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Nearly every breathing practice used for sleep does one thing underneath the counting: it makes the out-breath longer than the in-breath. The patterns differ in how they get you there and in how much they ask you to keep track of.
What these sessions are
A lengthened exhale is the shared mechanism. Breathing in speeds the heart slightly and breathing out slows it, so spending longer on the out-breath than the in-breath tilts the balance towards settling. This is the piece with the firmest physiological grounding, and it is why so many named patterns turn out to be variations on the same instruction.
The counting is scaffolding rather than the point. Counting occupies the part of the mind that would otherwise be running tomorrow, and it enforces a pace you would not hold on your own. Different sessions use different counts because different people find different ratios comfortable, not because one is correct.
The tradition holds that the breath and the mind move together, and that slowing one slows the other. People commonly report that the effect at night is less a wave of sleepiness than a loss of interest in staying awake.
Whether these patterns treat insomnia is not claimed here. They are a way of arriving at sleep, not a treatment for not sleeping.
The sessions
8 sessions, 14 to 20 minutes. One session here is in the free tier and the rest need Premium. The table says which.
| Session | Length | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| 4-7-8 Breath for Sleep | 20 min | Free |
| Box Breathing for Restful Sleep | 16 min | Premium |
| Counting Down to Sleep | 20 min | Premium |
| Double Length Exhale | 20 min | Premium |
| Evening Heart Rhythm for Sleep | 20 min | Premium |
| Moonlight Breath | 14 min | Premium |
| Slow Deep Breathing | 20 min | Premium |
| Softening Into Sleep | 20 min | Premium |
Which one to start with
For a first session, take the shortest one. Breathing practices are more tiring to learn than they look, and a shorter session gets you to the pattern without the learning becoming the experience.
For going down at bedtime, the counted patterns work well: they give the mind a job on the way in. For waking at three, the sessions built on slow breathing without much counting tend to suit better, because counting at three in the morning can wake you further rather than less.
If any pattern makes you breathless or leaves you gulping the next in-breath, the counts are too long for you. Move to a session with a gentler ratio rather than pushing through. The pattern is meant to be comfortable at every point.
How to use them
Lie on your back or your side, whichever you sleep in. There is no posture requirement beyond being somewhere you can stay.
Breathe through the nose both ways unless the nose is blocked, in which case use the mouth and let the counts shorten to whatever is comfortable.
Let the counts go once the rhythm is established. Most people stop counting some minutes in and keep the shape of the breathing. That is the intended progression rather than a lapse.
If you fall asleep in the middle of a round, nothing is left undone. The session simply finishes without you.
What usually goes wrong
Forcing the count to a length that does not fit. A count that leaves you short of air at the end is too long. Every ratio scales. Keeping the proportion and shrinking the numbers preserves the whole effect.
Taking a big breath in first. Filling the lungs before starting makes the first exhale a release rather than a slow out-breath, and it usually sets off a few rounds of over-breathing. Start from an ordinary breath.
Practising it as an exercise. These are not training sessions with an outcome. Doing them attentively enough to grade yourself is enough alertness to keep you awake.
Reaching for the hardest pattern first. The more elaborate counts are not stronger. They occupy the mind more, which suits some nights and works against others.
The pattern kept for you
PanchPrana narrates each of these end to end, so the counting is held by the voice rather than by you. The same breathing patterns are also in the app as self-guided practices you can time yourself.
Who should take care
Breath retention, meaning any pause held after the in-breath or the out-breath, is the part of these patterns to take care with. If you are pregnant, or you have high blood pressure, heart disease, epilepsy, a hernia, glaucoma, recent surgery, or a respiratory condition such as asthma, leave the holds out and simply breathe out for longer than you breathe in. That keeps the mechanism and removes the risk.
Stop if you feel lightheaded, dizzy, tingling in the hands or face, or any tightness in the chest, and return to your ordinary breath until it passes. Those are signs the pattern is too long or too forceful, not signs to push on.
Anxiety that centres on the breath itself is common, and a practice that draws attention to breathing can make it worse rather than better for some people. If that is you, the body scans and the sleep stories reach the same destination without asking you to watch your breath.
Do not listen while driving. If sleeplessness is persistent, or you snore heavily and wake exhausted, take it to a doctor rather than to a breathing pattern.
See our full Health & Safety Disclaimer.
Common questions
Is this the same as 4-7-8 breathing?
One of the sessions is built on that pattern, and the others use different ratios towards the same end. There is a separate post on 4-7-8 breathing if you want the pattern itself rather than a narrated session.
Should I breathe through my nose or my mouth?
The nose both ways where you can. Nasal breathing slows the air and warms it, and it makes a long exhale easier to hold steady. A blocked nose is a good reason to use the mouth and no reason to skip the practice.
How long before it works?
Most people notice the settling within the session itself. Whether it shortens the time to fall asleep on a given night is not something this blog claims, and it will vary more with what is on your mind than with the pattern you chose.
Can I do these sitting up, earlier in the evening?
Yes, and it is a good way to learn a pattern without falling asleep in the middle of it. Practise sitting during the evening, then use the same session lying down at night.
What if counting keeps me awake?
Then use a session that does not lean on counting. Slow breathing without a count is a complete practice, and at three in the morning it is usually the better one.
