Does breathing slow down during sleep?
Generally, yes. Breathing tends to slow and become more regular during non-REM sleep, with the lowest rates often occurring during deeper sleep.
During REM sleep, breathing can become faster and less regular again. Small changes throughout the night are not necessarily a sign that something is wrong. The Sleep Foundation explains that respiratory rate normally changes across sleep stages.
What is a normal breathing rate during sleep?
There is no single sleeping respiratory rate that applies to everyone. For adults, 12–20 breaths per minute is a useful general reference. Other reputable health sources use slightly different adult resting ranges; for example, MedlinePlus lists 12–18 breaths per minute for an average healthy adult at rest.
This difference is a reminder not to treat a single number as a diagnosis. Your usual breathing pattern and the circumstances around a measurement matter. Children generally breathe faster than adults, and respiratory rate tends to decrease as children grow. See our guide to normal breathing rate by age.
Why does breathing change during different sleep stages?
Sleep is made up of repeating stages, including non-REM and REM sleep. During non-REM sleep, breathing generally becomes slower and more regular as the body moves into deeper sleep. During REM sleep, breathing can become more variable.
Because sleep stages change through the night, it is normal for your breathing rate to move up and down rather than remain at exactly the same rate.
Can breathing rate change during the night?
Yes. Several factors can influence breathing while you sleep, including:
- sleep stage and age
- recent physical activity
- illness or infection
- anxiety or stress
- lung or heart conditions
- some medicines, alcohol or other substances
A change on one night does not automatically mean there is a health problem. If you use a wearable device that reports respiratory rate, look at trends rather than focusing on one isolated reading. Wearables can support awareness, but they are not a substitute for medical assessment.
How is sleeping respiratory rate measured?
In a clinical setting, sleep studies can continuously monitor breathing rate and other signals while you sleep. At home, counting breaths while someone is asleep can be difficult because breathing can change between sleep stages and because observing someone may disturb them.
For a simple wellness baseline, measuring your resting breathing rate while awake is often easier and more repeatable. Use the free BreatheMeter breathing-rate calculator to count breaths for 30 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes. For more consistent results, follow our guide on how to measure your breathing rate at rest.
What about pauses in breathing?
Brief changes in breathing can occur during sleep. However, repeated pauses in breathing, loud frequent snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, or significant daytime sleepiness can be signs that deserve medical attention.
A sleep study can monitor breathing, oxygen levels, heart rate and other body signals and can help clinicians assess possible sleep disorders. Read more about a sleep study from MedlinePlus. Do not try to diagnose sleep apnoea or another condition from a respiratory-rate number alone.
When should you seek medical advice?
Talk with a qualified healthcare professional if you notice a persistent or significant change in your nighttime breathing, particularly if it is accompanied by:
- repeated pauses in breathing
- loud or frequent snoring with disturbed sleep
- gasping or choking during sleep
- excessive daytime sleepiness or morning headaches
- significant difficulty breathing
Seek urgent medical attention for severe difficulty breathing, blue or grey lips or skin, chest pain, loss of consciousness, or another serious or rapidly worsening symptom.
Measure your breathing while awake
A resting breathing-rate measurement can give you a useful baseline for everyday breathing awareness. Use the free BreatheMeter calculator to count your breaths and convert the result to breaths per minute.
Get BreatheMeter on the App Store
Related breathing guides
- Breathing rate: what it is and how to measure it
- What is a normal breathing rate?
- Normal breathing rate by age
- How to measure your breathing rate at rest