Breathwork
for the moment.

reset is a free iPhone app for state-aware breathwork. You describe how you're feeling — fuzzy, nervous, mad, or awake when you don't want to be — and reset matches you to one of four short breathing exercises (1, 3, or 5 minutes), each based on peer-reviewed research on breathwork and the nervous system. There are no streaks, journals, or daily notifications. It's designed for the moment you actually need it, not for building a habit.

Calm and Headspace are meditation libraries — you browse a catalog and meditate on a schedule. reset is a stateful utility: you tell it what you're feeling right now, and it gives you one technique for the next 1–5 minutes. No streaks, no journal, no daily nudges. It opens, runs, and gets out of your way.

Cyclic sighing is a breathing pattern where you take two inhales through the nose — the second a short top-up — and one long exhale through the mouth. A 2023 Stanford study (Balban et al., Cell Reports Medicine) found that five minutes of daily cyclic sighing improved mood and lowered respiratory rate more than mindfulness meditation, box breathing, or cyclic hyperventilation. reset uses cyclic sighing in its Nervous → Calm mode.

Source: Balban et al., 2023. "Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal."

4-7-8 breathing is a technique where you inhale through the nose for four seconds, hold the breath for seven, and exhale through the mouth for eight. The extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is why it's often recommended as a wind-down practice before sleep. reset uses 4-7-8 in its Awake → Sleepy mode.

Controlled breathing — particularly techniques that lengthen the exhale relative to the inhale — has been shown to lower heart rate, reduce subjective anxiety, and shift the nervous system from sympathetic ("fight or flight") to parasympathetic ("rest and digest") activation. Cyclic sighing, 4-7-8, box breathing, and extended exhale are among the most studied patterns.

reset is a wellness tool, not a medical device. If anxiety is significantly affecting your life, please talk to a qualified mental health professional.

Extended-exhale techniques — including 4-7-8 and similar patterns where the exhale is roughly twice as long as the inhale — are commonly recommended for sleep onset because the long exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system and slows the heart rate. reset's Awake → Sleepy mode uses 4-7-8 breathing and includes a longer sleep-onset variant.

Yes. reset runs fully offline once installed. No account, sign-in, or internet connection is required to use any of the four breathing modes.

Yes. reset is free, with all features available in the current release (v0.1.0). No ads, no subscription, no in-app purchases. Future versions may include an optional paid tier — see the roadmap for what's planned.

No personal data. No account. No device identifier. Sessions and settings live only on your phone. The only thing that leaves your device is optional anonymous 👍/👎 feedback you choose to submit. See the privacy policy for the full breakdown.

reset is an iPhone app running on iOS 16 or later. Haptics require an iPhone with the Taptic Engine (iPhone 7 and later). A watchOS app and Apple Health integration are on the roadmap.