What Is 4-7-8 Breathing?
The 4-7-8 breathing meditation is a mindfulness exercise used to decrease stress, promote sleep, and increase focus. It's recommended to start with 4 repetitions and work your way up to a max of 8 cycles.
How to Practice the 4-7-8 Breathing Meditation
When doing breath work, it's possible to get lightheaded so a seated position is recommended.
1. Start by inhaling through your nose for 4 seconds.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4
2. Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7.
3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7 and 8.
Repeat 4 more times (max of 8) to help regulate your nervous system.
Does 4-7-8 Breathing Actually Work?
The big question everyone wants to know: do breathing exercises like 4-7-8 work?
Let me answer the question with a personal anecdote.
The other day I was driving with my dogs to a park we like to walk. My phone started vibrating consistently on the seat next to me alerting me to work messages streaming in and family texts. I began to feel a familiar tightness in my chest. My heart started beating faster, I felt like I wanted to throw up, and I could imagine gray hairs forming as I felt my shoulders tense and stress rise. My thoughts were racing about all the work I needed to do, family in town, commitments I've made, and all the pressures I feel I'm under. With racing thoughts, I didn't know what to do, but knew I needed to collect myself. Having researched 4-7-8 breathing, I decided this was the perfect time to try. I ran through the meditation once, stressing about how I was counting terribly ("was that really 7 seconds?") inaccurate. Realizing that thinking was not helping the situation, I paused the breathing, then approached it differently. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. As I drove and focused on the road and breathing, I realized all the negative body reactions had decreased. The anxiety had eased and my heart had calmed.
I know I'm not alone in having these thoughts and feelings happen. I'll put it to the test more, but at this moment I'm very confident 4-7-8 breathing works. So give it a try and keep trying multiple times to figure out what you like and when you can utilize breathing techniques in your life.
