Breathing between trades: what the evidence supports
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2026 5:17 am
Slow breathing is a popular recommendation for calming nerves before and during trading. Is there anything to it?
There's reasonable evidence that slow, paced breathing, around six breaths per minute, can reduce physiological arousal, lower heart rate and improve self-reported calm in the short term. The effect is modest and works best as a regular practice, not a crisis cure.
For a trader, a short breathing routine after a loss or before a session may help create a pause, interrupting the automatic move toward a revenge trade. Even if the physiological effect is small, the pause itself has value.
Limits matter. Breathing exercises don't fix a flawed strategy or replace risk rules. They're a tool for managing state, nothing more. Overpromising benefits leads to disappointment.
A reasonable approach is to try a minute of paced breathing at set moments, like before the first trade and after any stop-out, and note any change in rule adherence over a few weeks.
A modest approach: three slow breaths at fixed moments, like before the first trade and after each stop-out. No apps, no gadgets, no mystical claims. If rule adherence improves over a month, the routine earns its place. If nothing changes, it can be dropped without regret.
Has a breathing or pause routine made any measurable difference?
There's reasonable evidence that slow, paced breathing, around six breaths per minute, can reduce physiological arousal, lower heart rate and improve self-reported calm in the short term. The effect is modest and works best as a regular practice, not a crisis cure.
For a trader, a short breathing routine after a loss or before a session may help create a pause, interrupting the automatic move toward a revenge trade. Even if the physiological effect is small, the pause itself has value.
Limits matter. Breathing exercises don't fix a flawed strategy or replace risk rules. They're a tool for managing state, nothing more. Overpromising benefits leads to disappointment.
A reasonable approach is to try a minute of paced breathing at set moments, like before the first trade and after any stop-out, and note any change in rule adherence over a few weeks.
A modest approach: three slow breaths at fixed moments, like before the first trade and after each stop-out. No apps, no gadgets, no mystical claims. If rule adherence improves over a month, the routine earns its place. If nothing changes, it can be dropped without regret.
Has a breathing or pause routine made any measurable difference?