The research, at a glance.
Eight sources on breathing, attention, mood and flow, including where they found nothing.
What the studies say on 13 questions.
Supports
- Attention errors
- Distraction after a break
- Positive mood
- Stress and mood, reported
- Heart rate variability, EEG alpha
Linked only
- Flow and deeper breathing
- Natural breathing and brain activity
- Mental load and breathing rate
No effect
- Felt engagement
- Inhibitory control
- Anxiety, compared with meditation
Untested
- Flow from a breathing break
- Breathside itself
Slower breathing, fewer wrong clicks.
Each dot is 1 of every 100 expected clicks. Colored dots were wrong.
Experiment 1, 54 people
Experiment 2, 48 people
Group averages, dots rounded. Exploratory analysis in a preprint; scores varied widely and timing did not differ. Andrews et al., 2024
More mood lift than mindfulness.
Positive mood, daily change in points on a 10–50 scale.
108 adults, 5 minutes a day, 28 days. Of the three techniques, only cyclic sighing was significantly above mindfulness. Anxiety did not differ. Balban et al., 2023
Attention held after a breathing break.
Capture by irrelevant cues, before and after 15 minutes. Up means more distracted.
60 knowledge workers. Effect sizes (d), not time. Fast breathing, not a Breathside rhythm. Felt engagement did not differ. Preprint. Dael et al., 2026
Flow and deeper breathing go together.
Higher reported flow went with deeper breathing in professional pianists.
Illustration, not study data. A correlation. de Manzano et al., 2010
Breathing syncs with deep brain regions.
Natural breathing synchronized activity in deep brain regions, and memory was better on the inhale.
Illustration, not study data. Natural breathing, not an exercise. Zelano et al., 2016
The three rhythms in the 0.2.0 download fall in the slow range studied.
Breaths a minute.
None of these studies tested Breathside. Zaccaro et al., 2018 Andrews et al., 2024
Harder tasks raise breathing rate.
54 experiments reviewed. Mentally demanding tasks generally raised breathing rate.
Each dot is one experiment. Waves are illustration, not study data. Grassmann et al., 2016
No study we found shows a breathing break produces flow or improves brain function. None tested Breathside.
Get the free Mac previewEvery measurement, in a table
| Measured | Result | Source | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flow | Higher reported flow went with deeper breathing | de Manzano, 2010Professional pianists | Correlation |
| Flow from a breathing break | We found no study testing this | — | Not tested |
| Brain activity | Natural breathing synchronized activity in the amygdala and hippocampus | Zelano, 2016Recordings inside the brain | Natural breathing only |
| Heart rate variability, EEG alpha | Higher during breathing under 10 breaths a minute; methods varied and some results conflicted | Zaccaro, 2018Review of 15 studies | Supports, weak methods |
| Attention errors | Fewer errors with 6–9 breaths a minute; no change in timing | Andrews, 2024Preprint, 102 people | Supports |
| Distraction after a work break | Rose after a podcast (d = 0.55), no significant change after fast breathwork | Dael, 2026Preprint, 60 knowledge workers | Supports, fast breathing |
| Felt engagement after a break | No difference between breathwork and podcast | Dael, 2026Preprint, 60 knowledge workers | No effect |
| Inhibitory control | No improvement on a Go/NoGo task in Study 1 | 2025 randomized study195 students | No effect |
| Stress and mood, reported | Lower stress and better mood after brief slow breathing | 2025 randomized study195 students | Supports |
| Positive mood | +1.91 with breathwork, +1.22 with mindfulness, per session | Balban, 2023108 adults | Supports |
| Anxiety, negative mood | Both groups improved, with no difference between them | Balban, 2023108 adults | No difference |
| Breathing rate under mental load | Harder mental tasks generally raised breathing rate | Grassmann, 2016Review of 54 experiments | Observed |
| Breathside itself | No study has tested the app | — | Not tested |
The 2025 finding is summarized from the publisher’s abstract. Individual experiences vary.