Breathing Pacer

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Preset:

Preset selection updates all four phase values.

Inhale:

0–30 seconds; 4–5 seconds is a gentle starting range for many users.

Fine adjustment:

Hold after inhale:

Use 0 for no top hold; never force a pause that feels uncomfortable.

Fine adjustment:

Exhale:

0–30 seconds; shorten the cue if you feel air hunger or strain.

Fine adjustment:

Hold after exhale:

Use 0 for continuous breathing or a positive value for a deliberate bottom hold.

Fine adjustment:

Session length:

0–60 minutes; zero creates an open-ended session.

min

Fine adjustment:

Countdown:

Neutral default: 0 seconds.

Phase cue volume:

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Neutral default: muted. Start low when using headphones.

Cue pitch:

100–2400 Hz; inactive while volume is 0%.

Cue duration:

40–500 ms; inactive while volume is 0%.

Vibrate on phase:

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Prevent screen sleep:

The browser or operating system may deny the request.

Breathing rate

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Timing method:

Pace is calculated from selected seconds, not measured from your body. Stop or shorten the rhythm if you feel dizzy, breathless, panicked, or uncomfortable.

cycle = inhale + hold 1 + exhale + hold 2; bpm = 60 / cycle

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Phase share

How much of one cycle belongs to each active phase.

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The chart renderer is unavailable. The same phase timing remains available in the guide, phase share, and timeline.

Phase	Cue	Starts	Duration	Share	Copy
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Counting a slow breath is easy for a few cycles and surprisingly hard to sustain when attention drifts. A breathing pacer supplies repeatable timing cues so each inhale, pause, and exhale lasts as intended. The cue is a metronome for breathing, not a sensor: it describes the chosen rhythm without measuring airflow, oxygen, carbon dioxide, heart rate, or heart rate variability.

One breathing cycle can contain up to four phases. Air moves in during the inhale and out during the exhale. A hold may follow either phase, but neither hold is required. Zero seconds omits that phase, so continuous inhale-exhale breathing and four-part box breathing fit the same basic schedule.

Roles of the four paced breathing phases
Phase	Timing role	Comfort cue
Inhale	Begins the cycle while the visual cue expands.	Keep the breath gentle rather than filling forcefully.
Hold after inhale	Adds a full-lung pause.	Use zero when a top hold feels strained.
Exhale	Returns the visual cue toward its starting level.	Shorten it if a slow release causes air hunger.
Hold after exhale	Adds an empty-lung pause before the next inhale.	Omit it unless the pause remains comfortable.

The total cycle length determines breaths per minute. Two patterns can therefore have the same rate and still feel different. A five-second inhale plus five-second exhale and a four-second inhale plus six-second exhale both make a 10-second cycle, or six cycles per minute. Adding holds changes the experience even when the moving-air phases stay the same.

Named patterns are starting points, not prescriptions. Resonance frequency in heart rate variability biofeedback is normally assessed for an individual; a generic slow-breathing preset cannot find that personal frequency. Likewise, timing labels such as balanced or extended exhale describe selected seconds only. They do not measure calmness, fitness, nervous-system state, or treatment response.

Comfort is the controlling limit. Dizziness, tingling, breathlessness, chest discomfort, panic, or a strong urge to gasp is a reason to stop, return to normal breathing, or choose shorter phases without holds. Do not force a slower displayed rate.

Paced breathing is informational and is not a diagnosis or treatment. People with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, fainting history, pregnancy-related concerns, panic symptoms, or other relevant medical conditions should follow advice from a qualified clinician.

How to Use This Tool:

Set a comfortable cycle before starting the live session.

Choose a Preset as a starting rhythm, or select Custom. A preset replaces all four phase durations.
Adjust Inhale, Hold after inhale, Exhale, and Hold after exhale. Use zero to omit a phase and keep every active phase at 0.1 seconds or longer.
Check Current rhythm. Confirm the phase code and cycle length before relying on the displayed breaths per minute.
Set Session length. Zero runs until reset; a positive value times the breathing period after any optional countdown.
Press Start and follow the phase label and visual motion. Pause or reset when needed, and stop immediately if the rhythm becomes uncomfortable.

Interpreting Results:

Use the numbers as a timing plan. Target pace is calculated from the selected seconds, Phase code preserves their order, and Planned cycles estimates how many full-cycle durations fit in the chosen session.

A lower breaths-per-minute value means a longer selected cycle, not better breathing.
Balanced rhythm, Inhale-led, and Extended exhale classify the exhale-to-inhale timing ratio only.
The cycle profile is an ideal cue path. It does not show how the body actually breathed.
A fractional planned-cycle count means the session ends partway through the next nominal cycle duration; it is not rounded to a whole breath.

Technical Details:

The timing model adds each phase once to form one repeating cycle. Zero-duration phases disappear from the active schedule, while positive phases retain the inhale, top-hold, exhale, bottom-hold order.

Formula Core

Cycle length sets the cue rate. Session length changes how long the pacer runs but does not change breaths per minute.

T_{cycle} = T_{inhale} + T_{hold 1} + T_{exhale} + T_{hold 2}

bpm = \frac{60}{T_{cycle}}

N_{planned} = \frac{T_{session min} \times 60}{T_{cycle}}

S_{phase} = \frac{T_{phase}}{T_{cycle}} \times 100

For a 4.5-second inhale, no holds, and a 5.5-second exhale, the cycle is 10 seconds and the target is 6.00 breaths per minute. A five-minute session represents 300 seconds ÷ 10 seconds, or 30 planned cycles.

Rule Core

Breathing pacer validation and classification rules
Quantity	Rule	Meaning
Each phase	0 to 30 seconds; a positive phase must be at least 0.1 second.	Zero omits the phase; at least one phase must remain positive.
Session	0 to 60 minutes.	Zero is open-ended. Countdown time is separate from session time.
Countdown	0 to 30 seconds.	Delays the first breathing phase without changing the cycle.
Exhale-to-inhale ratio	≤ 0.75 inhale-led; ≥ 1.35 extended exhale; otherwise balanced.	These labels apply only when both inhale and exhale are positive and have no clinical meaning.
Audio cue	0% to 100% volume, 100 to 2400 Hz, and 40 to 500 ms.	Pitch and duration have no effect while volume is zero.

The allowed numeric extremes exist for validation, not as recommendations. A technically valid 0.1-second cycle would calculate to 600 breaths per minute and is not a sensible breathing target.

Safety, Accuracy, and Privacy Notes:

The pacer records elapsed browser time and selected settings, not physiology. Timer scheduling, background-tab throttling, device load, audio startup, vibration support, and wake-lock permission can make cues arrive later than the ideal schedule.

Keep the first session gentle, without holds if their comfort is uncertain.
Start audio at a low volume, especially with headphones.
Browser or operating-system policy may ignore vibration and screen-wake requests.
Selected settings can appear in the current page address; detailed session history remains local unless it is copied or downloaded.

Worked Examples:

Continuous slow rhythm

An inhale of 5 seconds and exhale of 5 seconds with both holds at zero produces a 10-second cycle and 6.00 breaths per minute. If that pace feels strained, shorter equal phases raise the rate while preserving the simple two-phase pattern.

Four-part box timing

Four phases of 4 seconds each produce a 16-second cycle and 3.75 breaths per minute. The low rate includes eight seconds of holding per cycle, so the comfort of the holds matters more than the number alone.

References:

A Practical Guide to Resonance Frequency Assessment for Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback, Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2020.
Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Physiology & Behavior, 2022.
Controlled breathing exercise, NHS inform.
Breathing, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Whole Health Library.

Breathing Pacer

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Breathing rate

Timing method:

Phase share

Introduction

How to Use This Tool:

Interpreting Results:

Technical Details:

Formula Core

Rule Core

Safety, Accuracy, and Privacy Notes:

Worked Examples:

Continuous slow rhythm

Four-part box timing

References: