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Effects of High Ventilation Breathwork With Retention (HVBR) on Health

U

University of Sussex

Status

Completed

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms
Sleep-Related Impairment
Mental Wellbeing
Negative Affect
Anxiety
Positive Affect
Stress

Treatments

Behavioral: High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR)
Behavioral: Placebo HVBR

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06064474
Sussex fast breathwork study

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators are conducting a randomised-controlled trial comparing high ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) to a breathwork placebo (paced breathing at 15breaths/min with brief retentions). The metric of 15b/min aligns with guidance from the British Journal of Nursing, Royal College of Physicians and Johns Hopkins Medicine which state that the average, healthy rate should range from: 12-20, 12-18 and 12-16b/min, respectively. The main questions the study attempts to address are: Does HVBR lead to improved state and trait mental health and wellbeing in a general population adult sample?

The study will be conducted entirely online through the research platform Prolific, so participant data will be anonymous. The investigators will collect self-reports of mental health and wellbeing before and after the three-week breathwork period, in addition to a follow-up three weeks later. Pre-post intervention and follow-up questionnaires will be completed online via the survey platform Qualtrics which will be linked to Prolific. Data on self-reported adherence to, and credibility/expectancy of, the breathwork will also be collected, along with participants' experiences to gauge the safety and tolerability of the breathwork protocol.

Enrollment

200 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 39 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria (self-assessed):

  • Fluent in English and living in the UK
  • Have access to headphones
  • Comfortable with faster breathing and holding breath
  • Willing to only practice breathwork in safe environment, lying down in soft area (i.e., bed, sofa, carpet/mat), and always away from water & hard ground
  • Willing to only practice the breathwork away from large meals (i.e., before or 1hour after) and bedtime (i.e., at least 1 hour before if practicing in evening)

Exclusion Criteria (self-assessed):

  • Hypotension or hypertension (low or high blood pressure)
  • History of respiratory or cardiovascular/heart problems or disease
  • History of fainting or syncope
  • Epilepsy or seizures
  • History of panic disorder or panic attacks
  • Cerebral aneurysm
  • Have had problems with prior breathwork sessions (i.e., fainting)
  • Pregnancy, think one might be pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or are breastfeeding
  • Any problems which affect one's ability to pace their breathing (i.e., active/chronic respiratory infection including blocked nose/cough/cold/fever, etc.), breathlessness, abnormally slow breathing (bradypnea), or abnormally fast breathing (tachypnoea)
  • Any other physical/mental health conditions or current life events which impair or affect one's ability to engage in activities involving breath control
  • Are taking any regular medication other than the contraceptive pill, including medications to reduce blood pressure (i.e., Ramipril or other ACE-inhibitors), beta blockers (i.e., Propranolol), antidepressants, anxiolytics or any other psychotropic medications

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

Single Blind

200 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR)
Experimental group
Description:
Guided audio of HVBR pre-recorded by a trained breathwork facilitator for \~20min/day over 21 days (three weeks). Delivered remotely through audio link, comprising evocative music and four rounds of hyperventilation with four separate retentions (breath holds), progressively increasing in length (from \~45seconds up to \~90 seconds).
Treatment:
Behavioral: High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR)
Placebo HVBR
Placebo Comparator group
Description:
Guided audio of placebo HVBR pre-recorded by a trained breathwork facilitator for \~20min/day over 21 days (three weeks). Delivered remotely through audio link, comprising music and four rounds of paced breathing at 15b/min (equal inhale:exhale) with four separate brief retentions, progressively increasing in length (from \~10secs to \~25secs).
Treatment:
Behavioral: Placebo HVBR

Trial documents
2

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Central trial contact

Guy W Fincham, MSc; Kate Cavanagh, PhD

Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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