The short answer
Slow breathing at about six breaths a minute can lower blood pressure a little. Across 17 studies, systolic pressure fell by about 5.6 mmHg on average, but the trials were small and varied widely. A newer method, breathing-muscle training, looks promising. Breathing exercises can add to lifestyle changes and medicines, not replace them.
Moderate evidence
Trials point the same way but are small or few, or large long-term studies agree but cannot prove cause and effect. How we grade
On this page
How to use breathing to lower blood pressure
The method tested most is slow breathing at about six breaths a minute: breathe in for 5 seconds and out for 5, or in for 4 and out for 6. The trials in the main review all used slow breathing for at least five minutes at a time, at least three days a week, for four weeks or more. Aiming for 10 to 15 minutes a day is a sensible target.
- Sit comfortably with your back supported and your feet flat.
- Use the resonance breathing breathe-along guide, or set a timer.
- Breathe softly through your nose. The breaths should be slow, not big.
- Practise at the same time each day. Keep a note of your home readings, taken at a different time.
What the research shows
Slow breathing. A 2019 meta-analysis of 17 studies found slow breathing, with or without a device to pace it, lowered systolic blood pressure by 5.6 mmHg and diastolic by 3.0 mmHg on average. A 2024 meta-analysis of 15 more recent trials of breathing exercises, including yoga breathing, found falls of 7.1 and 3.4 mmHg, and a slightly slower heart rate. Both reviews found the results varied a lot from trial to trial, and many trials were small, short or at risk of bias.
Breathing devices. Much of the early research used RESPeRATE, a device that plays tones to slow your breathing. A 2012 review of eight trials with 494 people found it lowered blood pressure, but when the five trials run or funded by the manufacturer were removed, the effect disappeared. That is a useful warning about who funds the research. The American Heart Association rated device-guided breathing as reasonable to try, but with limited evidence.
Breathing muscle training. A newer approach uses a small handheld device that resists the in-breath. In a US trial of 36 adults aged 50 to 79, 30 hard breaths a day for six weeks lowered systolic pressure from about 135 to 126 mmHg, and most of the fall lasted six weeks after they stopped. It needs confirming in larger trials. See inspiratory muscle training.
We grade the evidence as moderate: trials agree on a small fall, but the studies are of mixed quality.
How much does a few mmHg matter?
More than it sounds. A large analysis of 48 trials of blood pressure medicines, in more than 340,000 people, found that every 5 mmHg fall in systolic pressure cut the risk of heart attacks, strokes and heart failure by about 10%. A fall of that size from breathing exercises would be worth having, on top of your other treatment.
How breathing fits with other treatment
NICE’s guidance on high blood pressure doesn’t recommend breathing or relaxation therapies, because the evidence it reviewed was too limited. Lifestyle changes have the strongest evidence: cutting down on salt and alcohol, being active, losing weight if you need to and stopping smoking. Many people also need medicine. Breathing exercises are a low-cost, low-risk extra, not a replacement.
If you have high blood pressure, keep taking your medicines and check your readings with your GP or nurse as usual.
Keep reading
- Breathing and heart rate variability (HRV): what it means
What heart rate variability is, why slow breathing raises it, what resonance breathing does, and what your HRV reading from a watch can and can't tell you.
Strong - Breathing exercises for sleep: do they help you fall asleep?
Which breathing exercises may help you fall asleep, what the small studies found, why there is no trial of 4-7-8 for sleep, and what to do about insomnia.
Weak - Breathing exercises for low mood and depression
Whether breathing exercises can lift low mood or help depression, what the trials show, and how they fit alongside talking therapy and other treatment.
Weak
Common questions
How much can breathing exercises lower blood pressure?
On average, by about 5 to 7 mmHg systolic and 3 mmHg diastolic in reviews of trials. That is smaller than most blood pressure tablets but still worthwhile: in drug trials, a 5 mmHg fall cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes by about 10%.
Which breathing exercise is best for high blood pressure?
Slow breathing at about six breaths a minute, such as resonance breathing, has been tested most, practised for at least five minutes several times a week. Breathing muscle training with a device also lowered blood pressure in one small trial.
Can I stop my blood pressure tablets if I do breathing exercises?
No. Keep taking your medicine as prescribed. If your readings fall over time, your GP or nurse may review your dose, but never change it yourself.
Does breathing slowly lower blood pressure straight away?
Often a little, for a short time. That is why you should sit quietly for a few minutes before measuring at home, but don't do breathing exercises just before a reading, as it won't show your usual blood pressure.
References
- Chaddha A et al. Device and non-device-guided slow breathing to reduce blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2019.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Garg P et al. Effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure and heart rate: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Cardiology Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention, 2024.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Mahtani KR et al. Device-guided breathing exercises in the control of human blood pressure: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Hypertension, 2012.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Craighead DH et al. Time-efficient inspiratory muscle strength training lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial function in midlife/older adults with above-normal blood pressure. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2021.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Brook RD et al. Beyond medications and diet: alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Hypertension, 2013.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists' Collaboration. Pharmacological blood pressure lowering for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease across different levels of blood pressure. Lancet, 2021.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- NICE. Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NG136). Rationale: relaxation therapies.nice.org.uk
First published 4 November 2026. Next review due November 2027. Spotted an error? Tell us and we'll correct it. Read our editorial policy.