This App Helped Me Actually Stick To A Breathwork Routine

Forget 30-minute meditations and complicated visualizations. When you’re stressed, sometimes all you need to feel better is a nice, deep breath.

That’s what Breathing Zone is all about. This bare-bones app guides you through anxious moments with the help of a simple “breathe in, breathe out” audio track. According to Google Play, Breathing Zone is doctor-recommended, thanks to how soothing it is: “In just five minutes, you can start to enjoy the deep relaxation and other health benefits of slower therapeutic breathing.”

One Google reviewer said Breathing Zone has “just the right amount of functionality without being cluttered with features that you will never use.” Another wrote, “This is the app you need if you don't want to meditate and still have to reduce stress.” Consider me sold.

While the ideal, aspirational version of myself meditates every morning and again every night, the reality is I don’t always have the time or the patience for anything complicated. When I can’t carve out a true moment of self-care, it’s nice to know I can pause, open Breathing Zone, and release my stress in five minutes or less. Here’s my review of the app.

Fast Facts

• Price: Free
• Best for: Guided breathing, stressful moments
• My rating: 5/5
• What I like: Easy to use, free, customizable, helpful visuals

What To Know About Breathing Zone

Breathing Zone has so many things going for it: It downloads in seconds, doesn’t cost a thing, and is incredibly easy to use. When you open the app for the first time, all you have to do is hit “Start” and a two-minute guided breathing track immediately plays.

A soothing voice will say “breathe in” as a flower-like design expands to match your breath, then it says “breathe out” while the design shrinks back down on your screen. The visual is meant to guide you through a perfectly-paced cycle of inhales and exhales that help regulate your body and mind.

The simplicity continues from there. If you swipe left on your screen, there’s an Activity tab that tracks the week and how many minutes and breaths you’ve taken each day. With a quick swipe right, you can customize the app to your preferences.

That’s where you’ll choose the voice you want to hear — female, male, or no voice at all — the color of the flower, and the sound effect that plays while you relax. There’s a classic guitar strum sound, an Indian Bansuri flute, singing bowls, flowing water, a celestial choir, white noise, and a metronome tick. If you want peace and quiet, set it to “vibrate” or “off.”

The app allows you to choose the breathing rate — or breaths per minute — as well. That way, you won’t struggle through a too-long inhale or feel faint on a lengthy exhale. There’s also a Breathing Pattern option that you can change, whether you want equal in and out breaths, an extended exhale, or an extra grounding 4-7-8 breath, which includes a hold.

If you hope to take a moment to breathe deeply every day, you can also set your daily Target Minutes that range from five to 60. For extra support, enable the microphone on your phone, and the app will listen in and monitor your breathing. And, if you’d like, all the info can be stored in your phone’s Health app.

Trying The Breathing Zone App

Since downloading Breathing Zone, I’ve been opening the app whenever I need a moment to myself. With one tap, it guides me through a refreshing round of inhales and exhales that only takes two minutes — and just like that, I can carry on with my day. It’s the perfect mini escape when my schedule’s packed, and it always leaves me feeling a little more grounded.

I’ve been using it at my desk to reset in the afternoon, to chill before bed, and even while walking around outside. On a recent stroll, I popped in my headphones and focused on my breath, and it made my walk feel more relaxing. It’s amazing what a few deep breaths can do.

To customize it, I increased the breaths per minute to match my deeper inhales, switched the sound to “singing bowls,” and changed the color of the visualization to pink. While I appreciate a fancy meditation app with all the bells and whistles, the simplicity of Breathing Zone got me.

There’s no learning curve, no 7-day trial, and no tabs. The app didn’t even try to get to know me, the way many do. I didn’t have to enter my birthday, type in my email, or tell it my goals. All I did was breathe.

The Takeaway

Deep breathing helps with worry, stress, and overwhelm by calming your heart rate, encouraging mindfulness, and lowering your blood pressure. It all helps regulate your body so you can fall asleep, feel more focused, or ground yourself in the middle of a stressful moment. Breathing Zone may not be high-tech, but it’s super effective for helping you chill. I recommend keeping it on your homescreen for whenever you need a quick break.