Current Psychology, 2024
CCB reduced negative affective states (tension, confusion, depression, and anger) and increased self-esteem.
This aligns with psychodynamic theories of breathwork, which generally attribute emotional breakthroughs to the release of physical tension that has accumulated over time due to the suppression of negative emotions.
The subjective experiences during breathwork resembled those reported after medium to high doses of psilocybin.
The observed decrease in theta wave power in this study could indicate a more open, less egocentric mode of thinking and may relate to changes in memory processing associated with breathwork.
“Remarkably, the low beta wave activity also decreased after the breathwork session. Beta waves are associated with alertness, focus, stress, and anxiety. Elevated beta waves—especially beta-1 and beta-2—are linked to increased rumination, a phenomenon frequently observed in anxiety and depression.”
Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Pre-Print, 2024
This study found that intentional hyperventilation plays a key role in triggering altered states of consciousness (ASC) during breathwork, and that the depth of the ASC predicted the subacute psychological and physiological effects after the session.
The study also showed that physiological changes triggered by intentional hyperventilation—specifically reduced CO₂ levels—are a key mechanism in eliciting ASCs during breathwork.
Breathwork was found to be an effective tool for enhancing psychological well-being and may also produce long-term anti-inflammatory effects, even though it appears to cause a temporary inflammatory response during the session.
Participants who actively engaged in breathing showed significantly lower CO₂ levels compared to passive breathers, and the subjective experiences reported were similar to those induced by psychedelics.
The study found a strong correlation between reduced CO₂ levels and deeper ASCs. CO₂ levels below 20 mmHg were a consistent indicator of deviation from normal waking consciousness.
The study also found that breathwork significantly improved psychological well-being and reduced depressive symptoms, with the depth of the acute breathwork experience predicting the subacute benefits.
Breathwork was shown to alter consciousness, and the breathwork setting itself contributed to this effect.
Well-being and depressive symptoms improved one week after the session, and the depth of ASC during the session predicted these improvements.