How to Use Deep Breath

Deep Breath - Breathing Exercise

A petal animation guides your breathing. Follow the rhythm of inhale, hold, and exhale.

Breathe along with the petals

Open the app and match your breathing to the petal animation. Inhale, hold, exhale - the shape tells you which phase you are in, so you don’t have to count.

Pick a breathing pattern

Five presets are built in, including 4-7-8 breathing and box breathing. If none of them fit, set your own pattern with custom timings (Plus).

What is 4-7-8 breathing?

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7, and breathe out slowly for 8. The pattern was popularized by Dr. Andrew Weil. Each breath takes 19 seconds, so you breathe far less often than usual, and the long exhale helps you slow down. Many people use it to wind down before sleep or to settle when they feel anxious. Pick the 4-7-8 preset and the petals keep the count for you.

Choose how long to sit

A session runs from one minute to as long as you want. Add one of 17 ambient sounds (nature, water, melody, or space) if silence isn’t what you need. One sound in each group is free; Plus unlocks them all.

Build the habit

Session history and a heatmap calendar show the days you showed up, and streak tracking keeps the run going. Set reminders for the times and days that suit you.

Good to know

• On iPhone, the Dynamic Island shows your progress, and if you turn on Apple Health in Settings, each session is recorded as Mindful Minutes.
• The app has no ads. The five presets, every session length, history, and reminders are free.
• Deep Breath Plus is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It adds guidance that keeps going with the screen off, every ambient sound, your own breathing pattern, widgets, and the Apple Watch app.
• If you used Deep Breath before Plus arrived, you keep the Plus features for free.
• Dark mode is supported.