The Energizing Breath
Two seconds in, two seconds out. The only technique in the app with a locked length — it can't go past one minute, and there is a good reason for that.
4 min read
Take a lively two-second breath in through the nose, then two seconds out. Fifteen breaths a minute — above the normal resting rate.
Every other technique in the app slows the breath down. This one speeds it up.
What it is good for
Fast, even breathing lowers the carbon dioxide in the blood for a short time. That produces a feeling of alertness and liveliness — in some people it is also felt as a mild tingling or lightness in the head.
The effect is brief. Don't think of it as coffee: it is closer to splashing cold water on your face.
Why the length is locked
In the app this technique is capped at one minute and the slider doesn't go past it. No other technique has a lock like this.
The reason: when fast breathing goes on for longer, the drop in carbon dioxide becomes pronounced and can cause dizziness, tingling, numbness in the hands and around the mouth, and in some people a dimming of vision. One minute is enough for the alerting effect and short of those symptoms.
We lock the length because the reflex "that felt good, let me do a bit more" is exactly what's dangerous here.
How to do it
Sit upright. Take a lively two-second breath in through the nose — lively, not deep.
Breathe out through the nose for two seconds.
Keep the rhythm lively but unforced. When the time is up, return to normal breathing and wait a few breaths.
Common mistakes
Breathing too deeply as well as fast. Breathing both fast and deep speeds up the drop in carbon dioxide. Keep the breaths small.
Standing up straight afterwards. When you finish, take a few normal breaths before you move.
Who shouldn't do it
The app steers away from this technique in these situations: asthma or a respiratory condition, a heart condition, pregnancy, a tendency to dizziness. The card drops to the bottom and a warning appears.
It is also suggested for the morning, and it drops out of the suggestions at night with the note "not suitable for the night; it may keep you awake".
For users over sixty-five and under thirteen it also moves down the order, with a separate note.
How the app measures it
The windows are narrow: a two-second inhale, a two-second exhale. That is a demanding case for the detector — telling that an exhale has ended needs a short silence afterwards, and here that silence is very short.
So this technique has one of the lowest thresholds in the app, and the end of an exhale is decided by a silence condition together with a "fall from the peak" condition. These were measured and tuned against real recordings.