A Reliable Testing Protocol

Breathwork is a direct test of your parasympathetic nervous system, as the act of deep and controlled 0.1 Hz breathing is a proven way to activate it – especially with a longer exhalation. Scientific studies quantify parasympathetic activity during breathwork through various analytical methods related to heart rate variability (HRV).

Your 0.1 Hz breathwork game provides insight into your body's stress response. If your parasympathetic response is low after a cycle of deep breaths, at, or around, the target breathing frequency, it suggests your body is in a higher state of stress and your parasympathetic system isn't engaging strongly to counteract it.  

Regular breathwork helps improve your nervous system's balance by consistently activating the parasympathetic system. 

What’s in Your Breathwork?


Your breathwork is a goldmine of physiological feedback.
Tune into the metrics that shape your journey.

How you control your breathing

What your nervous system tells you

Breathing Frequency

Respiratory frequency, also known as breathing rate, is the number of breaths you take per minute. Your normal adult rate is somewhere between 12 and 20 breaths per minute at rest and can reach up to 60 breaths per minute during running. 

Seesaw Health games guide you to practice intentional 0.1 Hz breathing, a rate of around 10 breaths per minute, particularly effective to increase your parasympathetic response. When you play a game, the egg measures your personal frequency.

Breathing Rhythm

Your breathing rhythm is your inhale-exhale (I:E) ratio. When you breathe shallowly, your breathing rhythm is characterized by rapid, limited chest movements that are primarily abdominal, not diaphragmatic. 

A longer exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Seesaw Health games guide you to practice the scientifically-established 4:6 ratio, where you breathe in (inhale) for 4 seconds, and breathe out (exhale) for 6 seconds.

Parasympathetic Response

Seesaw Health games help stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system. During a game, the egg measures your system’s capacity to adapt and “boost.” This state of physiological activity promotes neuroplasticity, and therefore enhanced adaptability to manage stressors. 

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological index of parasympathetic function using a comprehensive set of methods to measure, analyze, and interpret autonomic nervous system function. Our algorithms and machine learning processes measure the rate of change of your HRV in response to breathwork activation.

HRV is better understood as a positive marker of overall health rather than a diagnostic tool for disease. Add since disease-centered healthcare systems are structured to treat illness, heart rate variability is underutilized by physicians.

Parasympathetic Tone

Your parasympathetic tone reflects the ongoing activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. It is essential for overall well-being (stress and anxiety, chronic/systemic inflammation, sleep, cognitive performance, cardiovascular health…). It is influenced by multiple factors throughout the day, such as emotions, diet, medical conditions, sleep, drugs, and even pollution. 

Therefore, measuring parasympathetic tone requires a protocol and baseline data collected over time. Un-protocoled measurements provide an incomplete picture because of these constant fluctuations. Seesaw Health overcomes this issue: right before, and during a game, the egg measures your heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological index of parasympathetic function. The egg enables high resolution sensing and best-in-class accuracy.

Evidence-based Insights

Neuroscientific research foundations

 +50% to +300%

in one 0.1 Hz breathwork session


Multiple independent controlled studies (1) confirm that conventional metrics of parasympathetic activity increase +50% to +300% (2) from just a few minutes (3) of 0.1 Hz breathwork (4).

Independently funded and conducted scientific experiments and clinical trials that include a control group (that does not practice 0.1 Hz breathing) to determine the real effect of 0.1 Hz breathing.
Example of a systematic review and a meta-analysis (1842 selected published studies, 223 studies deemed suitable)

Depending on age, consistency, parasympathetic activity level before breathwork

Typically around 5 minutes of 0.1 Hz breathing, possibly broken into 5 individual one-minute breathwork tasks 

Acute, within-session effects during paced breathing at or near 0.1 Hz. For example, this recent study on individuals recovering from severe traumatic injuries illustrates the power of 0.1 Hz in everyday scenarios, making the big idea easy to grasp

Studies that compare various breathwork techniques show highest evidence-based and empirical support for 0.1 Hz, and notably indicate that:
- Box breathing generates moderate parasympathetic activity increase, which in addition may be partly biased due to mechanical effects of breath holding
- 4-7-8 breathing increase is smaller and very variable, some studies even reporting decreases during breathwork

 4 to 6 weeks

yields sustained effect


Sustained parasympathetic effects (1) from 0.1 Hz breathing are typically observed after about 4–6 weeks of regular practice (2), with multiple randomized protocols showing increased parasympathetic indices by week 4 (3) and neurofunctional changes by week 5 (4); however, effects tend to wane without continued practice (5).

Includes biomarker data measured at rest and improved stress, emotion, inflammation regulation detected at 4–6 weeks in controlled studies, not just acutely during paced breathing sessions

Daily or near-daily practice, generally observed from 5 minutes per day, and up to 20 minutes, depending on adherence and other factors such as age, pre-existing parasympathetic function and lifestyle

Mathematical methods that can provide information the parasympathetic nervous system activity (e.g., first derivative of heart rate variability)

Neurofunctional changes refer to how the brain and nervous system function to promote neuroplasticity

Parasympathetic metrics tend to return to baseline (levels observed before 0.1 Hz regular practice) in the 2 weeks after the 4–6-week intervention ended, suggesting effects diminish without continued practice and that ongoing engagement is needed to maintain parasympathetic gains

Supported by 100s of studies

We team up with scientists, doctors, and industry leaders to ensure our solution is firmly rooted in scientific evidence


Independent studies by respected global research institutions support the validity of our approach.
These findings reflect a commitment to broad scientific understanding and are not influenced by our internal objectives.
University logos are shown for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

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A handful of studies, selected from many:

(1) Breathing at 0.1 Hz is currently considered the most effective breathing technique for enhancing parasympathetic response. Additionally, it provides sufficient time (~5 s of exhalation) for acetylcholine to be fully released and hydrolyzed.

(2) Voluntary slow breathing around 0.1 Hz shows a positive effect on parasympathetic activity: DURING the breathing session, IMMEDIATELY AFTER the session (smaller than DURING), and AFTER a series of sessions: regular practice leading to a persistent increase.

(3) There are limitless combinations of inhale/exhale, nose or mouth, duration. However, the two components that work across breathwork techniques are: (A.) depth of breath (at least 80% of capacity) and (B.) rate of breathing (i.e., around 0.1 Hz). 

(4) The threshold for the baroreceptor reflex (that regulates blood pressure) is a controlled breathing rate around 0.1 Hz. Interestingly, this is exactly the same breathing rate that is reported with the highest increase of parasympathetic activity.

(5) Slow breathing significantly improves parasympathetic activity and emotional control, while reducing cortisol, anxiety, stress…

(6) 0.1 Hz slow-paced breathing significantly enhances emotional control (management of disruptive feelings), through specific brain activity patterns.

(7) Breathwork interventions lead to significant improvements in anxiety symptoms in patients clinically diagnosed with anxiety disorders.

(8) The act of breathing shapes how we think, feel, and perceive. By controlling your breathing rhythm, you can improve thinking and emotional balance.

(9) Daily 5-minute breathwork improves mood and physiology more than mindfulness meditation.

(10) Volunteers performed pursed-lips breathing, Pranayama, and loaded breathing (added resistance), all at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. Pursed-lips breathing was associated with better emotional responses.

(11) Short-term practice of slow breathing further enhances parasympathetic activity in yoga practitioners.

🔗

(1) https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3271/13/3/127
(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35623448/
(3) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1040091/full
(4) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00397/full
(5) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smi.70098
(6) https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-international-journal-clinical-health-psychology-355-articulo-slow-paced-breathing-enhancing-emotional-control-S1697260025000298
(7) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368262856_Breathwork_Interventions_for_Adults_with_Clinically_Diagnosed_Anxiety_Disorders_A_Scoping_Review
(8) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-92434-001
(9) https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00474-8
(10) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33111377/
(11) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8224157/

Built on Scientific Integrity

⚙️ Measuring PNS response to a controlled stimulus (0.1 Hz breathwork) is more relevant than continuous tracking

⚙️ The egg reads parasympathetic signals with up to 8x more samples per second than other consumer solutions

⚙️ Most wearables try to be everything while PNS balance needs the right blade, not just a wristful of options

Gamified Neuroplasticity

🐉 Breathwork forms and supports neural connections.
Games fires neuroplasticity too (new skills, challenges).
By blending breathwork and games, Seesaw Health provides a structured platform to boost neuroplasticity.

Frequently Asked Questions