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Breathing Exercises for Developers
A few minutes to help relax, rebalance, and refocus.
As developers, the work we do can be quite intensive. Debugging, optimizing features, implementing new ones, basically round the clock problem solving. This is why it’s so easy for a developer to get lost in code for hours without taking breaks. If the environment becomes too stressful and self care isn’t prioritized, you can experience burnout.
That being said, sometimes deadlines are too close or new developments (no pun intended) arise and you simply can’t stop work for too long. In this post, I will share four breathing exercises that I have found helpful whenever I experience the throws of software engineering. They only take a few minutes and are easy enough to do at your desk, however I do recommend doing it in a place where you don’t work if you can. These exercises can help with energy, stress, balance, and improve focus.
Note: if at any point during the exercises you start to feel any discomfort, (lightheadedness, dizziness, etc.) please stop immediately.
The exercises below call for diaphragmatic, or belly, breathing. Emphasize this by expanding your belly while you inhale more so than your chest. Emphasize sucking it back in when you exhale. Before each exercise, make sure you exhale completely, drawing the diaphragm in.
Alright, let’s get into it!
Box Breathing (4–5 mins)
Box breathing is optimal for almost any use case. It can calm you down, balance your nervous system and help you to refocus. Box breathing has been utilized by the military to help manage stress and maintain focus under combat situations. You can do this by inhaling through your nose for four seconds, then hold your breath for four. Next you exhale for four and then. hold it for four. Do this for 4–5 minutes.
