Effects of brief remote high ventilation breathwork with retention on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.
Guy W. Fincham, Elissa S Epel, Alessandro Colasanti, Clara Strauss, Kate Cavanagh
Scientific Reports July 23, 2024 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64254-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Placebo-controlled Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 200 |
| Population | Young, healthy adults balanced for gender |
| Interventions | High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) placebo HVBR comparator |
| Duration | 3 weeks of 20 min daily practice |
| Topics | Breathwork |
| Keywords | Humans Breathing exercises Mental health Female Young adult |
| Registration | NCT06064474 |
| Key findings | Both high-ventilation breathwork with retention and a placebo breathwork comparator showed similar pre-to-post improvements in stress, with no significant between-group difference on stress or on secondary outcomes including anxiety, depression, mental wellbeing, sleep-related impairment, and affect. The authors conclude that brief remote high-ventilation breathwork may not be more efficacious than a well-designed active comparator in otherwise healthy young adults. |
Abstract
High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) has been growing in popularity over the past decade and might be beneficial for mental and physical health. However, little research has explored the potential therapeutic effects of brief, remotely delivered HVBR and the tolerability profile of this technique. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of a fully-automated HVBR protocol, along with its tolerability, when delivered remotely in a brief format. This study (NCT06064474) was the largest blinded randomised-controlled trial on HVBR to date in which 200 young, healthy adults balanced for gender were randomly allocated in blocks of 2 by remote software to 3 weeks of 20 min daily HVBR (fast breathing with long breath holds) or a placebo HVBR comparator (15 breaths/min with short breath holds). The trial was concealed as a 'fast breathwork' study wherein both intervention and comparator were masked, and only ~ 40% guessed their group assignment with no difference in accuracy between groups. Both groups reported analogous credibility and expectancy of benefit, subjective adherence, positive sentiment, along with short- and long-term tolerability. At post-intervention (primary timepoint) for stress level (primary outcome), we found no significant group × time interaction, F(1,180) = 1.98, p = 0.16, ηp2 = 0.01, d = 0.21), nor main effect of group, (F = 0.35, p = 0.55, ηp2 < 0.01) but we did find a significant main effect of time, (F = 13.0, p < 0.01, ηp2 = 0.07). There was a significant improvement in stress pre-post-intervention in both groups, however there was no significant difference in such improvement between groups. In addition to stress at follow-up, we found no significant group x time interactions for secondary trait outcomes of anxiety, depression, mental wellbeing, and sleep-related impairment. This was also the case for state positive and negative affect after the first session of breathwork and at post-intervention. Brief remote HVBR therefore may not be more efficacious at improving mental health than a well-designed active comparator in otherwise healthy, young adults.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on breathwork, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Breathwork for Chronic Stress and Mental Health: Does Choosing a Specific Technique Matter? Medical Sciences August 13, 2025
- Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music PLoS One August 27, 2025
- An exploratory study of breathwork-induced altered states of consciousness in experienced practitioners: the airways to alteration (A2A) trial Frontiers in Psychology June 10, 2026
- Measuring Altered States of Consciousness in Virtual Reality: A Systematic Analysis of Assessment Methods HCI International 2025 – Late Breaking Papers 2026
- High ventilation breathwork as a non-pharmacological model for inducing psychedelic-like states: expert evaluations of therapeutic potential and risk npj Mental Health Research September 17, 2026
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Cites 14
- Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal Cell Reports Medicine 2023
- Case analysis of long-term negative psychological responses to psychedelics Scientific Reports September 25, 2023
- High ventilation breathwork practices: An overview of their effects, mechanisms, and considerations for clinical applications. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 1, 2023
- Effects of conscious connected breathing on cortical brain activity, mood and state of consciousness in healthy adults Current Psychology September 8, 2023
- Does the Wim Hof Method have a beneficial impact on physiological and psychological outcomes in healthy and non-healthy participants? A systematic review. PLoS One 2024
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