Finding your calm can sometimes feel impossible in a world that seems to move at lightning speed. But what if I told you that peace and relaxation are just a few breaths away?
Breathing exercises have been a go-to method for centuries to reduce stress, enhance mood, and bring balance to life. And now, with the power of technology, you can have this ancient wisdom right in your pocket.
Enter the world of breathing exercise apps for calmness. These apps are designed to guide you through simple yet powerful techniques that can transform your day, helping you to unwind, refocus, and find your center.
Here are the top nine breathing exercise apps that can help you breathe easier and feel better, starting today.
What are the best breathing exercise apps for calmness and mood improvement?
These apps are designed with one goal: to help you relax and improve your mood, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. They offer a range of breathing techniques, from simple exercises for beginners to more advanced practices for those with more experience.
Let’s look at the best breathing exercise apps for calmness and mood improvement and how they can help you find that much-needed balance.
- Mesmerize – Visual Meditation
- Breathwrk: Breathing Exercises
- Bliss – Visual Breathing
- Headspace: Sleep & Meditation
- Soundly: Snoring & Sleep Apnea
- Othership: Guided Breathwork
- Paced Breathing
- Breathing Zone
- Prana Breath
Mesmerize – Visual Meditation
This isn’t just another app for breathing exercises for calmness; it’s a sensory experience. Mesmerize combines stunning visuals with scientifically designed psycho-acoustic music to guide your breathing and help you relax.
The visuals aren’t just there to look pretty—they sync perfectly with your breathing patterns, creating a personalized meditation session that’s as effective as it is engaging.
Whether you’re new to meditation or a seasoned pro, Mesmerize adapts to you, making it easy to find calm no matter where you are.
Features
- The visuals are hypnotic and captivating, designed to sync with your breathing for a truly immersive experience.
- The psycho-acoustic music is scientifically proven to help you relax deeper and reduce stress, creating a calm atmosphere that envelops you.
- You can easily customize your experience by controlling the speed of the visuals with a simple pinch-to-zoom gesture.
- It’s versatile enough to fit into any routine, whether you need a quick break during a hectic day or a more extended session to unwind at night.
- No prior experience is required, making it accessible for anyone looking to improve their mental well-being.
Pricing
Mesmerize offers flexible pricing options to suit different needs. You can go with the yearly plan at $59.99 or $49.99, opt for a monthly subscription at $12.99, or try the weekly option at $4.99. The app is also free with in-app purchases, allowing you to explore its features before committing.
Breathwrk: Breathing Exercises
Imagine an app that helps you breathe better and tailors each session to fit your unique needs. That’s precisely what Breathwrk offers.
This isn’t just another app in the crowded field of breathing exercise apps for calmness. It stands out by providing personalized, guided breathing exercises that can help you relax, recharge, or focus, depending on your current needs.
The app makes it easy to dive into breathing practices, even if you’re a beginner. With clear instructions and helpful visual cues, you’ll always feel safe and energized.
Plus, as you continue to use the app, it learns from your patterns and adjusts the exercises to keep you on track, making your journey toward calmness effective and enjoyable.
Features
- It offers a variety of breathing exercises specifically designed to relieve stress, enhance energy, and improve focus.
- The app provides personalized sessions that adapt over time based on your usage patterns and feedback, ensuring a tailored experience.
- Clear instructions and visual cues guide you through each exercise, making it easy for beginners to get started and stay on track.
- You can customize your breathing sessions by adjusting the duration, rhythm, and style to suit your preferences.
- The community feature allows you to connect with other users, offering support, motivation, and shared experiences that enhance your breathing practice.
Pricing
Breathwrk has free and premium versions. The free version gives you access to over 50 classes and exercises but has limited features for stress, energy, and sleep exercises.
Meanwhile, the PRO version offers unlimited access to exercises, classes, and personalized sessions for those who want more. It’s available for $5.75 monthly when billed annually or $12.00 monthly if billed monthly.
Bliss – Visual Breathing
Bliss takes the concept of breathing exercise apps for calmness and adds a creative twist. Combining beautiful, hypnotic visuals with scientifically backed breathing exercises helps you relax, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being.
The idea is simple: breathe in sync with the visuals on your screen and let the day’s worries melt away. Whether you’re a complete newbie to breathing exercises or have been practicing for years, Bliss offers something unique and engaging.
Features
- Bliss uses stunning visuals to guide your breathing, making the experience calming and visually engaging.
- The app focuses on resonant frequency breathing exercises, a method proven to improve heart rate variability and boost overall health.
- You can customize your sessions by adjusting the duration and style of the breathing exercises to suit your personal preferences.
- The user-friendly interface ensures that the app is easy to navigate for both beginners and experienced users.
- By turning breathing exercises into a visual experience, Bliss makes relaxation more enjoyable and less of a chore.
Pricing
Bliss offers new users a free trial week to explore the app’s features. After that, the app provides several subscription options: a yearly plan at $49.99, a monthly plan at $12.99, or a weekly plan at $4.99.
Headspace: Sleep & Meditation
If you’ve ever felt like your mind is running a marathon while your body wants to rest, Headspace is here to help you hit the pause button. It offers a variety of guided meditations, calming breathing exercises, and sleep soundscapes designed to help you relax, reduce stress, and improve focus.
The app’s intuitive design means you can start feeling the benefits immediately, whether to calm your mind before bed, find peace during a busy day, or sharpen your focus for a big project. With Headspace, mindfulness becomes a daily habit that’s as enjoyable as effective.
Features
- Guided meditations are expertly designed to reduce stress and anxiety, offering you immediate relief when you need it most.
- Breathing exercises promote calmness, making them perfect for unwinding after a hectic day or preparing for sleep.
- Sleep soundscapes and bedtime stories help you drift off easily, ensuring a more restful night’s sleep.
- Mindfulness exercises boost your focus and productivity, helping you tackle your day with a clear and calm mind.
- Courses on essential life skills, such as self-compassion and resilience, support mental health journeys and offer valuable tools for everyday life.
- Personalized progress tracking keeps you motivated, showing how your mindfulness practice is improving.
Pricing
Headspace offers a 7-day free trial to get you started. After that, the subscription is $14.99 per month, giving you full access to all the app’s features. For those who want to commit to the long haul, there’s a yearly plan available for $69.99.
Soundly: Snoring & Sleep Apnea
By combining science-backed breathing exercises with soothing functional music, Soundly helps you strengthen the muscles in your airway, making it easier to breathe and sleep peacefully.
It offers an innovative and easy-to-use solution if you’ve been struggling with restless nights or tired of being nudged awake for snoring too loudly. Think of it as your personal sleep coach, guiding you to quieter, more restful nights.
The app’s user-friendly design means you can jump right in, and before you know it, you’ll be breathing easier and sleeping better.
Features
- Soundly’s breathing exercises are scientifically designed to reduce snoring and improve sleep quality, helping you breathe more calmly and restfully through the night.
- You can create customizable soundscapes and playlists that mix soothing sounds, stories, and music to match your relaxation and sleep preferences.
- The functional music is engineered to complement breathing exercises, promoting deep, uninterrupted sleep.
- The app features a simple and intuitive interface, making it accessible to anyone, even those who are new to using breathing exercise apps.
- Progress tracking allows you to monitor improvements in your sleep patterns and snoring reduction so you can see the benefits over time.
Pricing
The Soundly app offers a free version with limited features. It gives you access to over 3,000 sound effects in the Soundly Free library and the ability to index up to 10,000 local sound effects. For those who want more, the paid subscription costs $14.99 monthly, including access to the full collection of sound effects and all premium features.
Othership: Guided Breathwork
Imagine an app that doesn’t just help you breathe better but transforms your entire day through music-driven breathwork. That’s what Othership is all about.
Whether you’re new to breathwork or have been practicing for years, Othership offers something for everyone. With over 500 guided breathing exercises, you can choose anything from a quick 1-minute reset to a deep, immersive 60-minute journey.
Led by world-class instructors, Othership blends ancient practices with modern science, all set to captivating music that keeps you engaged. It’s like having a personal breathwork guru in your pocket, ready to help you transform your day anytime you need it.
Features
- It offers over 500 guided breathing exercises ranging from quick 1-minute resets to deep 60-minute sessions, providing something for every mood and need.
- The app is music-driven, making breathwork sessions more engaging and turning each practice into an enjoyable experience.
- Sessions are led by world-class instructors with backgrounds in psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, and life coaching, ensuring you get expert guidance.
- Daily sessions are tailored to your needs, whether you need energy to start your day, relaxation before bed, or introspection for personal growth.
- The app includes a variety of breathwork techniques, such as Pranayama, Wim Hof, and Kundalini, giving you a broad toolkit for managing stress and emotions.
Pricing
Othership offers a free version with access to five classes that rotate regularly. For those who want full access to the entire library and all features, a premium membership is available for $17 per month.
Paced Breathing
Paced Breathing is an app that proves simplicity can be powerful. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense way to improve your breathing, reduce stress, or carve out a moment of calm in your day, this app delivers exactly what you need.
Featured in James Nestor’s best-selling book Breath, Paced Breathing focuses on helping you master the basics of controlled breathing through intuitive visual and audio cues.
Features
- Clear visual cues guide your breathing, helping you efficiently manage each inhale, exhale, and breath-holding interval.
- You can tailor your breathing sessions by adjusting the duration of each phase to match your personal preferences and goals.
- The app offers multiple sensory cues, including haptic, visual, and audio options, so you can choose what works best for you.
- Various sound options are available to enhance your breathing experience, making it both soothing and effective.
- The user interface is clean and straightforward, ensuring that your focus remains on your breath without any unnecessary distractions.
Pricing
Paced Breathing is free to download and use but includes ads. In-app purchases are available if you prefer an ad-free experience or want to unlock additional features.
Breathing Zone
Breathing Zone is like having a pocket-sized stress reliever wherever you go. If you’re looking for a way to calm your mind instantly, lower your heart rate, or breathe a little easier, this app is exactly what you need.
It’s one of the most straightforward and effective breathing exercise apps for calmness. It focuses on simple, scientifically-backed guided breathing exercises.
Breathing Zone sticks to what works: therapeutic breathing techniques that can help you relax in just a few minutes. Whether you’re dealing with daily stress, anxiety, or even high blood pressure, this app offers a practical solution that’s easy to use and incredibly effective.
Features
- Guided breathing exercises reduce stress and anxiety, helping you find calm quickly and easily.
- Scientifically-based techniques focus on lowering your heart rate, which can contribute to better overall health and relaxation.
- The app’s interface is simple and user-friendly, making it easy to dive into your breathing practice without distractions.
- It’s recommended by over 100 doctors, highlighting its effectiveness in promoting relaxation and well-being.
- The app integrates with Apple’s Health app, allowing you to track your mindfulness and breathing sessions seamlessly.
Pricing
Breathing Zone is entirely free, with no hidden costs or in-app purchases. This makes it an incredibly accessible option for anyone looking to incorporate calming breathing exercises into their daily routine. Just download, start breathing, and let the app guide you to a more relaxed and balanced state of mind.
Prana Breath
It’s one of the most versatile breathing exercise apps for calmness, offering various techniques rooted in yoga, pranayama, and other holistic practices.
Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, trying to improve your focus, or just looking for a way to relax after a long day, Prana Breath provides practical, easy-to-follow exercises that make a real impact.
The best part? It’s all about personalization—tailor your sessions to fit your specific needs, whether five minutes or an hour.
Features
- It offers a wide range of breathing techniques inspired by yoga and pranayama to help reduce stress, manage anxiety, and improve overall well-being.
- Customizable sessions allow you to adjust the duration and intensity of your breathing exercises, making it easy to fit them into your daily routine.
- The app features a clean, intuitive interface, allowing users to focus on breathing without any unnecessary distractions.
- Detailed progress tracking helps you monitor your improvements over time, giving insight into how your practice benefits your health.
- Scientifically-backed exercises are designed to improve focus, enhance relaxation, and promote a sense of calm.
Pricing
Prana Breath is free and offers a variety of breathing techniques and customizable sessions. For those who want to dive deeper, a Pro version is available through a one-time purchase. This version unlocks advanced features like an ad-free experience and additional breathing techniques.
Other Apps To Induce Calmness and Better Mood
While breathing exercise apps are fantastic tools for finding calmness, exploring other apps that can further enhance your well-being is always helpful. One such app is Mindsaurus, a unique platform designed to help you tap into your inner calm and boost your mood through guided meditation and mindfulness exercises.
This app uses creative exercises that encourage mental clarity and emotional balance, making it a perfect complement to the breathing exercises you practice with breathing apps.
Final Thoughts
Breathing exercises are a simple yet powerful way to boost your mental well-being and mood. The nine apps we’ve reviewed each offer something unique, helping you relax, focus, and find peace wherever you are.
From the visually captivating Mesmerize and Bliss to the expert guidance in Othership, these tools make finding calm easier than ever.