Show HN: Breathe – Peripheral Breath Trainer | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Breathe – Peripheral Breath Trainer

github.com

167 pointsfilipeisho69 comments

KISS Solution for Linux: imv breathe.gif

-> imv: https://github.com/eXeC64/imv (or any other really lightweight gif viewer)

-> breathe.gif: https://quietkit.com/img/box-breathing-4x-v03.gif

-> Set it to a custom shortcut and press q to close window.

I put this gif into a floating window, with a chrome extension using the Picture-in-Picture API: https://googlechrome.github.io/samples/picture-in-picture/

Chrome extension: https://github.com/b3ting/breathe

I love it! I thought it wasn't going to stay on top when I switched to another app but it did, it works great

Thank you for making this.

Wow! This is a really straight forward solution to run something like breathe on linux, really cool! Do you mind if I put this as an alternative on the readme while I code up a cross-platform solution?

Sure! I was about to code one myself in Rust as practice but then realised this path just requires minimal dependencies and a one liner haha.

Just a side note, based on my experience and reading “the healing power of breath” , it might be that if you are below average size or above average size, the optimal rhythm might be different for you.

I love this. I have ADHD and anxiety/stress issues where having occasional reminders to concentrate on myself and get back in touch with things like this actually really helps.

One quick comment. Aside from speed control, which wouldn't be terrible, being able to resize it or park it in my menu bar (prefer that) would go a long way towards usability.

Actually on the same boat. Acute ADHD(undiagnosed),anxiety induced by constant worries about being judged. This will def help. Might even make something using React(an excuse to learn).

I am glad you like it! This was a quick demo to see if it was useful for someone. I was hoping to implement the same idea on the menu bar and on the touch bar (for people who find a window annoying). A quick question: Why would you like to resize the window? To make it bigger or smaller?

Smaller. I just need to see a hint in my peripheral vision to know I should use it, and only need it to be very obvious while I am using it.

If you parked it in the menu bar, I could drop it down like a hanger when I needed it.

I probably would not suggest pulsing the menu bar icon itself or at least making that optional. Having something constantly pulsing in the corner of my eye wouldn't be great for flow. Having an occasional reminder to drop down the hanger might be nice though.

I had the exact same experience. I put together a bare-bones menu bar app for macOS. See my comment above for the link!

Edit: It does pulse within the menu bar which works for me, please let me know if you find it distracting.

It should change color (even just shade) as a function of its radius so you can learn where it is in the cycle from deep peripheral vision.

How would this work? My understanding is that there’s no colour in peripheral vision. I guess a change in shade/intensity would be enough?

There is minimal color, yes, but I suppose one's brain will learn to "fake it" once it figures out size-color correlation during those times you're paying it direct attention.

You are totally right. I am going to implent that feature, after using it for a while I realised that depending on the background it was hard to tell if the ball was growing or shrinking

Just to add to this idea, it's important to understand when the circle is near the start or end especially. I found myself not sure when to start breathing and not sure when to stop. I think the color idea will definitely help but sure if this specifically addresses this issue.

Either way very cool idea for an app

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/awesome-breathing-pacer-timer/... I’ve been using Awesome Breathing. Presumptuous name but simple and does the job.

For those interested, James Nestor’s book, “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” [0] is absolutely fantastic on this subject.

[0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48890486

It would be cool to control Phillips Hue bulbs on this cadence as more of a background cue to breathe

That's awesome. Is there a way to custom speed or it's actually what you should aim at? It feels super slow for me.

That's actually how it should be. I think you should aim for 4 to 5 breaths per minute, I don't remember the exact number.

The technique is described by Kelly McGonigal in "The Willpower Instict" as being the only scientifically proven "quick hack" to make your brain relax and focus.

According to the book “the healing power of breath” , the rhythm depends also somewhat on body size. So that is a variable to take into account. They use this coherence clock : https://coherence.com/coherence_clock.html

Yes! I hardcoded the app to make 4 seconds breathing in, 4 seconds holding your breath, 4 seconds breathing out and 4 seconds holding your breath again.

Perhaps instead of allowing full control you could have different modes? I like using the 4-7-8 Method[1] but there are lots of different breath exercises.

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-C_VNM1Vd0

I am quite new to breathing exercises but I also like the 4-7-8 exercise a lot! I was thinking about implementing the most known exercises and then have the option to create your own exercises. A lot of people have been pointing out that the app was way too slow and that it was difficult for them to keep up... I think that maybe if they can increase progressively the duration with custom exercises they can adapt better (it's just a theory)

Interesting. I'll give a try now!

Yes. This feels quite slow for me too. The option to customize the speed would great!

That is the next thing I am going to implement! There are several breathing exercises but normally (breathing in, breathing out...) the duration of each part is 4+ seconds.

Very cool. It would be nice if it was cross-platform, but I understand that that would have been a bit beyond your 5 minute scope. (I use Mac, Windows, and Linux roughly the same amount daily)

Agreed! How about possibly converting this to an in-browser web app to get around the platform hurdles?

you might like https://quietkit.com/box-breathing/

Someone on the comments implemented a chrome extension that opens up a gif with the same ratios as breathe (4-4-4). It works great to be honest. Here is the link: https://github.com/b3ting/breathe

Cool! Breathing ex are so powerful. I founded moonbird which is a personalised breathing trainer!

Http://www.moonbird.life

I just saw an EDC video[0] that featured a Komuso Shift[1], which is basically just a small metal tube that acts as a regulator to slow your breathing.

I don't know what component of HackerNews enjoys "luxury" EDC items, but the idea of a hysical breath regulator is somewhat interesting to me.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVMGOfKdHQg

[1]: https://www.komusodesign.com/

Yo, is that an $85 dollar straw?

> which is basically just a small metal tube that acts as a regulator to slow your breathing.

I'm curious if COVID facemasks have a similar beneficial effect on breathing.

Why yes, yes it is an $85 dollar straw.

Perfect candidate for a Valley Silicon pick on Front End Happy Hour, paging Jem Young

That's why I put "luxury" in quotes. I love the idea; I would never ever buy one

And you can do the same by simply pursing your lips :)

I love this so much. Thank you!

Especially for the "peripheral" part: For me it works better to "check-in" to the ongoing process once in a while than having to remember to start an app etc.

What didn't work for me was the window-based approach because I could never find a good place to keep it. For whatever reason, I happen to use all four corners of my screen all the time (!).

But I still wanted to have something peripheral! So with your inspiration, I created a basic MacOs Menu Bar application that animates the 4:4:4 ratio breathing. This works better for me personally now.

-> https://github.com/akaalias/menu-bar-breathing

This is great! I think this would be quite cool as a chrome plugin (solves cross platform issue). You could also make the circle bigger every 20 mins or so to remind you to breathe and avoid distractions. Kindof like a pomodoro timer but where the break is breathing.

Hi, I am glad you like it! Someone on the comments implemented a chrome extension that opens up a gif with the same ratios as breathe (4-4-4). It works great to be honest. Here is the link: https://github.com/b3ting/breathe

I think that the idea of breathe reminding you to do breathing exercises during regular intervals is great!

Nice! I've been using for the last 10 minutes and find I sometimes miss the visual cues on my big monitor. It might be nice to have an option for subtle audible cues as well.

I tried some iOS apps and some of them had audible cues as very low chords (they were very relaxing) but since I am someone that listens to music a lot I thought they would bother other people... Quick question: imagine I have a magic way to make you not miss any visual cues from the app, do you think it would still be nicer to have audible cues?

Not knowing what you're thinking about makes it hard to answer that question but I'd be happy to give it a try!

There's a similar visual shared on mental health discords when people are suffering anxiety or panic attacks, though granted likely with a less accurate breath cycle

https://media1.tenor.com/images/80b6db690c2f50bd9a876ca0f70e...

It's so cool! I've been trying it for a few hours and it really work! Good job!

Can't breathe this slow even if I try. I normally breathe 30 times a minute.

So lots of comments here are suggesting that you have a medical issue, I'm not going to go that far without knowing anything about you, but that is a very high breath rate.

You may want to focus on where you are breathing in your body. I have a very slow breath rate and super slow hear-rate, so 4 seconds is painfully fast for me. I'm about 8-10 seconds in or out and a comfortable 6 or so seconds rest between breaths.

To breath quickly, I have to focus on breathing only in my upper chest. You may have been trained to do this over-time, and feel very normal doing it.

Watch a child breathing, and you'll see they breath deeply into their belly. This is the natural breathe you want to aim for.

If you've been breathing into your chest for ever, your lower lungs are likely going too be tight, and it will be very difficult for you to expand and breathe into them. But it's worth trying.

When you lie down, try relaxing and try to relax your stomach and let it rise and fall with each breath. It takes re-training your diaphragm.

Where I do agree with the other comments here is that you likely should decrease your breath rate as it is better for you, as long as there is a good reason for you to be breathing as quickly as you currently are.

If you're breathing both in and out 30 times per minute, you should probably speak to a doctor. There are a number of medical concerns that could be behind that, and rapid (and therefore shallow) breaths can fail to rid the body of carbon dioxide, making your blood overly acidic.

> making your blood overly acidic.

What are the symptoms of that? I'm almost 40 and never had any health issues so far. The breaths are shallow but I'm surprised to hear my breathing is abnormal so I should probably speak to a doctor.

> Slowly developing, stable respiratory acidosis (as in COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]) may be well tolerated, but patients may have memory loss, sleep disturbances, excessive daytime sleepiness, and personality changes. Signs include gait disturbance, tremor, blunted deep tendon reflexes, myoclonic jerks, asterixis, and papilledema. [0]

So, quite possibly nothing, or nothing you'd realize. Bodies are adept at compensating. But there are potential concerns, and also, a chronic (and compensated for) issue can acutely deteriorate.

I am not a doctor, though.

[0] https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/endocrine-and-meta...

Osteoporosis. Peeing a lot, like diabetics do.

The body goes to extremes to keep blood chemistry within a very narrow pH range. In practical terms, this means that your body strips your bones of calcium if your blood is chronically too acid because you die rather rapidly if your blood gets too acid.

You might find it worthwhile to read up on altitude sickness and what happens in the body at elevation. When you cannot breath out wastes efficiently because the air is too thin, the body copes with the chemical derangement of your blood by dumping it out the kidneys. This has knock-on effects, like dragging other stuff with it, especially fluids and electrolytes.

That's a full breath cycle every 2 seconds? You're hyperventilating.

Yes, a full breath cycle every 2 seconds but pretty small breaths. It doesn't feel like I'm hyperventilating. Trying to breath slower makes me dizzy like I'm not getting enough air and trying to breath as slow as this app feels like I'm choking.

I'm healthy overall and really surprised that my breathing is considered so abnormal.

If it works for you at forty I wouldn't worry. It's generally for people who get anxiety that they say slow the breath down. It's to do with things like cortisol release and heart rate. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I assume you're able to do decent amounts of exercise and don't find yourself out of breath when doing regular things like going for a walk or going upstairs?

So simple and such a good idea.

Have you noticed a difference in your anxiety or productivity?

I have been using it all day and I felt way calmer. For me (I think I am a fast breather) it feels like I am meditating when I am able to follow the breathing exercise. Since it has been a day since I started using it I can't tell anything about productivity but what I can tell you I have been working happier :)

I've tried it for a little bit and it was great!

How about having a real-time feedback regarding your breathing rate?

And how would it know your breathing rate?

Apple Watch but tied around your throat?

lol

You can probably hack something using a camera.

It should be pretty simple actually. A 0-cost solution is to use a microphone from your laptop. Another one is to use a chest strap with respiration sensor. Shameless plug, I even made one for recording breathing - but it's rather for professional use (you can check it out under my profile).

I love this

Thanks!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com