The Ultimate Sleep Hack – Box Breathing

how to box breathing

Have you ever been lying awake at night, anxious that you are having trouble falling alseep?

Everyone has been there – we’re going to teach you how to avoid getting stuck in that position again by learning the same technique the military, pilots, and world travelers have been using for years to quickly fall alseep anywhere they are.

It’s called Box Breathing, or square breathing, and it is based around the idea that you establish a standardized cadence with your breathing patterns in order to help reduce stress and anxiety or even fall asleep.

You do not have to be in any special location to benefit from box breathing. You can do it while sitting up, laying down, walking. It is useful any time you are looking to slow your heart rate down and begin to relax.

Here is how box breathing works:

The idea is that each part of the 4 steps of breathing will take 3 seconds.

  • Step 1: Inhale slowly and steadily for 3 seconds
  • Step 2: Hold the breath in your lungs for 3 seconds
  • Step 3: Exhale steadily for 3 seconds
  • Step 4: Wait 3 seconds before inhaling again

Other health benefits include:

The benefits of box breathing are both mental and physical. It is a recommended strategy for decreasing stress from the Mayo Clinic. This is because when we slow down our breathing it allows for the lungs to absorb more CO2 into the blood. As a result of the increased carbon dioxide in your blood, your vagus nerve is stimulated and helps produce the relaxing sleepiness that comes with continued use of the technique.

Try it out

It is easier than it seems. Check out this helpful animation below to get started.

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