exhale

A minimal cross-platform breathing overlay: a friendly indicator and reminder to take full, deep breaths while looking at screens.

Demanding work at a keyboard measurably changes how you breathe. In small studies, people breathed faster and mildly over-breathed during data entry, and forward head posture is associated with reduced lung volumes. Slow paced breathing is the breathing practice with the most published evidence behind it. Whether it counters that over-breathing is untested, and one study found it can add to it. exhale paces slow breathing for you with no sensor, no account and no telemetry.

The overlay is a translucent window that gently expands on inhale and contracts on exhale. On an X11 session it stays on top and lets clicks pass through, so it never interrupts whatever you're doing. Wayland has no standard way for an app to do that, so on a Wayland session exhale runs as a regular window you can move and resize.

Inhale, post-inhale hold, exhale, and post-exhale hold durations are all configurable. The default is 5 seconds in and 5 out with no holds, which is 6 breaths a minute, where most of the direct evidence was gathered. The range tested directly runs from 5 to 7 a minute. Box breathing (4 / 4 / 4 / 4) is supported too, though at 3.75 breaths a minute it falls below that range. Making the exhale longer than the inhale is a matter of preference, since the studies comparing ratios are split.

Every research claim above is sourced, alongside a list of what the research doesn't support, at https://github.com/peterklingelhofer/exhale/blob/main/docs/CITATIONS.md

Features:
- Translucent overlay that expands on inhale and contracts on exhale
- Fully tunable inhale / hold / exhale / hold cadence
- Five breathing patterns as one-click presets, with the current rate shown against the tested range
- Customizable colors, shapes (fullscreen, circle, or rectangle), and opacity
- Runs from the system tray: preferences, the research page, start/stop animation, reset to defaults, quit
- Global keyboard shortcuts for preferences, start, stop, reset and quit on X11 sessions
- Optional reminder notifications

Few side effects are expected from slow breathing. The timing controls also reach fast, hold-heavy patterns, where brief light-headedness and muscle cramps have been reported, so slow down or stop if you feel either.

Disclaimer: The information and guidance provided by this app are for general informational purposes only and aren't medical advice. The creator isn't a medical professional. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions about your health, and don't disregard or delay professional medical advice because of this app. Use is at your own risk.