14 ms·
Box Breathing
- koolba 10y agoIf you're ever in a "hold your breath" contest do this right before it starts. You'll crush the competition by a wide margin (assuming they're not doing the same) and be amazed at how many minutes you can go.
- gregschlom 10y agoNot sure that that would beat someone doing hyper-ventilation. Hyper-ventilating easily adds 1:30 - 2 minutes of time holding my breath.
- Swizec 10y agoJust be careful when using hyperventilation for diving. You can drown. Might pass out before you feel the urge to breathe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout That said, it's hella effective. Used it a lot as a kid snorkeling in the Mediterranean. Only swallowed water a few times.
- curun1r 10y agoThis is only because you're not able to recognize your urge to breathe for what it is...a buildup of CO2 rather than a need for O2. With practice in breathing exercises, you learn to recognize the start of contractions (in the diaphragm) as a stage in the breath hold that's typically around 1/3 of your maximum. With more practice, you can start to recognize more subtle symptoms of low O2...tingling in the extremities is the easiest to notice, but there's a few more. Hyperventilation is stigmatized in the apnea community because it doesn't increase the level of O2 in the blood. This can be measured with an oximeter...you'll never get above the 94%-98% saturation you achieve at rest while breathing comfortably. All hyperventilation does is purge CO2. During a breath hold, CO2 levels rise and O2 levels fall. The body detects the CO2 rise easily since the PH level becomes more acidic (carbonic acid). But if you've purged your CO2 from your body, it's entirely possible to run out of O2 without the buildup of CO2 being great enough for the body to register the change in acidity and trigger the urge to breathe. And running out of O2 underwater leads to black outs, especially in shallow water as water pressure drops fastest when surfacing those last 10m-20m. Source: I've practiced apnea/freediving for the past ~7 months and my personal best is 6:48. My training plan is to hit 8 minutes on my 1-year anniversary of beginning my training. Hyperventilation is counterproductive for me since I need to be as relaxed as possible during my holds. My current breathe-up is a 2-1 short to long breath cycle for about a minute then a 3/4 breath, full exhale and a full breath in. This is a slight over-breathe, but not enough to purge much CO2.
- gregschlom 10y agoThanks for the super detailed reply!
- Gracana 10y ago> And running out of O2 underwater leads to black outs, especially in shallow water as water pressure drops fastest when surfacing those last 10m-20m. Because people swim faster when they're close to the top?
- maaaats 10y agoWhen I freedive, I'm often weighted so that I'm neutral buoyant at -10m. So the last 10 meters I will start to float upwards, and thus go faster. But that's not the issue here. It's the pressure difference when ascending. > [1] Ascent-induced hypoxia is caused by a drop in ppO2 as ambient pressure is reduced on ascent. The ppO2 at depth, under pressure, may be sufficient to maintain consciousness but only at that depth and not at the reduced pressures in the shallower waters above or at the surface [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout
- curun1r 10y agoMaaaats' answer is excellent, but I thought I'd add one bit for non divers. When you learn to dive, the most fundamental fact you learn is that the every 10.5m you descend under water adds 1 atmosphere (bar) of pressure. It's customary to round that down to 10m to make the calculations both easier and more conservative. But the important realization from this calculation is that pressure changes more rapidly near the surface. Descending those first 10m doubles the pressure. From 10m to 20m only adds 50%. From 20m to 30m adds even less, 33%. And it's that percentage change that is most noticeable underwater. You have to equalize the pressures in your ears and sinuses most in the first 10m under water. And since pressure effects your body's ability to deliver oxygen to the brain, that rapid decrease in pressure near the surface when surfacing is where someone low on oxygen will pass out. This also explains another part of maaaats' answer. Since a freediver is wearing a wetsuit that compresses with pressure (and the lungs also compresses with pressure), their buoyancy will depend on depth. Being neutrally buoyant at 10m deep is a common practice for all but the most experienced freedivers. This means for those first 10m, you actually have to kick your fins to go down or else you'll just float back up to the surface. But beyond 10m, you can just let gravity take you down. And it works the same way coming up. You actually have to kick to get back to 10m, but once you pass that point, the buoyant force starts to help you get to the surface. Experienced freedivers might actually exert themselves less in those last 10m since they've got that assist from buoyancy.
- lgas 10y agoAny idea why that is?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- tbabb 10y agoIt's probably mild hyperventilation. Your urge to breathe comes from the CO2 content of your blood; by breathing heavily you deplete your blood CO2, so your blood can absorb more from your metabolism before the acidity goes up enough that you feel compelled to breathe again. It's a design flaw that your urge to breathe is connected to CO2 saturation and not oxygen saturation (the thing you really need); evolution has kind of assumed that the two will be inversely related. That bogus assumption can lead to the "shallow water blackout" scenario a few other sibling comments are describing.
- Fogest 10y agoYes, you are getting a form of hyperventilation as the holding of the breath like that is resulting in exactly what you're referring to. Often times in SCUBA diving and firefighting with SCBA's we refer to this method as "skip breathing". Some people teach to do it in emergency situations when low on air to try and conserve air, but I don't believe there is any backing that it will aid in that, it may even make it worse. However, the skip breathing can be helpful as it can be a decent way to relax. Most people say to do it to conserve air, but I think the real benefit is that you relax and therefore conserve air.
- TamDenholm 10y agoIf anyone is interested, David Blaine has an interesting TED Talk on holding your breath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFnGhrC_3Gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFnGhrC_3Gs
- drc0 10y agoTIL: The longest time breath held voluntarily (male) is 24 min 3.45 secs and was achieved by Aleix Segura Vendrell (Spain). How is that thing even possible? your body would work in an entirely different manner!
- kerneis 10y agoHe pre-breathes 100% oxygen for up to 30 minutes prior to the breathhold: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_apnea#With_pure_oxygen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_apnea#With_pure_oxygen World record without this trick is 11 min 54.
- SuperPaintMan 10y agoSame with Jenga. Half the reason the people I've played with lose is due to the sheer tension. Rhythmic breathing and a detachment from the outcome of the game to just focus on the damn tile is a fairly good way to wreck. That and locking your wrists/fingers.
- pmoriarty 10y agoI feel short of breath when I try this.
- mckoss 10y agoYou might want to see a doctor about that.
- f2f 10y agoyep. as someone who has suffered sleep apnea for a while once your oxygen levels get so low that you can't hold your breath for 4 seconds it's time to get checked.
- magic_beans 10y agoYou might be breathing with your chest instead of your belly. Try filling your belly with air as you inhale.
- cadu2 10y agoThis! Also, probably connected to bad posture, specially when sitting in front of a computer. My posture when using the computer is terrible and usually when I'm distracted, I slouch and kinda slide down on the chair, that makes my back arch forward and compresses my stomach. Since I'm distracted reading or gaming or something I just notice it when I already start feeling my heart on my chest, or slight discomfort or shortness of breath. I have health related anxiety and this has caused me lots of stress in the past (bad posture making me overly mind how heavy it is to breathe, or starting to feel my heart beat on my stomach out of nowhere and get stressed out etc). I've been focusing on sitting better when in front of the PC and correcting myself early when I slide down and the issue has gone away so quickly and in such a way that it even feels ridiculous to have been so stressed out about it. I truly believe our best friend and also our worst enemy is the self, so we need to get our feelings in control, and that means good breathing... and that can require you to better your posture :) The timing of this post was very good because I tried doing the breathing exercise 5 mins ago and while I didn't had shortness of breath like the poster above us, it wasn't calming to me either... I then corrected my posture, redid the exercise and yes, it did relax me quite a bit :) Good posture, mates!
- beeswax 10y agoIs this what "Breathe" on the Apple Watch tries to help doing? I never bothered to measure the intervals, so does anyone know if there's more to it? (the watch has access to heart rate and shows a current rate result afterwards; maybe it's adjusting heart rate goals over time?)
- sunkencity 10y agoOK I got calmer, but then I got stressed out! the blue circle is not in the center of the black ring.
- cstrat 10y agohaha every deep breath in I noticed that too... such a tiny thing but so distracting
- mkoryak 10y agoI didn't notice, but now I cant stop noticing. Thanks :P
- dfabulich 10y agoI'm just learning CSS animations and thought I'd do one that way. <body><style>.circle{border-radius:50%;width:30vw;height:30vw;margin: auto}.breathe{animation:8s linear 0s infinite alternate breathe;}.inner{background-color:teal;}.border{border:10px solid black;}@keyframes breathe{0%{transform:scale(1);}25%{transform:scale(1);}75%{transform:scale(0.5);}100%{transform:scale(0.5);}}</style><div class="circle border"><div class="inner circle breathe"> Or, as a data URI: data:text/html;charset=utf-8;base64,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 (Be sure to triple-click to select all.)
- 746F7475 10y agoI would leave a slight gap between the outer edge, it just feels claustrophobic when the blue and black parts touch. Also it needs some fancy speed up/slow down parts at the end of the exhale/inhale parts, it stops and starts too abruptly. Otherwise it's pretty bang on.
- simooooo 10y ago`That's it! Repeat for as many times as you need to calm down.` hmm.. you could apply that to anything
- rosstex 10y agoIncluding banging your head against the wall!
- yellowapple 10y agoDo that with sufficient gusto and you'll be calm in no time.
- taneq 10y ago"If <x> doesn't work, you're not doing enough of it!"
- bkanber 10y agoThere's growing evidence that breathing is linked to brain activity in interesting ways [1]. There's also the "4-7-8" breathing technique that is supposed to help you fall asleep faster. [2] On top of that, concentrating on breathing takes your focus away from other inner monologue and intrusive thoughts; meditation programs typically start you off on that path. [1] https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/12/rhythm-of-breathing-affects-memory-and-fear/ https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/12/rhythm-of-brea... [2] http://www.medicaldaily.com/life-hack-sleep-4-7-8-breathing-exercise-will-supposedly-put-you-sleep-just-60-332122 http://www.medicaldaily.com/life-hack-sleep-4-7-8-breathing-...
- rojobuffalo 10y agoThis is a pretty nice demonstration of how breathing affects focus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xc3XdOiGGI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xc3XdOiGGI
- DenisM 10y agoDid the 4-7-8 thing work for you?
- malingo 10y agoHere are a couple relevant studies: Resonant breathing biofeedback training for stress reduction among manufacturing operators https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23294659 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23294659 Effect of Fast and Slow Pranayama Practice on Cognitive Functions In Healthy Volunteers https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3939514/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3939514/ Both citations from https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/25kfkf/breath_of_fire https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/25kfkf/breath_o...
- agumonkey 10y agoI remember reading a long walk technique from middle east, where they would hold their breath a few seconds on each cycle. Supposed to augment your range significantly. I also found out while trying to hold my breath above 2 minutes, that slowly swinging my shoulders to massage my lungs would delay the feeling of syncopation. Maybe, mayyyybe, because it would help enforce more gaz movement thus exchange.
- visarga 10y agoIt's been known for thousands of years in yoga as "samavritti pranayama", or "square breath". The advice is to count on the finger of one hand. Inhale while stepping 1 2 3 4, Hold 1 2 3 4, Exhale 1 2 3 4 and Hold 1 2 3 4. All of this without mentally counting, just use your fingers to do the steps. It is recommended before meditation for calming the agitated mind. Another method is to count breaths in increasing cycles: 1; 1 2; 1 2 3; ...; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7;... Each number corresponds to one inhalation and exhalation. See how high you can count before making a mistake. This comes from Buddhism.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago>The advice is to count on the finger of one hand. [...] count breaths in increasing cycles: 1; 1 2; 1 2 3; ...; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 // Is this hand counted? Knowing BSL I can count to 0-19 with one hand using unique gestures. Is there an acknowledged way: knuckle counting, binary, other? I note one can get to 19 (from 1) by moving ones gaze from finger joint to joint if you include finger tips. Always curious to see alternate modes of counting on the fingers.
- will_pseudonym 10y agoYou could count from 0 to 35 in base 10, by counting in base 6 by using each hand to count from 0 to 5.
- anonaoeu 10y agoI find binary the easiest. You can get to 2^10 = 1024 easily.
- y0shi 10y agoI wonder what the next way to control your physiology (and thus your mind) will be. Something sexual even?
- ris 10y agoPoint of note: those of you who also have their animated gifs set to run once and not loop, you're only supposed to stay exhaled for 4 seconds. Don't do what I did.
- kristofferR 10y agoWeird, I was just playing Wolfenstein: The New Order today, where the main protagonist uses this technique all the time. I'd never heard of this technique before that. What's the phenomena called - where you encounter the same new thing multiple separate times within a short time frame?
- tominous 10y agoOnce is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time it's enemy action. -- Ian Fleming
- mappu 10y agoBaader-Meinhof phenomenon.
- freehunter 10y agoFun fact about that phenomenon: no one really knows why it's called that. Someone just picked what seems to be a random name and it stuck. It has nothing to do with the real life Baader-Meinhof group.
- pluma 10y agoI thought the reason for that name was that it was the original example: someone who had never heard of that group learned about it and suddenly noticed they saw it mentioned or referenced everywhere. EDIT: Source: https://psmag.com/there-s-a-name-for-that-the-baader-meinhof-phenomenon-e5bf3ea87cd2 https://psmag.com/there-s-a-name-for-that-the-baader-meinhof...
- kristofferR 10y agoThanks, that was what I was thinking of. :)
- sandebert 10y agoIt's called synchronicity. "Synchronicity is a concept, first explained by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, which holds that events are 'meaningful coincidences' if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity
- mindfulgeek 10y agoPlaying with your breath is the ultimate hack of the human mind. There are seemingly endless combinations of techniques that each have a unique physiological impact on the body. Use the right one at the right time and life flows smoothly.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- veli_joza 10y agoCan you give more examples or provide a source? The only examples I encountered are breathing cycles during exercise and stress-relief techniques.
- crehn 10y agoShameless mention of a related app that I built: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calmly/id998619858?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calmly/id998619858?mt=8 Struggled with severe stress and IBS during my youth; controlled breathing was really one of the only things that had an (near-immediate) effect.
- berryg 10y agoRelaxation has immensely decreased my IBS symptons. Wished that somebody advised me years ago that yoga and relaxation could be so beneficial to your body.
- imchillyb 10y agoI got a laugh out of this. You used a circle to depict "box breathing"; when you could just as easily have utilized a box.
- moxious 10y agoThis is such a hacker news response to a breathing and relaxation technique. Thanks for the laugh.
- re 10y agoHere's a CSS animation version, then, with illustration of the "box" aspect: https://jsfiddle.net/6937jx4L/ https://jsfiddle.net/6937jx4L/
- JumpCrisscross 10y agoSooo much better in so many ways. OP's had me anxious not to miss the transitions. The dot navigating the square communicates timing. Could you make into a GIF?
- bexp 10y agoArticle summary by AI bot http://hntop.org http://hntop.org Breathe in sync with this: This Navy SEAL breathing technique, aka box breathing or tactical breathing, is used to calm yourself down, a simple 4 second rotation of breathing in, holding, breathing out, holding. A perfect visual meditation for when you can't listen to audio, or just need a quick second to refocus. Use this image to help you keep time! Have a little more time, or have the ability to listen to audio? Try our guided meditation for beginners to help deepen your meditation and mindfulness habit!
- DanBC 10y agoYou might want to check with mods before you keep posting these. Here's what they said to one other project doing similar: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11607103 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11607103 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11537818 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11537818 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11538499 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11538499
- knezmish 10y agoI thought it was more important to have a constant rhythm to your breathing, not necessarily how long you inhale/exhale.
- init0 10y agohttps://breathe.now.sh https://breathe.now.sh add to your home screen
- init0 10y agohttps://breathe.now.sh https://breathe.now.sh add to your home screen
- vonnik 10y agoAny one interested in how changes in breathing affect their mood and physiology should check out Wim Hof: http://discover.wimhofmethod.com/sq/31699-welcome-to-the-wim-hof-method http://discover.wimhofmethod.com/sq/31699-welcome-to-the-wim...
- zmb_ 10y agoA word of caution about him: I spent some time recently researching into his method, and there were too many red flags coming up. These included not summiting and having to be evacuated in poor condition from mountains that he was claimed to have climbed (often the claims are not made by him directly, but also not contradicted by him). Having run a half-marathon distance while a full marathon is claimed. And acting evasive in interviews, while seemingly trying to hide it with excitement. On the plus side he does hold documented world records in withstanding cold -- although his twin brother that has not trained is also reported to have higher than normal ability, but I didn't find details about it. He has also participated in a scientific study about his method, although the results of it are exaggerated by his followers. The breathing method/trick itself is hyperventilation followed by long periods of holding the breath (a trick I suspect most kids will discover at some point). He claims that this somehow charges the body with oxygen and has various amazing health effects. As far as I can tell (without medical training), the actual effect is to suppress the CO2 level in the blood. This disrupts the automatic breathing reflex which is driven by the blood CO2 levels, allowing you to hold your breath for extended periods. This is the same method used by free-divers, and many people have drowned after passing out due to lack of oxygen (including people specifically following the Wim Hof method).
- vonnik 10y agoI support skepticism about things like this, but I will say: Wim is not scamming people. He's showing them how to do something that works to lengthen his breath retention underwater and the regulation of his body heat. What he does is similar to pranayama, and dissimilar to hyperventilating in that he's pausing between the inhale and the exhale, a lot like the Navy SEALS. Wim is not a great public speaker, and English is a second language to him, so what you see as evasion appears to me as a non-scientist trying to explain his experience in a language he hasn't mastered. If you are going to claim that people have drowned by following his methods, you should link to it. Wim and his website are careful to say that this breathing technique should only be done in a safe place, sitting down. And if people go into ice water they should be supervised. There is some scientific support, published in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) for a breathing technique that can affect our autoimmune responses. http://www.icemanwimhof.com/files/pnas.pdf http://www.icemanwimhof.com/files/pnas.pdf Briefly, sustained deep breathing mimics and breath retention stimulates the production of epinephrin/adrenalin and influences the autonomic nervous system. When he came to the Bay, Andrew Huberman brought him into his neurobiology lab at Stanford to run some tests on him. Wim is doing something that deserves attention, and his breathing exercises can help change your mental and physical state. You don't take his word for, or mine. Just try it.
- bobnarizes 10y agoI found an App which does a great job! Relapps - https://appsto.re/us/8PGcfb.i https://appsto.re/us/8PGcfb.i
- crawfordcomeaux 10y agoListen to "One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21" by The Flaming Lips and breathe with the background piano chords. Great for square breathing. For vortex breathing (in 3, out 5, no pause between either phase), listen to "Breathe (in the air)" by Pink Floyd.
- shripadk 10y agoIsn't this Pranayama?
- kranner 10y agoMany more related techniques in this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/188192.Light_on_Pr_n_y_ma https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/188192.Light_on_Pr_n_y_m...
- brocore 10y agoScience is verifying a lot of the value in breathing practices. Check out this article on a specific technique as a treatment for depression. https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2016/november/yogic-breathing-helps-fight-ma https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2016/novembe... The box breathing works because it slows the breath down and brings it to a standard rhythm. Think of it this way, every emotion has a specific type of breath. When a person is experiencing sadness, happiness, anger, etc. there is specific pattern of breath that can be observed with regards to speed, length of inhale and exhale, depth, etc. Emotion and breath are linked, and as the box breathing shows, it is a two way street. As emotions change, the breath does, but if we change our breath, our emotions do too. Have you ever been told to count slowly to ten when you're angry? Same principal.
- mememachine 10y agothis is not a solution
- stephengillie 10y agoThis is something I started doing in my teenage years, to help measure and equalize my breathing while running. Count 1-2-3-4 while inhaling, then 1-2-3-4 while exhaling - while running. After some time, I could only count 1-2-3, measuring my fatigue through lack of breath. I thought it was just something my odd self made up, and never knew this was a significant activity.
- flavor8 10y agoThere's a great app in the Android store that has a variety of breathing based meditations - Prana Breath.
- lngnmn 10y agoIt is nice to see a demonstration of the fundamental principle, described in the Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, in contrast to the cascades of bullshit of the Yoga Pradipika. Humans bullshit everything, painting degrade to the modern colorful Warkshok inkblots, music - to sophisticated noise, yoga became a method of hipster's public snowflakery. Philosophy - Hegelian nonsense, politics - vagina marches.
- digi_owl 10y agoMeh, breathing in or out for 4 seconds is at least 2 seconds too long for me.
- yogrish 10y agoNice way to get into focus on breathing. Mind is like a monkey, it keeps wandering. Keep it busy by asking it to watch or focus on breathing. De-stress and bringing emotions under control are just starting point of meditation. The next stage is achieved when we can do "Balancing breath". Our guru calls it "Gayathri sthithi". In this stage, both of our breaths (left and right nostrils ) are balanced. In normal conditions, either your left ( Ida or moon nadi) or right nostril ( pingala or surya) only has the air flow, based on your body type. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_(yoga) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_(yoga). When both the breaths are balanced, your sushumna Nadi is activated. This is when you could achieve Spiritual state and a fantastic experiences will unfold before your inner vision. I am yet to experience it. Our Guru, With his tough practices of Kriya yoga and other meditating techniques, could achieve this state and He can get into this Gayathri state at any time. This is THE ultimate state to experience the Universal source of energy. This is where every soul came from and will get into. As technologists we are materialistic and we are operating in lower dimension.The other dimension (spiritual), once opened/experienced, can answer any question in this universe. This is how RUSHIs and yogis could fathom universal truths with out any scientific tools, eons before our modern science.
- adictator 10y agoI wished this followed the 4-7-8 breathing technique. I have been practicing this for the last few weeks and it has been a really positive experience for me.