Breathwork for Blood Pressure: A 15-Minute Practice with Promising Evidence

You probably weren’t looking for a nervous system intervention at 30,000 feet. I wasn’t either.

But there I was, stuck on a transatlantic flight, watching my 3-year-old son spiral into a full-blown meltdown, across the aisle, on top of two inflatable footrests that were supposed to help him sleep. My wife was next to him, whisper-yelling and trying everything. Passengers were giving us that look. And I was useless. Just me, a seatbelt, and a tight grip on an armrest. 

The one thing I had was my phone. I opened the HeartMath app (separate from the older Inner Balance app) and set a pacer to 6 breaths per minute. I followed the rhythm often called the heart coherence breath, near 0.1 Hz (0.1 Hz ≈ 6 breaths/min).

Inhale for 5 seconds, exhale for 5 seconds. 

It didn’t fix anything out there. But inside? Everything started to settle. 

What 6 Breaths Per Minute Can Do

The specific breathing rate, 0.1 Hz, isn’t some trendy hack. It directly ties into your baroreflex, the system your body uses to balance blood pressure and heart rate. Slow breathing near 6 breaths per minute is associated with stronger cardiovascular oscillations and baroreflex effects.

There's promising human data. A 2024 study in Frontiers in Physiology looked at adults with systolic ≥ 130 mmHg who practiced 6 breaths per minute for 15 minutes a day.

The results:

After one session: average drop of ~9.7 mmHg systolic and ~3.9 mmHg diastolic.

After several days: resting pressure dropped by ~4.3 mmHg systolic and ~2.9 mmHg diastolic.

Important context: this study used device-guided breathing and home measurements, not a randomized drug trial. Results vary. This is not medical advice.

No medications. No dietary changes. No yoga mats. 

Only a simple, measurable downshift for the body. 

Try this when you’re stuck

You don’t need to be on a flight with a screaming toddler to feel your system on edge. 

Use this when you’re overwhelmed but can’t do anything to change the situation. When you’re trapped in your head or stuck in traffic. When you feel the pressure rising, literally. 

Here’s how:

• Use a guided breathing tool: the new HeartMath app on iOS or Android, any simple 6-breaths-per-minute pacer video.
• Set the pace to 6 breaths per minute.
• Breathe like this for 15 minutes.
• No breath holds. No counting. Just let your body find its rhythm again. 

Note on apps and sensors: the new HeartMath app can use your phone's camera for basic coherence reading, or you can use the Inner Balance sensor for higher-fidelity HRV input. The older Inner Balance app requires the sensor and does not use the phone camera.

Safety note: breathing practices can support self-regulation, but they don't replace medical care. If you manage blood pressure, keep following your clinician's guidance.

If your blood pressure is already high, you might feel the results in your chest before you see them on a monitor. But they are real. And they are verifiable, especially if you choose live HRV feedback to train coherence.

What to know before you buy:

• Price on HeartMath's store is typically $249 USD for Inner Balance Coherence Plus.
• Purchase includes lifetime access to the new HeartMath app.
• 60-day money-back guarantee and 1-year technology warranty are listed on the HeartMath store.
• Works on modern iOS and Android. Check the app pages for current requirements.

Get Inner Balance → https://www.heartmath.com/breathsciencelab

Coming Back to the Flight

My son eventually went back to sleep. I don’t even remember how exactly, but he did. I guess he tired himself out. I was too busy doing my breathing. My wife too, God bless her, what a woman! And I came out of that flight with something better than control. 

I had a rope. A rhythm. A way to stay steady when everything around me wasn’t. 

That’s what this breath does. 

Oh yeah, and just when I thought I couldn’t love my wife any more, she proved me wrong, again. 

Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you use them, at no cost to you.

Cited Study: Mindful breathing as an effective technique in the management of hypertension