Breathwork-induced psychedelic experiences modulate neural dynamics.

Abstract

Breathwork is an understudied school of practices involving intentional respiratory modulation to induce an altered state of consciousness (ASC). We simultaneously investigate the phenomenological and neural dynamics of breathwork by combining Temporal Experience Tracing, a quantitative methodology that preserves the temporal dynamics of subjective experience, with low-density portable EEG devices. Fourteen novice participants completed a course of up to 28 breathwork sessions-of 20, 40, or 60 min-in 28 days, yielding a neurophenomenological dataset of 301 breathwork sessions. Using hypothesis-driven and data-driven approaches, we found that "psychedelic-like" subjective experiences were associated with increased neural Lempel-Ziv complexity during breathwork. Exploratory analyses showed that the aperiodic exponent of the power spectral density-but not oscillatory alpha power-yielded similar neurophenomenological associations. Non-linear neural features, like complexity and the aperiodic exponent, neurally map both a multidimensional data-driven composite of positive experiences, and hypothesis-driven aspects of psychedelic-like experience states such as high bliss.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Breathwork ↑Supports

  Psychedelic-like subjective experiences during breathwork were associated with increased neural Lempel-Ziv complexity, and exploratory analyses linked the aperiodic exponent of the power spectral density to positive and bliss-like experience states.

  Synthesized September 20, 2026

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on breathwork, most cited first.