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About this tool
Follow a guided breathing pace with a visual timer, from box breathing to the 4-7-8 sleep breath.
Box Breathing Exercise is a guided breathing timer that paces inhale, hold, exhale and hold to a fixed count, with box breathing (4-4-4-4) as the default and five other patterns including relaxing 4-7-8, coherent 5-5, calming 4-6 and energizing 6-2-4-2. A moving dot traces the square for patterns with both holds and an expanding circle for the rest, so you follow the shape rather than watch a number. Set the session by rounds (2 to 30) or by minutes (1 to 20), and the timer logs sessions, total minutes and a day streak in your browser only.
Open Box Breathing Exercise on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Pick a pattern in the left panel: Box 4-4-4-4, Relaxing 4-7-8, Coherent 5-5, Calming 4-6, Energizing 6-2-4-2, or Custom, whose sliders set each phase from 2 to 10 seconds and accept 0 on either hold to skip it.
Set Session length By rounds (2 to 30) or By minutes (1 to 20) - the line underneath reads out the rounds, the seconds per breath and the total time - switch Phase tones and Second tick On or Off, then press Start breathing.
Follow Breathe in, Hold and Breathe out as the seconds count down - a dot walks the square on patterns that use both holds, and the circle swells and shrinks on the rest - with the round counter reading Round 3 of 8 above and Pause and End session below. When it finishes, That is the session offers Go again or Back to setup, and the Your practice panel keeps Sessions, Total minutes, Day streak and Avg session in this browser only.
Every preset says when to use it, so you pick by situation — steadying, sleep, everyday pace, wired, or a post-lunch lift — instead of guessing at counts.
Each phase change plays its own pitch, so you can close your eyes or look away and still know whether to breathe in, hold or breathe out.
If your system asks for reduced motion, the animated square and circle are replaced by a large count and a simple progress bar, with a live text announcement for screen readers.
Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, hold for 4, then repeat — a 16-second cycle with equal counts. It is taught to military and emergency personnel as a way to hold composure under acute stress without losing alertness, which is why it is the default here.
The relaxing 4-7-8 pattern: in for 4 seconds, hold for 7, out for 8, no second hold. The exhale being twice the inhale is what makes it settling, and the long hold gives a racing mind one boring thing to count.
Sessions here run from 2 to 30 rounds or 1 to 20 minutes, and the setup panel shows the resulting duration before you start — 8 rounds of box breathing is 128 seconds, a little over 2 minutes. Start short and lengthen once the counts feel comfortable rather than forced.
No — stop and breathe normally if you feel lightheaded, dizzy or get tingling in your hands or face, and never practise breath holds while driving, swimming or in water. Go gently and skip the holds if you are pregnant or have asthma, COPD, cardiovascular problems or a history of fainting or panic attacks; this is a general wellbeing timer, not medical advice, so check with a doctor first if any of that applies.