How to use your breath to keep calm and stay healthy

Stress can motivate us to get things done, but if we don't get a handle on our stress and it becomes long-term, it can seriously interfere with our health.

Consciously slowing down our breathing is one of the most potent and instant ways to induce a state of well-being. It helps to relieve stress, manage anxiety, sleep better or create some space between yourself and your emotions. When slowing down our breathing rate, we activate the parasympathetic part of our autonomic nervous system, which can be seen as our 'brake pedal'. By breathing more slowly, you can lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels, and you will feel calmer and better.

The idea: a tool for stress-reducing breathing exercises

This is exactly the idea from which moonbird was born. We founded our company in 2019 after our co-founders, Stefanie (PhD in pharmaceutical sciences) and Michael (economist) Broes, noticed more and more friends and family members struggling with anxiety, stress, and sleeping problems. With moonbird, we developed a tactile breath pacer that fits in your palm and makes doing breathing exercises as accessible and easy as possible.

Moreover, moonbird provides biofeedback on heart rate, heart rate variability, and coherence, so that you can keep track of how your health improves by doing slow breathing exercises.

Today, nearly 10,000 people are already using moonbird to relax, de-stress, sleep better, and improve overall health. A recent study by moonbird in collaboration with EIT Health and LiCalab shows that moonbird significantly improves the sleep quality of poor sleepers and makes them feel more rested during the day.

Scientific rationale for breathing exercises

Mindful breathing, as the Indian yogis and Buddhist monks have known for hundreds of years, is the most powerful and effective way to reduce stress. It is available to us anytime, anywhere. Over recent years, this ancient knowledge has also been confirmed by science:

Less stress - Research shows that just 10 minutes of slow breathing makes us feel 15% more relaxed.

Sleeping faster and better - Breathing slowly for 20 minutes before going to bed translated into falling asleep 15 minutes earlier, according to a scientific study. Breathing exercises also led to waking up only half as often.

Less anxiety and panic - Those who did breathing exercises three times a day for at least three days reduced their anxiety by as much as 20%.

Curious what breathing with moonbird can do for you?

We offer you the opportunity to try moonbird for 30 days risk-free, with no obligation. You only pay when you decide to keep your moonbird. The most important thing for us is that moonbird really works for you.

Sources 1. Prinsloo GE, et al. The effect of short duration heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback on cognitive performance during laboratory induced cognitive stress. Appl Cogn Psychol. 2011. 2. Tsai HJ, et al. Efficacy of paced breathing for insomnia: enhances vagal activity and improves sleep quality. Psychophysiology. 2015. 3. Yu WJ, et al. Effects of abdominal breathing on state anxiety, stress, and tocolytic dosage for pregnant women in preterm labor. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2010.