1:16
4 s inhale · 7 s hold · 8 s exhale = a 19 s cycle.
That is 3.2 breaths per minute instead of the average 18.2 (Barmer derivation). One cycle runs 5.8 times as long as an average breath.
The source's own dose (Barmer): 4 rounds, 1:16 minutes in total.
Ready
The pacer runs at 1 count = 1 second. That is an assumption, and we say so.
The address bar always carries the exercise you configured; the link is shareable as-is. No account, no app.
What your result means
The big number is the length of the exercise exactly as the quoted source doses it, not as an app would like it. Below it sit the pattern's phases, the cycle in seconds and what that does to your breathing rate. The circle breathes along in the same rhythm: it grows on the inhale, rests on the hold and settles on the exhale. We invent no precision the sources do not carry; wherever we compute or assume something ourselves, the page says so right there.
So the timer keeps three things separate: the counts from the source, our disclosed conversion into seconds, and the session length that follows. For 4-7-11 breathing the sources even disagree: AOK reads the 11 as repetitions, TK and Barmer as minutes. Both readings sit side by side, each with a name attached. And the address bar always carries the exercise you configured, so the link opens the timer exactly as you set it.
Where the numbers come from
Every pattern is quoted verbatim and archived as a copy. Barmer on 4-7-8: „Mund schließen und ruhig durch die Nase einatmen, währenddessen innerlich bis vier zählen.“ And on whether seconds matter: „Entscheidend ist dabei nicht die Länge der Atemzüge, sondern das zeitliche Verhältnis, das ihnen zugrunde liegt.“ Cleveland Clinic on box breathing: “four counts of breathing in, four counts of holding your breath, four counts of exhaling and four more counts of holding after your exhale.” And on the evidence we stay honest: the largest randomized trial on slow, coherent breathing (Fincham 2023, 400 participants against a placebo rhythm) found no difference on the primary stress measure: “there was no significant group by time interaction”. We cite no study that establishes an optimal session length, because we know of none.
How the calculation works
Open math instead of app magic: a cycle is the sum of its phases. Breaths per minute are 60 divided by the cycle, rounded half-up to one decimal. The session length is the source's dose times the cycle, or, for timer-style doses, the timer itself split into full cycles and a remainder. The comparison value comes from Barmer's figure of 3.3 seconds per normal breath. The pacer sets 1 count = 1 second, an assumption that stands on the page because Barmer itself declares the ratio decisive, not the seconds. And any chosen length that is not the source's dose is labeled as exactly that: our setting, not the source's dose.
All patterns at a glance
| Pattern | Phases | Cycle | Breaths/min | The source's own dose | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-7-8 breathing | 4 s inhale · 7 s hold · 8 s exhale | 19 s | 3.2 | 4 rounds | Barmer |
| Box breathing (4-4-4-4) | 4 s inhale · 4 s hold · 4 s exhale · 4 s hold | 16 s | 3.8 | 3 to 4 rounds | Cleveland Clinic |
| Coherent breathing (Resonanzatmung) | 6 s inhale · 6 s exhale | 12 s | 5 | at least 10 repetitions | Barmer |
| 6-3-6-3 method | 6 s inhale · 3 s hold · 6 s exhale · 3 s hold | 18 s | 3.3 | timer: 2 minutes | Barmer |
| 4-7-11 breathing | 4 s inhale · 7 s exhale | 11 s | 5.5 | 11 repetitions (AOK) or at least 11 minutes (TK, Barmer) | AOK · TK · Barmer |
Two examples
Example 1: box breathing after work. Four phases of 4 seconds make a 16-second cycle. The Cleveland Clinic doses 3 to 4 rounds; that is 0:48 to 1:04 minutes, shorter than a coffee break, and your rate drops to 3.8 breaths per minute.
Example 2: coherent breathing before a presentation. At 5 seconds per phase the cycle is 10 seconds; at 6 seconds it is 12; both sit inside the range Barmer names. With the source's minimum of 10 repetitions that makes 1:40 to 2:00 minutes.
Three honest notes
First: what these exercises do, the sources phrase qualitatively: calming, slowing. We invent no numbers for it, and the largest randomized trial on coherent breathing found no difference against a placebo rhythm. Second: the one-second count is our assumption; counting at your own pace is just as correct as long as the ratio holds. Third: if you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally. Exercises with breath holds do not belong in water or behind the wheel. If you are pregnant or have a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, ask a doctor first, not a browser tool.
Frequently asked questions
How does 4-7-8 breathing work?
After a preparatory exhale, inhale through the nose for a count of four, hold for seven, exhale audibly through the mouth for eight. Our source is Germany's Barmer health insurer, verbatim, starting with the preparatory step: „Einatmen und mit einem pustenden Geräusch durch den Mund ausatmen.“ Then: „Mund schließen und ruhig durch die Nase einatmen, währenddessen innerlich bis vier zählen.“ The source's own dose is four rounds. At one count per second that is a 19-second cycle and a 1:16-minute exercise.
What is box breathing?
Four equal phases, described by the Cleveland Clinic as “four counts of breathing in, four counts of holding your breath, four counts of exhaling and four more counts of holding after your exhale.” Its dose: “Repeat for three to four rounds.” That is 0:48 to 1:04 minutes at a 16-second cycle. The clinic also lists other names, among them 4×4 breathing, 4-4-4-4 breathing and square breathing.
What does the 11 in 4-7-11 breathing stand for?
The sources disagree, and we do not resolve that silently: Germany's AOK writes „Das wiederholen Sie 11 Mal.“ (11 repetitions, 2:01 minutes), while Techniker Krankenkasse and Barmer read the 11 as minutes, which makes 60 full cycles. The timer offers both readings, each with its source's name on it.
What is coherent breathing, and what does the evidence say?
Slow, even breathing at 5 to 6 seconds in and the same out; Barmer calls it Resonanzatmung. The honest part: the largest randomized placebo-controlled trial on it (Fincham 2023, 400 participants) paced coherent breathing against a faster placebo rhythm and found no difference on the primary stress measure. In the paper's words: “there was no significant group by time interaction”. Both groups improved. So this page promises nothing the evidence does not carry.
How many breaths per minute is normal?
Barmer puts an average breath at „3,3 Sekunden“, which we convert (our derivation, not a source figure) to roughly 18.2 breaths per minute. The timer shows for every pattern how far below that rate it takes you. The honest part again: our own sources disagree on the resting rate. TK writes „Ohne darüber nachzudenken, macht ein Erwachsener etwa zwölf Atemzüge pro Minute“ (about twelve). AOK counts „etwa 14 bis 18 Atemzüge“ for shallow breathing and names „nur etwa zehn Atemzüge pro Minute“ as the everyday ideal. We do not resolve that either; the studio's comparison value is the Barmer derivation, and it is labeled as such.
How long should a breathing exercise take?
We invent no duration; every default is the quoted source's own dose: 4 rounds of 4-7-8 (Barmer), 3 to 4 rounds of box breathing (Cleveland Clinic), at least 10 repetitions of coherent breathing and a 2-minute timer for the 6-3-6-3 method (both Barmer). If you want a different length, pick one of our own steps; longer practice is something Barmer explicitly allows for its exercises: „Nach ein paar Wochen regelmäßiger Übung dürfen es auch mehr Durchgänge sein.“
Do I count seconds or my own pace?
Barmer answers this itself: „Entscheidend ist dabei nicht die Länge der Atemzüge, sondern das zeitliche Verhältnis, das ihnen zugrunde liegt.“ What matters is the ratio, not the seconds. Our pacer sets 1 count = 1 second, which is a disclosed assumption, not a rule from the sources. Count slower if you like; keep the ratio.
Who invented 4-7-8 breathing?
Popular accounts credit a US integrative-medicine physician, but none of our archived sources documents the history, so we do not retell it as fact here. What we can verify, and pace, are the counts the sources publish.
What if I get dizzy?
Stop and breathe normally; dizziness is a stop signal, not a training goal. If you like, practice later with shorter counts at the same ratio. If it keeps happening, or if you are pregnant or have a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, that question belongs with a doctor. And exercises with breath holds do not belong in water or behind the wheel.
Do breathing exercises replace therapy?
No. The exercises here come from the health communication of German public health insurers and one clinic; they are not treatment and not medical advice. What the exercises do, we report exactly as the sources phrase it; we cannot quantify it, so we do not. If your health is the question, a doctor is the answer.
Sources
All sources retrieved September 13, 2026 and archived in the project. Barmer: „Richtig atmen: Fünf Atemübungen gegen Stress“. · AOK: „5 Atemübungen für mehr Ruhe und Entspannung“. · Techniker Krankenkasse: „Tief durchatmen“. · Cleveland Clinic: “How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress”. · Fincham, Strauss, Cavanagh (2023): “Effect of coherent breathing on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial”, Scientific Reports. The number-by-number mapping lives in our verification record.
Published September 13, 2026 · Last updated September 13, 2026 · Wild Garden Editorial Team · Last verified September 13, 2026 · Calculation tested against an independent reference implementation (171 test cases: every valid pattern combination exhaustively plus invalid-input probes, 0 mismatches) · 33 of 33 anchor values confirmed · 28 of 28 source citations verified verbatim against archived source pages; all runs in the verification record. Our editorial standards · Spotted an error? redaktion@wildgarden.io
Exercises from the health communication of German public health insurers and one clinic; not therapy and not medical advice. Every preset is the quoted source's own dose; our own assumptions and derivations are labeled as such.
More from the garden
You can find every calculator under Tools. Once your breath is calmer: the sleep calculator lays your bedtimes out in cycles. To turn practice into a routine: the habit calculator. And for the bigger picture of your life areas: the wheel of life.
