Breathwork for KTH students
Your breath is the one part of your autonomic nervous system you can take manual control of. This is a short, honest guide to what that actually buys you, which techniques are worth your time, and how to get the full Brizzy app for free if you train in one of our sport sections.
Why breathing is worth five minutes a day
Heart rate, digestion and the stress response mostly run without asking you. Breathing is the exception: it runs on its own, but you can take the wheel whenever you want. That makes it the cheapest self-regulation tool you already own – no equipment, no booking, and nobody around you notices.
It changes the body, not just the mood
Slowing down to roughly five or six breaths a minute shifts the balance of your autonomic nervous system and raises heart-rate variability while you practise. Of everything in this field, that is the effect with the most consistent evidence behind it.
The research measured daily practice
The trials that show real benefit ran for weeks of short daily sessions, usually around five minutes. A single session is a nice moment; the habit is what was actually studied. Treat it like training rather than a painkiller.
It fits a student week
Before an exam, after a rough supervision meeting, in the changing room after training, at one in the morning when your head will not switch off. It costs nothing and takes no space in your schedule.
When students actually use it
- Exam stress
- Falling asleep
- Focus between lectures
- Recovery after training
- Nerves before a competition
- A wave of anxiety
Five techniques worth knowing
Each one does a different job, and each one has a different amount of research behind it. Brizzy publishes the studies, the sample sizes and what a technique has not been shown to do. If you only read one thing first, make it their guide to finding the slow breathing rhythm that fits you.
Slow, coherent breathing
Equal inhale and exhale, about 5–6 breaths a minute
The plain one that works best. No holds, no counting gymnastics – you simply breathe in and out at an even, unhurried pace. Of everything on this list it has the largest and most consistent evidence for calming the body and lifting heart-rate variability during practice.
Strongest evidence
Read the full Slow, coherent breathing breakdownCyclic sighing
Double inhale through the nose, long exhale
Your body already does this – it is the shudder-breath after crying, and the sigh you take without deciding to. Done on purpose for five minutes a day, it improved mood and slowed resting breathing in a 2023 Stanford randomised trial. Useful in the middle of a bad moment, not only as a scheduled practice.
One well-built trial
Read the full Cyclic sighing breakdown4-7-8 breathing
Inhale 4s, hold 7s, exhale 8s
The long exhale is the working part: stretching the out-breath well past the in-breath is a mechanism with real support behind it. Whether those exact numbers beat any other long-exhale rhythm has never been tested at scale – but they are easy to remember, which is what you need at one in the morning.
Mechanism supported, exact ratio untested
Read the full 4-7-8 breathing breakdownBox breathing
Inhale 4s, hold 4s, exhale 4s, hold 4s
Four equal sides, easy to hold on to when your thoughts are bouncing. Its real strength is giving your attention something to count; a 2025 head-to-head found it produced a smaller acute rise in heart-rate variability than hold-free slow breathing. Use it as an anchor rather than as your main practice.
Good anchor, thinner evidence
Read the full Box breathing breakdownOxygen Wave
Active breathing cycles, breath retention, recovery
The opposite direction: a short, deliberate stressor that leaves you awake and alert instead of calm. It is the breathing half of the method Wim Hof made famous, which in turn traces back to Tibetan Tummo – rounds of fast, full breathing followed by a breath hold. Brizzy's version is adjustable: one to five rounds, with holds that lengthen as you progress. Never practise it in water, while driving, or standing up.
Promising, handle with care
Read the full Oxygen Wave breakdownTwenty-five more, plus the reasoning
Brizzy grades every technique for how strong the evidence really is – Confident, Practical, Promising or Curious – and shows the receipt behind each call.
Browse the Brizzy breathing libraryStart in the next sixty seconds
There is no setup step. Brizzy opens in the browser and a first session needs no account.
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Open it in your browser
brizzy.app works on a phone or a laptop. No download, no app store, no signup for your first session.
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Say what you need
Pick a goal – calm, sleep, focus, energy – or just tell the voice coach in plain words. It works in 70+ languages and chooses the technique, the pace and the length for you.
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Come back tomorrow
Five minutes, most days, for a few weeks. That is the dose the research used, and the reason the app tracks streaks at all.
Free for everyone. Fully unlocked if you train with us.
There is nothing to pay at any point and nothing to negotiate. Here is exactly what you get.
Anyone
Brizzy Free is a permanent plan, not a trial: the essential techniques, sessions up to six minutes, streaks, and the AI coach once you make a free account. No ads, no card.
Students in our sport sections
You get the full version at no cost – all 30 techniques, 120+ guided sessions of up to twenty minutes, expanded AI coaching, and every voice, scene and soundscape – for as long as you train with us.
How to get it
Ask Viktoria in person at training. She is our Sport Manager, she organises the sport sections, and she sets up student access on the spot. There is no form to fill in and no waiting list – just ask her at your next session.
See which sport sections we runA sensible word on safety
Controlled breathing is safe for most healthy adults, and Brizzy is a wellness tool rather than medical care – it does not diagnose or treat anything. Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy or lightheaded. Never hold your breath in water, while driving, or anywhere a blackout would hurt you. If you are pregnant or live with a respiratory, cardiovascular or psychiatric condition, talk to a doctor before trying advanced methods such as Oxygen Wave or extended holds. And if you are carrying sustained anxiety or low mood, breathing is a good companion to proper support, not a substitute for it – KTH's student health service is there for exactly that.
Questions students ask
Is Brizzy really free for KTH students?
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Yes. The core app is free for everyone, permanently. Students who train in one of KTH Sport Foundation's sport sections also get the full version – all 30 techniques and 120+ sessions – at no cost, arranged in person with Viktoria at training.
How do I get full access?
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Ask Viktoria at your next training session. She is our Sport Manager, she organises the sections, and she sets up student access in person.
Do I need to download an app?
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No. Brizzy runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. You can add it to your home screen if you like, but there is nothing to install and a first session needs no signup.
Which technique should I start with?
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Slow, even breathing at about five to six breaths a minute, with no holds. It has the strongest evidence in the field and it is the hardest one to get wrong. Move on to the specialised patterns once that feels natural.
Is Oxygen Wave the same as the Wim Hof Method?
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Not quite. The physiology is the same – rounds of fast, full breathing followed by a breath hold – and neither one invented it: the pattern goes back to Tibetan Tummo, the "inner fire" practice monks have used for centuries, which researchers measured raising body temperature in a 2013 study. Wim Hof systematised it and brought it to a global audience by pairing it with cold exposure and mindset training. Brizzy's Oxygen Wave is the breathing part on its own, adapted so you choose the number of rounds and how long the holds run rather than following one fixed protocol. It is an independent adaptation, not the trademarked Wim Hof Method programme and not affiliated with it.
How long before I notice anything?
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A single session often takes the edge off within a couple of minutes. The changes the studies measured came from around five minutes a day over several weeks, so treat it as training rather than a quick fix.
Do I have to be in a section to use the app?
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No. Anyone can use the free version. Being in one of our sections only unlocks the full library at no cost.
Are breathing exercises safe?
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For most healthy adults, yes. Stop if you feel dizzy, never hold your breath in water or while driving, and check with a doctor before advanced techniques if you are pregnant or have a respiratory, cardiovascular or psychiatric condition.
What is the AI coach?
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A voice coach inside Brizzy that works in 70+ languages. Tell it how you feel in plain words and it picks or builds a session, adjusts the pace and length, and controls the app hands-free while you keep your eyes closed.
Take one breath and see
Open Brizzy, pick a goal, and follow the bubble. It takes less time than reading this page did.
Start breathing on BrizzyFree · No card · Nothing to install