Research behind the guardrails

How PacedBreath uses these sources

PacedBreath is a general-wellness breathing pacer, not a medical device. It does not diagnose a condition or decide whether breathwork is medically appropriate. The app asks about prior discomfort and advice from your clinician, then keeps advanced practices opt-in and hides activating breathing when a user reports a relevant sensitivity.

These references support those conservative product guardrails. They do not prove that a PacedBreath exercise treats a medical condition, and they are not individualized medical advice.

References

1. Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know

   National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health · U.S. National Institutes of Health · Accessed 2026

   Supports: General safety framing: relaxation practices are usually safe for healthy people, but some people report increased anxiety and some health conditions warrant professional guidance.

2. Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials

   Fincham et al. · Scientific Reports · 2023

   Supports: General background for guided breathwork. The review also notes that evidence quality and reporting of adverse events vary across studies.

3. Assessing and ensuring patient safety during breath-holding for radiotherapy

   Parkes, Green, Stevens & Clutton-Brock · British Journal of Radiology · 2014

   Supports: Why PacedBreath treats breath retention as an opt-in practice and follows clinician advice. The study concerns deep, prolonged breath holds rather than the app's short holds.

4. Hyperventilation in panic disorder and social phobia

   Nardi, Valença, Nascimento, Mezzasalma & Zin · Psychopathology · 2001

   Supports: Why activating fast or deep breathing is hidden when a person reports that similar breathing has triggered panic or distress.

5. Absence seizure provocation during routine EEG: Does position of the child during hyperventilation affect the diagnostic yield?

   Rozenblat et al. · Seizure · 2020

   Supports: Why activating fast or deep breathing is hidden when a person reports seizures that can be triggered by hyperventilation. This study specifically concerns childhood absence epilepsy.

Use breathing practices safely

• Follow advice from your clinician.
• Keep each breath gentle and never strain to meet a count.
• Stop and return to natural breathing if you feel dizzy, faint, panicky, painful, numb, cramped, or otherwise unwell.
• Do not practice while driving, swimming, bathing, operating machinery, or anywhere reduced attention could create risk.

If you think you may be experiencing a medical emergency, contact local emergency services.