Breathing Practice in FitRest guides you through three well-known breathing patterns - Calm Breathing, 4-7-8 Breathing and Box Breathing. Pick a pattern and how many cycles you want, follow the on-screen Inhale, Hold and Exhale cues, and save the session to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes.
Each pattern is a fixed rhythm of breathing in, holding and breathing out, counted in seconds. FitRest shows each phase as it happens, with a breathing circle that grows and shrinks and a Cycle N of M counter, so you only have to follow along.
Breathing is one of the few parts of the body's stress response you can control directly. Slowing your breath, and especially lengthening the exhale, is widely used to shift the body toward its rest-and-digest state. Many people find a few minutes of paced breathing leaves them calmer, clears their head before a demanding task, or makes it easier to settle at bedtime.
Breathing practice is a wellness tool, not a treatment. If you feel lightheaded, return to normal breathing, and talk to a doctor if breathing difficulties or anxiety are a regular concern.
Choose a pattern, choose your Target Cycles - 3, 5, 7 or 10 - and tap Begin Session. A short Get Ready countdown gives you a moment to settle, then the guided Inhale, Hold and Exhale phases begin. The session finishes on its own when you reach your target.
The Session Complete screen shows the Duration, the Cycles you completed and the number of Breaths, followed by a short How this helped you note. Turn on saving to Apple Health and each finished session is recorded as Mindful Minutes, alongside any other mindfulness time you log.
Breathing Practice is close at hand wherever it is most useful. It is the first item in the Dashboard's + quick-log menu, and it appears on the Sleep tab, in the Recovery detail as Try Breathing Exercise, and in the Respiratory Rate detail. Breathing Practice runs on iPhone.
Breathing Reminders in Settings > Notifications can prompt you to take a breathing break at the times you choose, with presets such as Morning Relaxation, Midday Reset, Afternoon Break, Evening Wind Down and Bedtime Practice.
It is a breathing pattern where you breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 and breathe out for 8. Many people use it to relax before sleep, and FitRest guides you through each phase.
Box breathing has four equal steps of 4 seconds each: breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold. Its steady rhythm is often used to calm down and focus.
Yes. When saving to Apple Health is on, each finished session is recorded as Mindful Minutes.
You choose 3, 5, 7 or 10 cycles before you start. How long that takes depends on the pattern, and the Session Complete screen shows the exact duration.
Yes. Breathing Reminders in Settings > Notifications can be set to preset times like Midday Reset or Bedtime Practice, or to your own custom times.
A 0-100 reading of the physical stress your body is carrying, with a 24-hour curve and a longer-term trend.
A 0-100 readiness score each morning that tells you how well your body recovered overnight, judged against your own normal.
Time in bed, actual sleep, sleep stages and overnight heart rate for every night and nap.
Log water, caffeine, glucose and blood pressure in a few taps and keep every entry in Apple Health.
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FitRest reads the data already in Apple Health, so there is nothing to set up beyond granting access.
iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Requires iOS 17 or later.