Breathe
table of contents
The circle grows in 4 seconds and shrinks in 10.
Inhale as it grows and exhale as it shrinks. At least for 1 or 2 minutes.
The why
If you felt more relaxed it is due to the stimulation of the vagal nerve, the main nerve of the parasympathetic system. Activation of the latter decreases heart rate, in addition to other effects.
It only takes 6 seconds of exhalation and 4 seconds of inhalation to notice effects. But after several months of practicing this when I feel stressed and anxious, my preference is to do 12-4. According to personal observations, the longer the exhalation time, the more intense the relaxation effect.
There is a very simple app in the play store to carry out this exercise called Breathe, recommended. I have no affiliation with it. You don’t really need any to do these exercises, you could just use a stopwatch, but I found that visualizing your breathing in some way helps even more.