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

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

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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