You won’t accidentally turn on, tune in and drop out.
It’ll take conscious effort to employ breath work techniques. But brain imaging shows high ventilation breathwork (HVB) can take you to altered states comparable to psychedelics, according to research being presented at the 39th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress in Munich this week, and that’s good news for mental health research.
“Many people who practice intensive breathwork report profound changes in perception and self-experience, yet the underlying brain mechanisms remain poorly understood. Our study suggests that these experiences are linked not only to marked changes in cerebral blood flow, but also to alterations in how key brain networks communicate,” said lead researcher Dr Christian Schmitz, from the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim in Germany.
The study, “Breathwork-induced changes in cerebral blood flow, functional connectivity and altered states of consciousness: similarities and differences with psychedelic research,” was conducted by researchers from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Germany, the German Center for Mental Health DZPG, and the MIND Foundation in Berlin.
They were looking to see if there were comparable modulations in brain function and physiology in HVB and classical psychedelics, both of which have been reported to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Breath work, for the uninitiated, is a controlled version of breathing, directing the movement of breath using the diaphragm, nose, and mouth.
It will be a concept familiar to many who’ve interacted with practices such as yoga or mindfulness. There are various techniques and people who specialise in the practice of breath work.
For the study, 30 experienced breathwork practitioners performed high ventilation breathwork inside an MRI scanner and then the intensity of their non-ordinary states of consciousness was measured at 12-minute intervals.
Using brain imaging, researchers found that HVB “reliably” brought on altered state of consciousness for these experienced breathwork practitioners. The imaging showed that cerebral blood flow fell by about 45% during the session. It also showed greater changes in the brain’s default mode network for those who reported stronger altered states.
“[T]he absence of a [cerebral blood flow]-NOSC relationship suggests vasoconstriction alone does not drive NOSC, with relevant perfusion changes potentially being regionally specific rather than global,” the researchers wrote.
“Notably, greater post-HVB reductions in [default mode network-functional connectivity] were associated with more intense NOSC. This finding, while tentative … is directionally consistent with psychedelic research linking acute DMN disruption to experiential depth.”
In other words, it wasn’t just the change in blood flow; it was also a change in how brain networks communicated with each other.
“These findings are important because such altered subjective experiences may be harnessed for the improvement of mental health, and an accessible non-pharmacological route such a breathwork could prove invaluable for many,” said independent mental health expert Dr Guy Fincham from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the UK.
“We should note that the study was uncontrolled and the sample was made up of experienced practitioners, so replication of this in breathwork-naïve participants using a randomised-controlled design will help determine whether these findings can translate more widely and produce therapeutic benefit,” Dr Fincham said.
Send your inhaled and exhaled research conclusions to Holly@medicalrepublic.com.au.
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