How to use
Three routines, five minutes each
Pick the routine that matches how you feel right now. Sit or lie comfortably, breathe through your nose if you can, and follow the shape.
Which pattern to choose
| Pattern | Timing (seconds) | Breaths / min | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calm | 5 in · 6 out | 5.5 | Everyday stress, before a meeting or exam |
| Sigh | 3 in · 1.5 sip · 7 out · 1 rest | 4.8 | Low mood, feeling tense or overwhelmed |
| Sleep | 4 in · 7 hold · 8 out | 3.2 | Winding down in bed |
| Box | 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 | 3.8 | Steadying focus when anxious |
| Let go | 4 in · 8 out | 5.0 | Releasing tension, a gentler bedtime option |
If a pattern feels hard, make it shorter with the sliders. Breathing should feel easy. Straining or feeling dizzy means the pace is too slow for you right now.
Quick start
Short on time? The four buttons above the breathing area set everything for you and start straight away:
- Calm down: 3 minutes of slow, even breathing.
- Lift my mood: 5 minutes of cyclic sighing with the sunflower shape.
- Before an exam: 4 minutes of box breathing to steady your focus.
- Can’t sleep: 10 minutes with a long exhale, warm colors, ocean sound and eyes-closed mode.
Background sounds (rain, ocean or wind) are in the Session panel. The ocean follows your breathing: waves roll in as you breathe in and pull back as you breathe out.
When you feel stressed
- Choose Calm and any shape you like.
- Set the length to 5 minutes and press Begin session.
- Let your belly rise as the shape grows, and let the breath out slowly as it shrinks.
- When the session ends, notice how your shoulders and jaw feel compared with before.
When your mood is low
- Choose Sigh. The inhale has two parts: a normal breath in, then a short extra sip of air on top.
- Breathe out slowly through your mouth for the whole shrinking phase.
- Do 5 minutes once a day, at the same time if you can. Daily practice is what showed benefit in research.
- Pair it with something else that helps: daylight, a short walk, or messaging a friend.
Be realistic. Breathing can lift your mood for a while and make hard moments easier. It does not cure depression. If sadness lasts for more than two weeks, or you have thoughts of harming yourself, please reach out to a doctor, a counselor or someone you trust.
At bedtime
- Dim the room lights. Choose Candle colors and set brightness to 30% or lower.
- Choose Sleep (4-7-8) or, if holding feels uncomfortable, Let go.
- Set the waves to Still and the length to 5 to 10 minutes. Turn on the sound if you like.
- When the picture fades, close your eyes and keep the same rhythm. Put the phone face down, out of reach.
Better still: eyes-closed mode. Turn it on in the Session panel. The screen goes completely black, and you follow sounds instead of the shape: a high bell means breathe in, a low bell means breathe out, and three soft bells mark the end. On Android phones a gentle vibration comes with each bell. Tap the screen at any time to open your eyes.
Tracking how it helps you
With Mood check on, Slow Tide asks one quick question before a session and again after it: how do you feel, from Very low to Great. The Your progress section on the home page then shows:
- how many sessions you've done, your minutes this week and your streak of days in a row;
- your average mood change, in points on the 1 to 5 scale;
- a chart of your mood before (open circle) and after (filled circle) for your recent sessions.
Everything stays on your own device. Nothing is sent to any server. You can clear your history at any time.
Changing phones? Under Your progress, press Save backup file. Move that file to the new device (by email, WhatsApp or cloud storage), open Slow Tide there and press Restore from file.
Making it a habit
The benefits in research came from practising every day. Two things help:
- Daily reminder: under Your progress, pick a time and add a repeating event to Google Calendar, or to Apple Calendar, Outlook or Samsung Calendar with the other button. The event includes a link that opens Slow Tide.
- Spoken guidance: turn it on in the Session panel and a calm voice says “breathe in” and “breathe out”, so you can follow with your eyes closed. It uses your device’s own voice, so how it sounds depends on your phone or computer.
Screens are a mixed blessing at night: bright light and scrolling keep the brain alert. Keep sessions short and dim, and don't fall asleep with the screen on.
Tips
- Full screen removes distractions. Press F on a keyboard.
- Your phone screen stays on during a session in most modern browsers.
- Add Slow Tide to your home screen: in your browser menu, choose Add to Home Screen or Install app. After the first visit it also works offline.
- Your chosen settings are remembered in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Safety
- Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, lightheaded or short of breath.
- If you are pregnant or have a heart or lung condition, skip long breath holds (Sleep and Box) unless your doctor says they're fine.
- Don't use it while driving or doing anything that needs your full attention.