Long-Term Usage of Breeze, a Gamified Breathing Training App, and Its Effect on Momentary Relaxation in People With Cancer: Cohort Study
This study demonstrates the potential of Breeze to alleviate acute stress in individuals with chronic conditions, such as cancer. By combining gamification with evidence-based breathing techniques, Breeze fosters sustained user engagement and momentary relaxation. Participants adhered well to the guided breathing. While even short breathing sessions of 2 minutes provided modest momentary relaxation, longer durations (≥4 min) were considerably more effective. Future research aims to assess the impact of Breeze on other populations and chronic conditions.
Authors
- Yanick Xavier Lukic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2576-6569)
- Anja Yvonne Bischof (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9318-5408)
- Jürgen Barth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7096-7178)
- Tobias Kowatsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5939-4145)
- Sonja Schläpfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0330-403X)
- Prabhakaran Santhanam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9506-4888)
- Claudia M. Witt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5440-7805)
- Tobias Budig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1720-8789)
- Fabian Schneider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2434-7087)
Institutions
- University of Zurich (CH)
- University of St.Gallen (CH)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University Hospital of Zurich (CH)
- Center for Pediatric Endocrinology Zurich (CH)
- ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JMIR Serious Games
- Published
- 2025-10-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2196/70297
- Primary Topic
- Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00