Breathing Exercise Timer

How Breathing Exercise Timer Works

This is a guided breathing timer: it walks you through a repeating cycle of inhale, hold, exhale, and pause, each held for a count you set yourself, while an animated orb expands and contracts in sync so you can follow the pace without watching the numbers. It defaults to Box Breathing (4-4-4-4) for 5 rounds -- a technique used by the U.S. Navy SEALs and widely taught for calming the nervous system before a stressful moment -- but every phase length, the pace, and the number of rounds are fully adjustable, so it works equally well for other patterns like 4-7-8 breathing or an open-ended practice session.

Formula & Method

Each cycle runs four phases in order -- inhale, hold, exhale, pause -- for the number of counts set on each slider, at the number of seconds per count set by Pace (default 1 second, so a count of 4 takes 4 seconds). The orb scales up smoothly over the inhale phase, stays expanded through the hold, and scales back down over the exhale, using a CSS transition timed to match each phase's exact duration so the animation and the numbers never drift apart. A phase with its count set to 0 (commonly Hold or Pause) is skipped entirely rather than pausing on a silent zero. The Rounds slider sets how many full cycles to run before the session ends on its own with a "Complete" message -- set it to 0 for a continuous, open-ended session that only stops when you press Stop. Your settings are saved in your browser's local storage, so they're remembered the next time you open this page -- nothing is sent to a server.

Worked Example

With the Box Breathing default of 4-4-4-4 at a 1-second pace and 5 rounds: inhale for 4 seconds as the orb grows, hold the breath for 4 seconds at full size, exhale for 4 seconds as the orb shrinks back down, then pause for 4 seconds before the next cycle begins -- a 16-second loop that repeats 5 times (with a "Round 1 of 5" style counter tracking progress) before the timer automatically stops and shows "Complete." Switching to the popular 4-7-8 technique just means setting Inhale to 4, Hold to 7, Exhale to 8, and Pause to 0.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Box Breathing?

Box Breathing is a technique of inhaling, holding, exhaling, and pausing for an equal count each (classically 4 seconds) -- named for the four equal "sides" of the cycle. It is commonly used to reduce stress and regain focus, and is the default pattern this timer loads with.

Can I use a different breathing pattern, like 4-7-8?

Yes -- the Inhale, Hold, Exhale, and Pause sliders are fully independent, so you can set any pattern you like, including well-known ones like 4-7-8 breathing (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8) or a simple equal-count pattern with no hold or pause at all.

How do I control how many times the exercise repeats?

Use the Rounds slider to set exactly how many full inhale-hold-exhale-pause cycles to run -- the timer counts them down, shows your progress as it goes, and stops itself with a "Complete" message once you've finished. Set Rounds to 0 if you'd rather practice continuously with no fixed end, stopping whenever you're ready with the Stop button.

Is there a distraction-free full-screen mode?

Yes -- the small expand icon in the corner of the orb puts just the breathing circle into your browser's full-screen mode, with the rings, orb, and text all scaling up to genuinely fill the screen rather than staying a fixed size with empty space around it. Press the same icon (now a close icon) or your keyboard's Escape key to return to the regular page.

Does the timer keep working if I switch to another browser tab?

The countdown and orb animation are driven by the browser's timers, so they continue running in a background tab, though most browsers slow down inactive tabs slightly to save power -- for the most accurate pacing, keep this tab in view while following along.

Is my breathing data recorded or sent anywhere?

No -- this tool has no login and no server-side storage. The only thing saved is your phase-length, pace, and rounds settings, kept entirely in your own browser's local storage so they're there next time you visit; nothing about your actual breathing or usage is tracked or transmitted.