Optimal HRV vs Paced Breathing

Are you feeling stressed, burned out, or just not yourself? Optimal HRV is the guided biofeedback app that teaches your body to calm down — for real. Backed by a Harvard Medical School mindfulness expert and trusted by athletes worldwide. Optimal HRV pairs real HRV data with live biofeedback, so every session trains your nervous system to handle stress better — not just tells you that you're stressed. Why HRV and Biofeedback Training Work Your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a window into how well your body handles stress, anxiety, and recovery — and biofeedback is how you train it to improve. Together, they show you what's happening inside your body, then guide you to change it in real time. With Optimal HRV, you can: • See how stressed — or relaxed — your body really is, using real HRV data. • Learn what actually helps you recover, from sleep to workouts to busy workdays. • Use live biofeedback to train your body to relax faster, right as it's happening. • Discover your own personal "perfect breathing rhythm" through guided sessions. Features You'll Actually Use • Daily Check-Ins — take a quick reading each morning, or anytime you want to see how you're doing. • Your Perfect Breathing Rhythm — a simple test finds the exact breathing pace that works best for you. • Live Feedback While You Train — a simple on-screen guide shows you when you're doing it just right. • Calming Mindfulness Sessions — guided practices created with a Harvard Medical School mindfulness expert, covering stress, anxiety, pain management, athletic performance, and more, with calming narrations in your choice of voice. • Easy-to-Read Progress — see your trends over days, weeks, and months, no data expertise needed. • Video Tutorials — learn HRV concepts and techniques at your own pace. • Make It Yours — adjust sounds, pacing, and reminders so training fits your life. • Available in 14 Languages — use Optimal HRV in your native language. • Device Testing — quickly verify if your heart rate monitor works with the app. • Great for Teams Too — employers and coaches can track group wellness together (Dashboard access needed). Why Optimal HRV Works with External Sensors (Not Apple Watch) We choose precision over convenience. Apple Watch is great for daily wellness, but Optimal HRV is built for serious HRV training. That's why we connect directly to an HRV monitor via Bluetooth — they deliver millisecond-accurate R‑R intervals that wrist sensors can't match. What that means for you: • More accurate data – better insights, better decisions. • Real-time streaming – no gaps, no guesswork. • Reliable results – trusted by athletes and coaches worldwide. Love Optimal HRV? Leave a review and help others find their calm. Your feedback helps us improve and reaches more people who need stress relief. Try it free for 30 days and feel the difference for yourself. Download now and start training your nervous system today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Featured in James Nestor’s best-selling book, Breath, Paced Breathing uses visual, audio and haptic cues to guide you through your practice. Whether meditating, strengthening your lungs or simply relaxing - join the thousands who love using Paced Breathing everyday! USES * Relieve Stress * Meditate — (especially good for Kundalini, Hatha, Pranayama) * Strengthen Lungs — (improve lung capacity & aid recovery) * Falling Asleep FEATURES * Adjustable timing for inhale, hold, exhale, & hold * Heart monitoring: heart rate, HRV, & coherence (PB+) * Ramp mode: gradually change breath times * Visual, audio, & vibrate cues * Reminders / notifications (PB+) * Background playback * Playlists for multiple breath presets * Streaks, goals, & session tracking (PB+) HEALTH BENEFITS Regular breathing practices have been shown to help improve your: * Cardiovascular health [1][2][3] * Relaxation [2] * Stress responses [1][4][5] * Mood [1] * Attention [4] * Alzheimer's risk [6] FROM THE DEVELOPER I’m Mihai, an engineer born in Romania & raised in Michigan. My ideal day is working on apps to help others, like Paced Breathing. Someday I hope I can work on apps like these full time! Hearing from users makes my day, so shoot me an email with requests, bugs, things you like, or just your story: mihai@pacedbreathing.com! USER FEEDBACK * "The best breathing app out there (I've tried 12 apps, this is the only one that works for me). I have recommended it to over 100 people over the 7 years I've been using it. I use it at least 5 x a week. Gives me instant calm" — R. Hall * "LOVE this app. Very simple and easy to use. You can set time for inhale, exhale, and pause after each if you wish. You can watch it or listen…Thank you! Ads Not intrusive. Ads turn off when the app is active” — Denise * "This is a wonderfully simple app. The default sound tone is just right for me and I like that I get to set the volume and it stays there whether or not the volume of the phone ring or other apps are different" — Eleanor * "I've never written something like this in a review but... I love whoever wrote this app :-) Gets to the point in 0.2 s. No long annoying splash screens. No attempts to extort money... Super reliable, simple and 100% effective. I was looking for something that would let me take some breaks during normal meditation to do some controlled breathing, for example our most natural pattern - continuous 5.5 s inhale, 5.5 exhale. works perfect! BRAVO. A lesson to all developers how to make useful apps!" — Adam CITATIONS * [1] Study published in Front Public Health (2017) shows slow rhythmic breathing decreased blood pressure response to stress & improved mood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575449 * [2] Study in PLOS ONE (2019) shows slow paced breathing can improve relaxation & cardiovascular function: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218550 * [3] Study in American Journal of Cardiology (2002) shows slow, paced breathing can significantly reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16129818/ * [4] Study in Frontiers in Psychology (2017) shows diaphragmatic breathing improves attention, reduces negative affect, & lowers stress in healthy adults: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874/full * [5] Study in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2005) shows benefits of Sudarshan Kriya, a specific yogic breathing practice, in treating stress, anxiety, & depression: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2005.11.189 * [6] Study in Nature Scientific Reports (2023) shows slow paced breathing counters pathways that lead to Alzheimer’s disease: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30167-0 DISCLAIMER App not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent medical conditions. Consult a healthcare professional before starting a breathing practice, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions.