You've probably seen the clips. Someone lies on a mat, breathing fast and deep for twenty minutes, promising peace, clarity or a mental reset. Breathwork has quietly become one of the most shared wellness tools online.
A brain-imaging study presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology congress in Munich tracked what happens during intensive breathwork. The team saw blood flow to the brain drop by about 45 percent, along with changes in how parts of the brain communicate.
The team, based at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, scanned 30 experienced practitioners inside an MRI. They used what the researchers call high-ventilation breathwork, built on fast and deep breathing in a long, continuous rhythm.
What happened inside the brain
Blood flow in the brain's gray matter dropped by about 45 percent during a session. That is close to a halving.
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Participants also described altered states that overlapped with the effects of moderate to high doses of psychedelic drugs. They reported shifts in perception, a sense of unity with their surroundings, and changes in how they experienced themselves.
The deeper the altered state, the stronger the changes the researchers saw in the brain's default mode network. That is the set of regions involved in self-reflection and thinking about yourself.
Lead researcher Dr. Christian Schmitz said the altered experiences line up with the blood flow drop and with shifts in how key brain networks communicate with each other.
The limits of the study
The evidence is thin, and the researchers say so themselves. The study had 30 people, no control group, and everyone was already an experienced practitioner.
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Co-coordinator Hana Adolphi described the work as preliminary and said larger studies will be needed to tell whether the brain changes carry clinical meaning.
Dr. Guy Fincham of Brighton and Sussex Medical School, an independent commenter, said the next step is a controlled trial in people who have never tried breathwork before.
What the blood flow drop means in practice
Fast and deep breathing washes carbon dioxide out of the blood. That makes small blood vessels in the brain narrow, which is why people often feel dizzy or lightheaded, or notice tingling in their hands.
For most healthy adults in a short session, those effects pass quickly. Anyone with a heart condition, uncontrolled high blood pressure or a history of seizures should check with a doctor before trying intensive breathwork.
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Gentler breathing practices work in the opposite direction. Techniques such as slow nasal breathing nudge the body toward rest rather than an altered state.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.