It‘s often best to keep things simple. And when the aim of an app is to help you feel calm, a no-fuss, no-frills approach is essential. Box Breathe delivers on this front.
This straightforward app is designed to help you practice a “box” (or “square”) breathing technique that, as the app explains, is thought to help combat insomnia and calm the nervous system.
The technique looks like this: You breathe and hold your breath in a regular pattern, for a set number of counts. For example, breathe in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four.
Box Breathe guides you through this technique. Its pared-down design shows a square and a countdown timer. As it counts each breath, the sides of the square fill to help you keep your breaths regulated.
There are a few things you can customize, like the colour theme of the app, the length of your breaths, and the number of breathing cycles you’d like to practise.
A partner app for Apple Watch makes practising on the go even easier. And you can sync your data with the Health app to track your mindful minutes.
If this kind of beautiful simplicity doesn‘t fill you with calm, nothing will.