In a world that often feels like it’s spinning faster than we can catch our breath, anxiety has become a near-universal experience. From the surge in mental health struggles during the pandemic to the ongoing wait times for therapy, it’s no surprise many are looking for fast, effective ways to calm their nerves—without a prescription. A recent study from Stanford Medicine suggests that relief might be as close as your next breath, through a technique called cyclic sighing.
Breathing: The Overlooked Superpower
Breathing is one of those bodily functions we rarely think about—until it becomes labored or erratic. But as Dr. David Spiegel, a psychiatrist at Stanford Medicine, points out, breath occupies a unique space between conscious and unconscious control. Most of the time, it’s automatic like a heartbeat. Yet, we can also take the reins and shift how we breathe—an ability that can alter our entire physiological state.
Spiegel, along with Stanford neurobiologist Dr. Andrew Huberman and researcher Dr. Melis Yilmaz Balban, explored how a particular form of conscious breathing—cyclic sighing—can have surprisingly powerful effects on mood and stress levels.
What Is Cyclic Sighing?
The process is surprisingly simple. First, take a deep breath in through your nose. Then, without exhaling, take another small inhale to fully inflate your lungs. Finally, exhale very slowly through your mouth until your lungs feel completely empty.
That’s one cyclic sigh. Doing this for just five minutes a day has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve mood, all while slowing the resting breathing rate—a physiological marker of a more relaxed body.
The key element here is the emphasis on the exhale, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the heart rate and soothing the body’s stress response.
Breaking the Cycle of Anxiety
If you’ve ever felt your heart race after a stressful message or a surprise phone call, you’re already familiar with the body’s stress response. Your muscles tense, your breathing quickens, and your thoughts start to spiral. According to Spiegel, this reaction can quickly snowball—especially for people with anxiety disorders—fueling a cycle of increasing fear and discomfort.
But what if the cycle could be stopped not with medication, but with breath? That’s exactly what this research suggests. “When people learn to control how their body responds physically to stress, they gain a better handle on how to deal with that stress mentally,” Spiegel explains.
The Science Behind the Sigh
To put cyclic sighing to the test, the Stanford team designed a month-long study involving 111 healthy participants. They were split into groups to practice different breathing techniques—some focused on inhalation, others on equal-length breaths in and out, and one group on cyclic sighing. A control group practiced passive breath observation, a common mindfulness meditation strategy.
Participants tracked their moods using validated psychological scales and wore sensors to monitor breathing and heart rate. The results? All forms of controlled breathing improved mood and reduced anxiety more effectively than mindfulness alone. But cyclic sighing stood out, producing the greatest gains in daily positive emotions like calm, energy, and joy.
Perhaps most interestingly, participants in the cyclic sighing group began breathing more slowly throughout the day—not just during the five-minute sessions. This lasting physiological shift correlated with better mood, suggesting that this practice doesn’t just feel good in the moment—it may fundamentally rewire your nervous system over time.
Why It Works—And Why It Matters
While the science of breathwork is still catching up to the centuries-old practices of yoga and meditation, this study adds compelling evidence to the idea that the way we breathe deeply influences our emotional landscape. Unlike traditional meditation, which often takes 20 to 30 minutes to produce benefits, cyclic sighing offers a more immediate path to tranquility—perfect for busy schedules or moments of acute stress.
And the best part? It’s completely free, accessible, and can be practiced virtually anywhere.
Looking Ahead: Breath as Medicine
The researchers hope to extend their work to clinical populations suffering from anxiety and mood disorders. Future studies will explore brain imaging to understand how controlled breathing affects neural activity. If cyclic sighing proves effective in broader trials, it may become a go-to tool in the toolkit of non-drug-based mental health interventions.
“There’s growing enthusiasm for nonpharmacological ways to manage mood,” says Spiegel. “Breathwork, and specifically cyclic sighing, could be a powerful and scalable way to help people take control of their mental wellbeing.”
Take a Breath—Literally
Feeling overwhelmed? Try this: inhale deeply through your nose, take another small sip of air, then slowly let it all go through your mouth. Repeat for five minutes. You might just find that what you needed wasn’t a long therapy session or a new app—but the power of your own breath.
In a time when everything seems complicated, it’s comforting to know that something as simple as exhaling can help us reclaim a bit of peace.
