Breathing for kids, older adults & health conditions

Young children learn by copying and playing. The breathing games in this section (bubbles, balloon belly, candle and flower) are perfect at this age. The AAP suggests deep breathing to help young children with big feelings, especially before and after time-outs.

More playful ideas

• Animal breaths: buzz like a bee on the out-breath, or hiss like a slow snake
• Hot cocoa: smell the cocoa (in), cool it down with a slow blow (out)
• Dragon breath: a big breath in, then a slow “fire” breath out
• Rainbow breath: trace a rainbow in the air, in on the way up, out on the way down

Young children often can’t follow “breathe in for 4.” Games and pictures turn slow breathing into play. Most of these games stretch out the out-breath, which is the calming part.

Games to try

• Bubble breaths: blow slow, gentle breaths to make one big bubble. Fast breaths pop it!
• Balloon belly: put hands on the belly and fill it up like a balloon, then let it slowly go flat.
• Candle and flower: smell the flower (breathe in), blow out the candle (breathe out slowly).
• Teddy ride: lie down with a stuffed animal on the belly and rock it up and down with each breath.
• Feather or pinwheel: blow gently to keep it moving for as long as you can.
• Counting breaths: count 5 slow breaths together on your fingers.

Tips for grown-ups

• Teach it during a calm moment, not in the middle of a meltdown.
• Do it together. Kids copy what they see.
• Keep it short: 3 to 5 breaths is plenty at first.
• Give it a fun name your child picks, so it becomes their tool.

In children, breathing through the mouth most of the time can affect how the face and teeth grow and can affect sleep and behavior. Common causes include a stuffy nose that won’t clear or large tonsils or adenoids.

Things to mention to the pediatrician

• Mouth open most of the day or at night
• Snoring or restless sleep
• A stuffy nose that lasts and lasts
• Being tired, cranky or unfocused during the day

Kids this age can learn real techniques like five-finger breathing or box breathing. They do best when they know when to use them, like before a test or a game. The AAP notes several school studies found mindfulness practices improved attention and behavior.

Ideas

• Let them choose and name their favorite breath
• Draw a breathing square or star to trace
• Practice at bedtime so it’s ready for school
• Let them teach it to a younger sibling or a grandparent

Teens often roll their eyes at being told to “just breathe.” Frame breathing as a performance and focus tool, the kind used before exams, auditions, games and big conversations. The AAP mentions a summer camp study where breathing awareness lowered blood pressure and heart rate in teens.

What tends to work

• Quiet tools no one notices, like the invisible reset in Breathing on the go & before big moments
• Breathing before sleep instead of scrolling
• Linking breath to things they care about: sport, music, gaming, art
• Letting them pick, not pushing

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests reminding kids and teens to take a few deep breaths before a test, a hard question at school, or a sports performance. In one study of 122 primary-school students, deep breathing before a math test lowered anxiety and helped performance.

Breathing exercises can be done sitting in a chair or lying in bed, which makes them easy to fit in at any age. Keep counts short, skip long breath-holds, and stand up slowly afterward if you feel lightheaded.

Ideas

• Seated arm-raise breathing, with hands only to shoulder height
• Pursed-lip breathing during walks or stairs
• A breathing or chair-yoga class at a senior center
• Breathing with a grandchild, so you both learn together

Pursed-lip breathing slows breathing down and keeps airways open longer. The American Lung Association suggests using it during the hardest part of an activity, like climbing stairs.

How to do it

1. Breathe in gently through your nose for about 2 counts.
2. Shape your lips as if you were about to whistle.
3. Breathe out slowly through your lips for 4 counts or more.
4. Pace your steps to your breath, and rest when you need to.

A chair-yoga or breathing class at a senior center, or a singing group, adds friendship to practice. Yoga usually combines postures, breathing techniques and meditation.

Often linked to anxiety

• Rapid breathing
• Feeling like you are suffocating
• Tingling in your hands or fingers
• Dizziness
• A sudden sense of fear or dread

Often linked to asthma or infection

• Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness or trouble breathing out
• Fever, sore throat, congestion, body aches or coughing up mucus

The American Lung Association suggests controlled breathing (a slow breath in, a brief hold, and a controlled breath out), mindfulness, regular walking and good sleep. Some people find a small handheld fan pointed at the face helps the feeling of breathlessness.

Pursed-lip and belly breathing, described in Breathing basics, are often taught for lung conditions too. Learn them when you are breathing comfortably.

Singing uses long, controlled out-breaths, and groups add friendship and fun. A Cochrane review of 3 small studies with 112 people with COPD found singing was probably safe. Some studies showed better quality of life, but the one study that measured breathlessness found no change. The evidence was low quality.

So singing is not a treatment, but it can be a joyful, social way to use your breath. Ask your lung care team if a singing or breathing group is available near you.

Short medical procedures are a great time to use your breath. Breathing out slowly helps you stop bracing and holding your breath.

Try

1. While you wait, do a few rounds of slow belly breathing.
2. Let your shoulders and hands go loose.
3. Right before the poke, breathe in gently.
4. During it, breathe out slowly through pursed lips, like blowing out a long candle.
5. Keep breathing slowly until it’s over.

Muscle tension and breath are linked. Pairing slow out-breaths with letting go of a tight area is a simple way to soften tension in your neck, jaw, shoulders or back.

Breathe and release

1. Find the tightest area in your body.
2. Breathe in and gently notice it, without trying to change it.
3. Breathe out slowly and imagine the area melting a little.
4. Repeat 5 times, then move to the next tight spot.

During a pain flare, fear and tension can pile on top of the pain. Slow breathing is one way to calm that extra layer, along with the things your care team has advised.

Breathing fast and hard on purpose, or holding your breath for a long time, lowers carbon dioxide in your body. That delays the urge to come up for air. Oxygen can drop so low that a swimmer passes out underwater without warning.

A CDC report looked at 16 healthy people in New York State, aged 7 to 47, who lost consciousness underwater from these breath-holding behaviors between 1988 and 2011. Four of them died. Half were advanced swimmers, and all four who died were advanced or expert swimmers.

Keep swimmers safe

• No “who can stay under longest” contests
• No hyperventilating (fast, hard breathing) before going underwater
• No swimming long distances underwater on one breath
• Talk with kids, teens and swim teams about this risk

Some online or playground challenges involve breathing very fast or holding the breath to get a “head rush” or to faint. Fainting from a lack of oxygen can cause falls, injuries and worse.

If you are a parent, teacher or coach, talk about this openly and calmly. Young people are more likely to listen when they understand why something is risky.

Some breathing styles involve rapid, forceful breaths. NCCIH advises beginners in yoga to avoid forceful breathing practices. Fast, deep breathing can trigger the dizziness, tingling and racing heart of overbreathing.

Safer habits

• Stick to slow, gentle breathing unless a qualified teacher is guiding you
• Never practice forceful breathing in water, while driving or standing at a height
• Stop if you feel faint, tingly, panicky or unwell

The VA says people who have trouble breathing, use oxygen, or become dizzy or lightheaded easily may need extra support and should talk with their health care team before starting breathing exercises.

NCCIH notes relaxation techniques are generally safe for healthy people, but there are rare reports that some relaxation techniques might cause or worsen symptoms in people with epilepsy.

Check with your clinical provider first if you

• Have a lung condition like asthma or COPD
• Have a heart condition
• Have epilepsy or a seizure condition
• Are pregnant and unsure what’s right for you
• Have a trauma history and breath focus feels upsetting

Children learn calm by copying calm adults. Get down to their level, breathe slowly yourself, and use a game they already know, like bubble breaths or balloon belly. Practice in calm moments so it is ready for hard ones.

For someone with asthma or COPD, pursed-lip and belly breathing can ease shortness of breath. The American Lung Association advises learning these when breathing comfortably, and calling 911 if shortness of breath doesn’t ease.

• Practice together sitting down
• Keep counts short and gentle
• Encourage them to follow their clinical provider’s breathing plan