When you start working on improving your mental health, it’s good to have ways to help yourself feel calm. There’s a really helpful way to breathe that many people don’t know about, but it’s super useful. It’s all about breathing in and out in a special way. This helps your body feel relaxed and can make you feel better when you’re upset or worried.
Square breathing is a coping skill where one breathes in deeply for four seconds, holds that breath in for four seconds, and then slowly exhales for six seconds. This coping skill works because the act of deep and intentional breathing can indirectly activate our parasympathetic nervous system (which slows our heart rate, among other things). By practicing this coping skill, we can start to control our breath, which helps us calm down when we are overcome by distressing emotions.
In this article, we will take a look at this square breathing technique, what it is, how to do it, and things to keep in mind when practicing it.
What is Square Breathing?
Square breathing is one of those coping skills that all of us therapists love to help clients practice. It is an awesome grounding skill to have because you can do it anytime, anywhere. To others, it will just look like you are breathing deeply. Overall, it is an important tool for stress management and is the foundation of somatic quieting. Some also call it diaphragmatic breathing or box breathing.
As we go through our lives, we are consistently respiring as a reflex. Our breathing is usually not a conscious thing. When we are stressed, our breathing can also subconsciously work against us by becoming more rapid and shallow.
With this coping skill, we are breathing deeply for a specific amount of time, holding our breath for a specific amount of time, and then we breathe out for a specific amount of time. Everyone has a different set of numbers that they use. As you may have guessed by the name, the original times were four seconds of breathing in deeply, four seconds of holding that breath, and four seconds of breathing out.
In this article, we are talking about how to use square breathing to cope with stress. For this, I usually suggest that people take a deep breath in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and then breathe out for six seconds.
Why Does Deep Breathing Work?
Square breathing is all about mindfully breathing, but why does it work? As human beings, we have all kinds of sensors in our bodies. Some of our sensors help us realize when we are in danger, and they help get us out of that situation (sympathetic nervous system). Others help us rest, digest, and relax (parasympathetic nervous system).
The primary nerve in our body for that parasympathetic nervous system (the one that helps us calm down) is the vagus nerve, sometimes called the vagal nerve. Basically, the vagus nerve starts from the base of our brain and continues down to our stomach area. It affects all kinds of things, but some of the notable things are our digestion, breathing, sweating, and heart rate.
By using deep, intentional, mindful breathing like square breathing, we can indirectly stimulate our vagus nerve. When we do this, there is an actual physiological response (a relaxation response) that slows our heart rate. This is really important when trying to cope with anxiety because that pesky anxiety can keep our heart rate much higher than we want it to be.
This relaxation response, which is indirectly initiated by using intentional breathing, is why this technique is so effective. This is also why it is such an important coping skill to learn.
Additionally, I have found that six seconds of breathing out is an important addition to deep breathing. It allows us to release as much of the tension we are carrying as possible while we breathe out. If you are interested in ramping up, like before lifting something heavy, a very abrupt exhale, like for 2 seconds, can allow for more power. Now that you have a little bit of an idea of how and why square breathing works, let’s look at how we can practice this important deep breathing technique.
How To Practice Square Breathing
Based on all the information I just dumped on you, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. I assure you, it is not NEARLY as complicated as it sounds.
Step 1: Slowly Breathe In For 4 Seconds
The first step in square breathing is to inhale for the count of four. This is going to be one of the most important steps. This is where we are indirectly activating that parasympathetic nervous system (vagus nerve and the relaxation response).
When I say breathe in and count to four, try to breathe deeply and intentionally, and not just take those shallow breaths that happen when we are stressed. If you have trouble with this part, it may be worth practicing taking deep breaths first.
The idea of practicing deep breathing may feel a little silly at first, but I want you to know that there are all kinds of people who “think” they are taking deep breaths, but they really are not. To engage the vagus nerve, we need to make sure we are breathing with our diaphragm.
A quick way to check if you are breathing with your diaphragm is to sit up and put your hand on your belly just above your belly button. When you breathe in, you will know you are using your diaphragm if your belly expands out.
So by the end of breathing in deeply for four seconds, you should notice that your belly is fully extended. At first, this will take some practice. But eventually, you will find that you’ll start breathing with your diaphragm out of habit.
Step 2: Hold Your Breath for 4 Seconds
The second step of square breathing is holding that breath in for four seconds. There is not too much to pay attention to in this step. I have heard that this can feel a little awkward for some people, though.
There is something odd about just sitting and holding your breath. If that is what this is like for you, you are not alone. If you are feeling a little silly or awkward holding your breath for four seconds, just acknowledge that is how you feel and move on. After some practice, it will come to you like second nature.
Step 3: Slowly Breathe Out For Six Seconds
The last piece of square breathing is exhaling through your mouth in a controlled way. Six seconds is a deceivingly long time to breathe out for.
If you find that you are having a hard time breathing out for the whole six seconds, you may be breathing out a little too fast. This is probably the most common thing people have trouble with.
This step is the hardest for people because it is so different from our normal breathing. When our breathing is shallow, we don’t take in as much air. When we take a shallow breath, there is not as much air to come out.
Keep practicing this step. It sounds silly, but the first step to taking control back of our mental health is gaining more control over our breathing.
Step 4: Repeat
The final step of all of this is just to repeat! The great thing about square breathing is that you are in control of how much you want to do it. There are no rules for how many times you “should” be doing it.
Personally, I usually say a good place to start is working through the cycle five times, bBut you are in control of how, how often, and how long you practice your breathing. The important thing is that you find out what works for you and your needs. If you find yourself getting discouraged, just remember that any effort you put in will help you better cope with whatever life may throw at you later.
Box Breathing Is An Important Base For Recovery
Box breathing is the foundation I build therapy off of. Master this, and you will be surprised by the progress you can make. You will be able to use this in many stressful situations.
After I go through square breathing with my clients, I typically begin practicing what is called “somatic quieting” with them. This is another way to practice self-regulation. If that sounds interesting to you, try the activity I do with my clients here.
Combining these skills will help you to refocus, to recenter, and to better control the stress in your body. After all, these skills are similar to those that are taught to navy seals in order to maintain peak performance. These skills are also commonly used by healthcare providers and other professionals in highly stressful environments.
Final Thoughts
Square breathing is an important building block for many practical coping skills. It is shocking how much just being intentional with our breath can change how we feel.
This works because it helps us indirectly access our parasympathetic nervous system, which biologically helps us slow down and relax.
If you are here, I am sure you have all kinds of goals you want to accomplish for yourself and your mental health. Just remember that sometimes we need to start with the simple things first, make sure we are doing them correctly, and then move on to the next thing. Square breathing is a go-to coping skill for many people, and I hope this article has helped you begin to practice it.
Until next time,
