My HRV had been sitting in the low-to-mid 30s for months (and maybe even years). I was nearing burnout with work, wedding planning was adding pressure on top of that, and I knew I was stressed beyond a normal level.

I’d dipped my toes into box breathing before, but it was only a session here and there. I had never committed to making breathwork a habit. So for this challenge, I decided to find out if breathwork actually could help improve my HRV and my stress levels, or if it just was something that felt good while doing it.

The Challenge: 21 Days of Breathwork

My challenge is simple: at least one 5-minute breathwork session, every day, for 21 days.

Understand the Challenge

I was going to try to get my breathwork done in the mornings as the default, but if evening worked better on a given day I didn’t want to stress about it (makes sense given the goal of this challenge was to reduce stress, right!). Ultimately, consistency mattered more than strict adherence to timing. I just had to get the session in each day.

Clarify Your Intent

I wanted to lower my stress and improve my HRV. Honestly, I was feeling like a shell of my former self with all the stress I was carrying… I hate to admit it but I had too short of a temper and would get triggered by the smallest inconvenience. I knew I needed a reset.

Set Your Personal Baseline

My 30-day HRV average via Apple Watch and Bevel was 34.1ms. I know HRV is highly personal, but I’ve always been surprised mine runs on the low end considering how much I train and how good my overall health is otherwise. With how much I work out and the endurance events I do, I figured chronic stress was doing most of the damage.

Bevel also gave me two secondary numbers to track: Non-Activity Stress at 37 and Sleep Stress at 8. I didn’t have a great read on what those meant in absolute terms, but they gave me something to compare against at the end.

No prior consistent breathwork practice. I knew what it was and had tried it occasionally, but never treated it as a daily habit.

Finalize Your Plan

My plan going in was box breathing (4 seconds in, 4 seconds hold, 4 out, 4 hold) for week one using the Oak app, then a shift toward coherent breathing (slower, no holds, around 6 breaths a minute, which is where most of the HRV research points) for weeks two and three using Insight Timer.

That’s not how it went. I found Insight Timer had a ton of free programming and I ended up scratching the Oak app entirely, sticking with coherent breathing through Insight Timer for the whole 21 days. I actually made this decision on the first day after seeing how much good (and free) content there was on Insight Timer. I started by watching a 17 minute video on the benefits of coherent breathing and how to perform it correctly (this was called “I Reset my Nervous System With Coherent Breathing” by Neil Tranter). It was a great into to coherent breathing and Neil also offered an easy unguided timer (this was called “Coherent Breathing Bells (Unguided) | 6s/6s | 5 bpm”). I highly recommend those for anyone searching.

To track progress, I checked my HRV from Bevel each morning, plus a daily subjective score for stress and clarity, both out of 10. This wasn’t scientific, but it gave my HRV numbers some context.

Establish Accountability

Same as always: my fiancée knew I was doing this, and she’s good at calling me out if I start skipping things. Beyond that, the Bevel data is its own accountability. Numbers don’t lie.

Daily Log Summary

Days 1 to 3: I did the previously mentioned 17 minute session instead of 5. I got pulled into a guided coherent session and lost track of time, which felt like a good sign, but I also had no idea if I was breathing from my diaphragm or my chest, and spent half the session thinking about that instead of actually breathing. HRV jumped to 53.7 on day 2, which I chalked up to swimming the day before instead of lifting. That confusion about whether I was doing it “right” followed me most of the first week.

Days 4 to 7: My dog turned into a recurring companion during my breathwork sessions. She’d nudge me for pets mid-session, and more than once I ended up petting her while trying to hold my breathing rhythm. Day 5 I gave up and let her win. Didn’t feel like the session did much that day, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. HRV bounced between 37.8 and 60.3 this stretch, with no clean pattern to point to yet.

Days 8 to 12: Day 9, my HRV dropped to 20.7 after a hard HIIT workout and a night out watching the USMNT (this was during the World Cup) that ended in more beers than I’d planned. I wasn’t feeling my best the next day and did my session in a hammock chair outside, though I think the hammock messed with my posture more than yesterday’s beers messed with my head. By day 12, on the back half of a few PTO days, I was feeling genuinely relaxed and at peace.

Days 13 to 17: Day 13 was the first day back after some PTO. I went into the session feeling chaotic and grumpy after wrapping some critical work tasks, and came out of it noticeably better. Day 14 was the opposite, my mind was bouncing between a business idea and an upcoming interview, and I couldn’t tell if the session made any real difference. HRV in this stretch ranged from the mid-40s to a surprising 59.2, with no obvious correlation to how the day had gone.

Days 18 to 21: Day 18 I woke up so groggy I could barely form a sentence, for no reason I could identify, and my HRV dipped right along with it. Day 19, after a day with a tweaked back, I really didn’t want to do the session. I sat down anyway and ended up glad I did. By day 21, breathing outside in the shade had become something I mostly looked forward to instead of a box to check.

Days 22 to 23: I liked the breathwork sessions enough to keep going past day 21. Both extra days I did the session outside despite the heat (the house hit 79 to 80 degrees with no AC), and both times it was the best I felt all day.

Final Reflections

My 30-day HRV trend in Bevel moved up 7.2ms over the course of the challenge. That is clearly an improvement, but it’s hard to say how my other behaviors over this 21 days impacted that number. I had also started waking up earlier and working out first thing a few days into this, so I can’t cleanly credit the breathing alone. Work stress and wedding stress didn’t disappear entirely either. However, they did feel MUCH more manageable… I think that is one of the biggest noticeable wins from this challenge.

I can absolutely say that I felt the benefit was real almost every time. Ten minutes of sitting still and breathing on purpose, even distracted, even skeptical, even not feeling my best, left me better than before the session.

I started looking forward to the breathing sessions and the only days I struggled to get it done were weekends, when the day had less structure to habit stack.

I will definitely keep doing breathwork sessions, and as I write this, I am on a three day streak of breathwork sessions (I felt my stress start to ramp back up after a couple week hiatus).

If you want to try it, you don’t need an app, a protocol, or a wearable. I’d recommend starting with 5 to 10 minutes, once a day, breath in for 6 seconds then breath out for 6 seconds. See if you notice anything after a week. If you don’t, you’ve lost five minutes a day. If you do, you’ll probably know pretty quickly.

I’m not a big drinker. A scotch on a Friday, beers at a wedding, mostly nothing in between. But the days I do drink? They wreck me. Bad sleep, low mood, a fog that takes most of the next day to clear.

Add to that the growing pile of research saying alcohol is a carcinogen, and I figured it was worth a closer look.

So for 21 days, I decided to cut out alcohol entirely.

The Challenge: 21 Days of No Alcohol

The rule is simple: no alcohol for 21 days.

Trace amounts in mouthwash, NyQuil, or “zero-proof” beverages don’t count. The point is to stop drinking, not to white-knuckle a purity test.

I’ve done a “Dry February” before, but honestly I couldn’t tell you what came of it. This time I wanted to actually pay attention.

Understand the Challenge

Don’t drink alcohol for 21 days. That’s the whole thing.

It sounds easy until you find yourself saying no over and over in moments you wouldn’t have given a second thought before.

Clarify Your Intent

I want to be healthier, more productive, and happier. I had a lot going on in my life at the time: marathon training, a heavy stretch at work, planning a wedding. None of which gets easier with a beer in my hand.

My commitment: “For the next 21 days, no alcohol. I want to see what’s actually changing about my body, my mood, and my output when I take it out.”

Set Your Personal Baseline

I asked Whoop to break down my consumption profile and got a small reality check.

• Average drinks per drinking day: ~4.5
• Average drinks per week: higher than I’d have guessed

The weekly number caught me off guard. Most days I don’t drink at all, but the days I do are clearly doing some heavy lifting on the average.

Whoop also showed a clear pattern in what alcohol does to me physiologically:

• Recovery: Yellow or red after drinking nights, often green after dry stretches.
• HRV: Mid-teens to low-20s ms after drinking, vs. a typical 45 to 60 ms.
• Resting HR: Low-to-high 60s on aftermath days vs. high-40s/low-50s normally.
• Sleep: More disturbance, lower efficiency, more time in bed for less actual rest.

Day 1 baseline of my last 30-day averages:

• HRV: 62 ms
• RHR: 46 bpm
• Recovery: 86%
• Sleep Performance: 69%
• Sleep Efficiency: 77%

Finalize Your Plan

There’s not much to this plan beyond saying no.

The biggest thing working in my favor: no major events in the 21-day window where alcohol would be the default. No weddings, no work dinners, no big celebrations.

Schedule the Work

Nothing to schedule. The challenge plays out at the bar, at dinners our with friends, and in my kitchen when I open the fridge to see a nice cold beer staring back at me.

Establish Accountability

My fiancée has been fully sober for over a year, so the accountability was built in. She’d already navigated everything I was about to: the “oh, you’re not drinking?” moments, the bachelor parties (or in her case bachelorette parties), and the awkward wine-pour pause when someone realizes you’re not joining in.

I also live in California, where opting out of alcohol has gotten remarkably easy. Saying “I’m not drinking right now” barely registers anymore.

Commit to Your Plan

If you want to share with someone, a message like this works:

“Hey [Friend], I’m doing a 21-day no-alcohol challenge, mostly to see if it’s costing me more than I think. Heads up if I pass on a drink next time we hang.”

Daily Log Summary

Days 1 to 3: The unexpected craving

I started clean. Day 1 metrics were solid mostly because I’d just had a quiet, snowstorm-induced slow weekend at my parents’ place in Atlanta with almost no movement to speak of.

The weird part hit on Day 2. I got home from my flight, opened the fridge, saw a few leftover beers, and suddenly really wanted one. I almost never crave beer.

Day 3 was the same story. Walking through Costco with my fiancée, I was genuinely tempted by a new scotch they had on display. Pre-challenge I’d go a full week without thinking about alcohol. The moment it became off-limits, my brain would not let it go.

Days 4 to 7: The first social test

By Day 4 I’d swapped my evening wind-down instinct for sparkling water with lemon. The cravings settled.

The first real test came on Day 7. Friends made homemade pizzas and uncorked wine. After a brutal work week, I would have absolutely loved a glass. Instead my fiancée and I drank Gia (a non-alcoholic cocktail) and I held strong to the challenge.

Days 8 to 11: Hitting stride

This was the best stretch. Day 8 I crossed the one-week mark, free from any hangovers (which had become an expectation even if I only drank 1-2 beers the night before). Day 9 I ran a half marathon and then watched the Super Bowl with non-alcoholic Recess cocktails (recommend, by the way). On Day 10 I hit 96% recovery, the highest I’d had in a long time.

The most interesting moment of the entire challenge came on Day 11. After a 15-hour workday and a hard run, I went out to dinner with two friends, fully expecting to be the only one not drinking. They both ordered something non-alcoholic too. I hadn’t said anything; they had their own reasons.

This is the “California shift” everyone keeps talking about. Three guys at dinner, none of us drinking, none of it weird.

Days 12 to 17: Training load complicates the data

Marathon training started taking a real toll. Speed work, long runs, F45 strength classes, a 15-mile run on Day 15, then a Presidents’ Day reset on Day 16. Recovery and HRV bounced around hard, and the headline numbers stopped looking clearly better than my baseline. Sleep performance was the bright spot, holding steady throughout.

Whatever benefit no alcohol was giving me was getting buried under marathon volume.

Days 18 to 21: Home stretch

I skipped rest days too aggressively this week and paid for it in recovery scores. The subjective pattern held though. Mornings felt sharper. I could get up and get to work before coffee. Got to Day 21 after a 17-mile run with more energy and a clearer head than I’d started with.

Final Reflections

The headline metrics don’t tell a clean story. My weekly averages didn’t dramatically improve from drinking weeks to dry weeks because my marathon training load was ramping up heavily throughout the challenge. But there was real signal in there:

• Sleep performance was my clearest gain, jumping about 7 points week over week.
• Mornings felt sharper, even on days I wouldn’t have been drinking anyway. That was the biggest surprise.
• I performed better under stress. Heavy work, marathon training, travel. A beer or scotch in any of those moments would have made things harder, not easier.
• Whoop says alcohol drops my recovery 21%, vs. a 13% member average. So I’m hit harder than most.

What surprised me most was how dose-dependent the cost is. 1-2 drinks barely register. 3 or more is where things go sideways. And drinking close to bedtime makes everything worse.

So I’m keeping alcohol around, but only at weddings, nice dinners, and work events. The Friday wind-down beer, the casual scotch at home, the default “why not” pour are all out. I’ll have a few drinks at a friend’s bachelor party next week, and that’s totally fine.

Key takeaway:

Alcohol stays special, not default.