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4-7-8 breathing timer
In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. The long exhale is the whole point.
In 4 · hold 7 · out 8
1 min
This is the one people use to get to sleep. The exhale is twice as long as the inhale, and a long exhale is the most reliable way to tell your nervous system that nothing is currently chasing you. It is worth doing lying down, and worth doing badly rather than not at all.
How to do it
In 4 · hold 7 · out 8
- Lie down or sit back. This one is not meant to be done standing up.
- Breathe out completely first.
- In through the nose for four, quietly.
- Hold for seven. If seven is too long, keep the ratio and shorten everything.
- Out through the mouth for eight, slowly, as if through a straw.
- Four rounds. More than that tends to make people light-headed rather than sleepy.
Questions
Does 4-7-8 breathing actually help you sleep?
The mechanism is real: a long exhale raises vagal activity and slows the heart, which is part of what falling asleep involves. Whether it puts any particular person to sleep on any particular night is another question. It is free and takes ninety seconds, which is a good ratio for finding out.
The hold is too long. Am I doing it wrong?
No. Keep the shape and shrink the numbers — two, three and a half, four. The ratio is what does the work, not the absolute seconds.
How many rounds?
Four is the usual advice, and it is good advice. This is a strong pattern and more is not better.
What is Inwork?
A place to do the inner work — habits, journaling, meditation, breathwork and circles with other people. This timer is one small piece of it, free and open to anyone.
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