. The suggestions sum up the studies further down:

1. Before a call or meeting: two to five minutes with a long exhale, about 3 seconds in and 6 out.
2. After a stressful email: one minute of sighing, two breaths in and one long breath out.
3. In the afternoon slump: get up and walk for five minutes. The evidence for that is better than for breathing.
4. At the end of the day: three calm minutes of breathing, then close your laptop.

Watch again

• Before a call or meeting: Before a simulated job interview speech, five minutes of breathing with a long exhale dampened the rise in heart rate and tension. Thinking performance afterward wasn’t better, though.¹ The most discreet version: keep breathing normally and take one long exhale every 30 seconds. That’s also how this study did it.
• After a stressful email: One minute of cyclic sighing, two breaths in through your nose and one long breath out, reduced tension in 47 students in daily life more than doing nothing. In an attention test, though, they reacted a bit more slowly afterward. It was a pilot study.² You’ll find how the sigh works in the article on the physiological sigh.
• In the afternoon slump: People who walked for five minutes every hour during a long day of sitting were in a better mood and less tired at the end of the day.³ A 20-minute breathing exercise lying down didn’t help with mental fatigue any more than resting quietly; only mood was a little better afterward.⁴
• At the end of the day: People who can mentally switch off after work are less exhausted on average.⁵ A fixed transition, like three calm minutes and then closing the laptop, may help with that. No study has tested such a ritual, though.

One minute at your desk

This exercise has no holds, and nobody will notice it. Breathe in quietly through your nose for 3 seconds and out slowly for 6, with your eyes open. In nowa, this pattern is called Quick Breath.

One minute at your desk

3 seconds in, 6 seconds out, eyes open

Breathe along

Slow doesn’t mean deep. In a study with 46 students, carbon dioxide dropped only about half as much during slow breathing when they were asked not to breathe excessively deep, and they had fewer symptoms.⁶ That fits the desk especially well: during mental work, people tend to breathe faster and a little more than they need anyway.⁷

What studies show

There are only a few small studies on breathing exercises at work, most of them with a single session in a lab:

• After stress: 75 employees recovered after computer tasks and annoying film clips. Those who breathed with an app at six breaths per minute for five minutes had higher heart rate variability afterward than after a body scan or sitting still. The app company was involved in the study.⁸
• In a simulated office: In 80 students, five minutes of slow breathing guided by a light strip at the screen raised heart rate variability after stress tests more than passive rest. But felt stress dropped equally in both cases.⁹
• Before a concentration task: In 48 participants, five minutes of slow breathing changed neither muscle tension nor performance on a concentration test on average. Fast breathing was the least popular option.¹⁰
• Over six weeks: In a study with employees of the state theaters in Stuttgart, Germany, daily breathing training with biofeedback was no better than the waitlist. All groups were less stressed at the end, including the people on the waitlist.¹¹
• Short breaks in general: An analysis of 19 studies found that breaks of up to ten minutes give you a bit more energy and make you a bit less tired. Whether you get more done because of them couldn’t be shown with certainty.¹²

In one study, five minutes were enough for the measurable effect on heart rate variability; longer sessions didn’t add more.¹³ These studies tested the technique, not the nowa app. Bottom line: a short breathing break can dampen the stress response, and it feels good. None of these studies promises better performance.

What people say about breathing at work

• “We hold our breath at the screen.” The term “email apnea” comes from a 2008 blog post based on observations without any measurements.¹⁴ There’s no study on it. A review of 54 studies found rather the opposite during mental work: faster breathing and slight overbreathing.⁷
• “A breathing break makes you X percent more productive.” I couldn’t find a study behind numbers like these. On average, short breaks didn’t reliably improve performance.¹²
• “Breathing beats coffee.” Nobody has compared them. The only study I found tested breathing on top of caffeine, with 15 esports players.¹⁵
• “Breaks between meetings are proven to lower stress.” The often-cited Microsoft study is a company report with 14 people, not peer reviewed, and the breaks were spent meditating, not breathing.¹⁶
• “Slouching takes your breath away.” In a strongly slumped posture, values during maximal breathing dropped by about 7 to 9 percent.¹⁷ For calm breathing at your desk, no downside has been shown. Sitting up is an invitation, not a rule.

What breathing exercises don’t replace

A breathing break is something for you. Manageable work and real breaks are your employer’s job. In Germany, for example, employers have to assess psychological stress at work, too, and make sure computer work is interrupted by other tasks or regular recovery time.^{18, 19} I haven’t checked the rules in other countries.

Frequently asked questions

What breathing exercise can I do discreetly at my desk?

A slow one with a longer exhale, quiet, with your eyes open, and without long holds. That’s also how most studies did it.^{1, 9}

How long do I need to breathe?

In a pilot study, one minute was enough for a little less tension.² For the measurable effect on heart rate variability, five minutes were enough; 20 didn’t add more.¹³

Is screen apnea real?

There’s no study showing it. The term comes from a 2008 blog post.¹⁴ During mental work, researchers have measured faster breathing instead.⁷

What helps with the afternoon slump?

Getting up and walking for a bit has better evidence than a breathing exercise.^{3, 4} Afterward, you can still take a few calm breaths sitting down.

Do breathing breaks make you more productive?

That isn’t reliably shown. On average, short breaks give you a bit more energy, but performance didn’t clearly improve.¹²

Can I do box breathing at work?

Yes. Before a simulated speech, it worked about as well as a long exhale.¹ The holds make it a bit more effortful and more noticeable, though. You’ll find how it works in the article on box breathing.

Can I practice on my commute?

On a train or bus, yes. Never while driving, and no breath holds at the wheel either. In the car, only once you’ve parked.