Pursed lip breathing may make your breaths more effective. In fact, it’s often a treatment for COPD. To do it, you inhale by puckering your lips and exhaling slowly, often to a count.

Pursed lip breathing gives you more control over your breathing, which is particularly important if you have a lung condition that makes breathing harder.

You can practice pursed lip breathing until it becomes second nature. It’s most effective when you’re focused or relaxed.

Here’s how to practice:

  1. Sit with your back straight, or lie down. Relax your shoulders as much as possible.
  2. Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen. Try to fill your abdomen with air instead of just your lungs.
  3. Purse your lips like you’re blowing on hot food and then breathe out slowly, taking twice as long to exhale as you took to breathe in (so, 4 seconds).
  4. Repeat as many times as necessary.
  5. Over time, you can increase the inhale and exhale counts from 2 seconds to 4 seconds, and so on.

Pursed lip breathing improves your lung mechanics and breathing, meaning you don’t have to work as hard to breathe well. This is particularly helpful if you have a lung condition that makes breathing difficult.

These conditions may include obstructive lung diseases, such as asthma, or restrictive lung diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis, a type of interstitial lung disease.

Pursed lip breathing is also a treatment with health benefits if you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One 2018 clinical trial study found that it improved oxygenation in people with COPD.

COPD can only be delayed rather than cured, and damage can’t be repaired once it happens. For that reason, breathing exercises to improve lung function are essential. They can make breathing significantly easier.

Pursed lip breathing may help improve and control your breathing in several ways, including:

  • relieving shortness of breath by slowing your breath rate
  • keeping your airways open longer, which decreases the work that goes into breathing
  • improving ventilation by removing old air (carbon dioxide) in your lungs out and making room for fresh oxygen
  • regaining control over breathing
  • increasing relaxation

Consistent, deep breaths may calm your central nervous system (CNS), which has a relaxing effect on your entire body. This may help reduce stress and anxiety.

Pursed lip breathing has no risks or complications associated with it.

But let your doctor know right away if you notice your lung function decreasing noticeably. A change in treatment may be needed.

Other breathing exercises may help calm your CNS to soothe anxiety or panic disorders, while others have the primary goal of increasing lung function and breathing efficiency.

Diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing (also abdominal breathing or belly breathing) is another exercise commonly used to treat lung conditions. To try this exercise:

  1. Sit or lie on your back, placing one hand on your abdomen and one on your chest.
  2. Inhale through your nose.
  3. Press gently on your abdomen while slowly exhaling to push up on your diaphragm and push the air out.

Other exercises

Other breathing exercises include:

  • Box breathing: where you inhale and hold your breath, then exhale and hold your breath, for equal counts
  • Sama Vritti, or equal breathing: where you inhale and exhale for equal counts to help you relax
  • 4-7-8 breathing: where you inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds

You may want to practice pursed lip breathing until it becomes second nature.

Once you’ve mastered it, it may improve your breath control and make exercise more tolerable, even if you have a lung condition like COPD.

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