Mentis- Breathe in through your nose, then sip in a little more, then let it all out slowly through your mouth.
- One or two sighs take the edge off a spike. Five minutes a day builds a calmer baseline.
- In a 2023 randomised study it improved mood more than mindfulness meditation (Balban et al.).
How to do a physiological sigh
- First inhale. Breathe in through your nose until your lungs feel about full.
- Top-up inhale. Without breathing out, take one more short sip of air through your nose.
- Long exhale. Let it all go slowly through your mouth, about twice as long as the two inhales together. Shoulders drop.
- Repeat. For a quick reset, two sighs. For practice, keep going for five minutes with the timer above.
What the research found
In a randomised trial at Stanford, adults practised one of four things for five minutes a day for a month: cyclic sighing, box breathing, cyclic hyperventilation, or mindfulness meditation. All the groups felt better, but cyclic sighing produced the largest daily improvement in positive mood, along with a slower resting breathing rate (Balban et al., 2023). The long exhale appears to be what matters: exhale-focused breathing beat a practice that only trained attention.
The sigh isn't an invention. Your brainstem triggers spontaneous sighs every few minutes to re-inflate tiny air sacs in your lungs; researchers have mapped the neural circuit behind it (Li et al., 2016). Doing it deliberately borrows a reflex your body already trusts. More broadly, a 2023 meta-analysis of randomised trials found breathwork reliably lowered self-reported stress (Fincham et al., 2023).
When to use it
- The minute a day spikes: the email that ruins your afternoon, the comment in the meeting, traffic when you're already late.
- Before you reply to anything that made your jaw tighten.
- Coming home, before you walk through the door, so the bad hour doesn't land on the people inside.
- As a daily five-minute habit, tied to something you already do: after brushing your teeth, or on the metro.
"Two Sighs" in the Mentis app
The Mentis Work stress plan teaches this as "Two Sighs": two breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth, twice, for the moment a day spikes. A later activity, "Two Sighs, And A Name On It", adds one word for what you're feeling: naming the feeling as you steady the body. The Overthinking plan pairs the sighs with a short muscle-loosening practice for the hard minute. Each is practised on a calm day first, so it's still there a month later when you need it.
Prefer a slower, even rhythm? Try box breathing. Winding down for bed? 4-7-8 breathing is built for that.
Frequently asked questions
What is a physiological sigh?
It's a breath your body already does on its own, often when you cry or just before sleep: a full inhale, a second short top-up inhale, then a long exhale. Doing it on purpose is a quick way to slow down when you're stressed.
How long does cyclic sighing take to work?
A single sigh or two can take the edge off in under a minute. In the Stanford study, people practised for five minutes a day for a month, and the mood benefits grew over the weeks.
Is cyclic sighing better than meditation?
In one well-designed 2023 study, five minutes of cyclic sighing a day improved positive mood more than five minutes of mindfulness meditation. That's one study, and meditation has many other benefits. Pick the one you'll actually do.
Can I do it at work without anyone noticing?
Yes. Breathe in quietly through your nose and let the long exhale out slowly through slightly parted lips. In the Mentis Work stress plan this is the 'Two Sighs' reset, designed for exactly that moment.
- Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine 4(1):100895.
- Li P, Janczewski WA, Yackle K, et al. (2016). The peptidergic control circuit for sighing. Nature 530:293–297.
- Fincham GW et al. (2023). Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials. Scientific Reports 13:432.