🫁Breathing Exercise Timer
A free guided breathing exercise timer with an animated pacer — pick box breathing, 4-7-8, or Wim Hof–style rounds, set your rounds, and breathe along. Audio cues and screen wake lock included.
4 phases × 4 s × 4 rounds = 1 min 4 s session
Choose a technique and press Start.
This tool is a general breathing guide and is not medical advice. Box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing are gentle techniques suitable for most people, but consult a physician if you have any health concerns before starting a new breathing practice. Wim Hof–style breathing involves rapid breathing and extended breath holds that can cause dizziness, light-headedness, or loss of consciousness — never practise it in or near water, while driving, or while standing; always sit or lie down in a safe place and stop immediately if you feel dizzy or unwell. Avoid Wim Hof-style breathing if you are pregnant or have heart, respiratory, seizure, or other medical conditions without first consulting a physician.
Free Breathing Exercise Timer Online
Need to slow down and breathe? Our free Breathing Exercise Timer guides you through calming breathing patterns the moment you press start. As a clean, distraction-free breathing exercise timer, it paces each breath with a gentle animated circle and clear inhale, hold, and exhale prompts — so you can simply follow along instead of counting in your head.
Choose your technique: box breathing for steady focus, the relaxing 4-7-8 pattern, or Wim Hof–style rounds. Set how many rounds you want, and rely on soft audio and visual cues to mark every phase while the screen stays awake throughout. The pacer expands as you breathe in and contracts as you breathe out, making it easy to settle into a rhythm whether you're winding down, refocusing, or just taking a mindful minute.
Simply pick a technique and press start. No sign-up, no downloads, no limits — just a calm, guided timer whenever you need it. See the FAQ for common questions, or read more about the techniques and features.
About the breathing techniques
Box breathing (4-4-4-4) — inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. The equal-length phases create a steady, balanced rhythm that helps settle a busy mind and is widely used for focus and stress relief.
4-7-8 breathing — inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8. The long exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, making this a popular pattern for winding down before sleep or calming acute stress.
Wim Hof–style breathing — 30 or more rapid deep breaths followed by a retention hold on the exhale and a recovery inhale hold. The rapid breathing phase oxygenates the body; the hold phases are said to increase CO₂ tolerance and may produce a range of responses including tingling or light-headedness. This technique carries real risk of dizziness and fainting. Always sit or lie down, and never practise near water or while driving.
About the Breathing Exercise Timer
The techniques
Box Breathing (4-4-4-4)
Four equal phases: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. The symmetrical structure steadies the breath and the nervous system, and is widely used by athletes, military personnel, and anyone who needs to focus quickly or reduce acute stress. All four durations are adjustable; the classic 4-4-4-4 is the default.
4-7-8 Breathing
Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8. The long exhale relative to the inhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, making 4-7-8 a popular technique for winding down before sleep or calming stress quickly. All three phase lengths are adjustable from the default values.
Wim Hof Style
A round consists of a configurable number of rapid deep breaths (default 30, each 2 s inhale + 2 s exhale), followed by a retention hold on the exhale (default 60 s) and a recovery inhale hold (default 15 s). The rapid breathing hyperventilates the body; the hold phases are said to increase CO₂ tolerance. This technique carries real risk — see the safety section below.
Key features
Animated circle pacer
A circle smoothly expands over the duration of each inhale phase and contracts over each exhale, giving an intuitive visual cue that matches the rhythm of your breath. The circle holds at full or empty size during hold phases. Phase colour shifts between inhale (blue) and exhale (green) to reinforce the transition.
Audio cues via Web Audio API
Soft tones mark every phase transition — a gentle rising tone for inhale, a falling tone for exhale, a neutral bell for hold phases, and a three-note chime at session end. Generated via the Web Audio API so they play reliably even when the tab is backgrounded or the screen locked.
Screen Wake Lock
On supported browsers the timer requests a screen wake lock on Start so the display stays on throughout your session. The lock is released when you pause, reset, or the session ends. On unsupported browsers the timer and audio cues still work normally.
Adjustable settings
Each technique has its own settings panel. Box breathing and 4-7-8 expose individual phase durations in seconds plus a round count. Wim Hof exposes breath count, inhale/exhale speed, retention hold length, recovery hold length, and round count. Settings lock while running to prevent accidental changes.
Wim Hof safety — important
Wim Hof–style breathing combines rapid breathing (which lowers CO₂) with extended breath holds. Reduced CO₂ can cause dizziness, light-headedness, tingling, muscle contractions, or loss of consciousness. This can happen without warning. To practise safely:
- Never practise in or near water — drowning risk if you lose consciousness.
- Never practise while driving or operating machinery.
- Always sit or lie down on a surface from which you cannot fall.
- Stop immediately if you feel dizzy, confused, or unwell.
- Do not practise if you are pregnant or have heart, respiratory, seizure, or other medical conditions without first consulting a physician.
The timer requires you to read and acknowledge this warning before starting a Wim Hof session.
Who it's for
Wind-down before sleep
The 4-7-8 pattern is popular specifically as a pre-sleep ritual. Select it, set 4–8 rounds, and let the pacer guide you down.
Focus and stress relief
Box breathing is used by athletes and professionals before high-pressure moments. A few rounds can clear mental noise quickly.
Mindful breaks
Even a single round of box breathing takes under 2 minutes and can reset your attention and lower perceived stress mid-day.
Wim Hof practice
For those already familiar with the Wim Hof method who want a structured timer with an animated pacer and audio cues, with the safety acknowledgment built in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the breathing timer work?
Pick a technique, configure the phase durations and rounds, then press Start. An animated circle expands on each inhale and contracts on each exhale, while clear phase labels and a countdown guide you through every breath — hands-free. Audio cues mark each phase transition so you can close your eyes and simply follow the rhythm.
What breathing techniques are included?
Box breathing (equal-length inhale, hold, exhale, hold — default 4-4-4-4), the 4-7-8 pattern (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8), and Wim Hof–style rounds (rapid breathing cycles followed by a retention hold and a recovery inhale hold). All timings and round counts are adjustable.
Is this breathing timer free?
Completely free with no sign-up, downloads, or limits. Use it as often as you like on any device.
What is box breathing?
Box breathing uses four equal phases — inhale, hold, exhale, hold — often 4 seconds each. The symmetrical pattern steadies the breath, helps reduce stress, and is widely used for focus and calm before demanding tasks.
What is 4-7-8 breathing?
4-7-8 breathing means inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. The extended exhale stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and is a popular method for winding down before sleep or managing acute stress.
Is the Wim Hof method safe?
Wim Hof–style breathing involves rapid breathing and extended breath holds that can cause dizziness, light-headedness, or loss of consciousness. Never practise it in or near water, while driving, or while standing — always sit or lie down in a safe place, and stop immediately if you feel unwell. Avoid it if you are pregnant or have heart, respiratory, seizure, or other medical conditions without first consulting a physician. The timer shows a mandatory safety notice that must be acknowledged before starting this mode.
Will audio cues play if the tab is in the background?
Yes. Audio cues are generated using the Web Audio API, so they play reliably even when the tab is backgrounded or the screen is locked on supported browsers.
Can I adjust the phase durations and rounds?
Yes. Each technique has its own settings panel where you can adjust individual phase lengths (in seconds) and the number of rounds. Settings are locked while a session is running to prevent accidental changes mid-session.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. The timer runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is stored, sent to a server, or logged anywhere.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes, the timer is fully responsive. The animated pacer, phase labels, controls, and settings all fit the screen without horizontal overflow on phones, tablets, and desktops. On supported browsers, a screen wake lock keeps the display on during your session.