Breathwork creates psychedelic states without drugs

Most of us breathe without a second thought. But change the rhythm, add music, and something unexpected happens.

A new study shows that high ventilation breathwork (HVB) paired with music can shift blood flow in the brain and create powerful emotional states.

The work, led by Amy Amla Kartar at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, was published in the journal PLOS One.

Why breathwork interest is growing

Breathwork is gaining ground as a tool for stress and emotional struggles. Unlike psychedelics, it needs no prescription and faces no legal hurdles.

Practitioners report experiences that resemble drug-induced altered states: euphoria, unity, even bliss.

Researchers see HVB as a potential therapy, but until now, the biology behind these effects remained a mystery.

Testing the effects of breathwork

Kartar’s team studied 42 experienced practitioners across three settings: online at home, inside a lab, and during MRI scans.

Each participant performed about half an hour of continuous cyclic breathing while listening to music.

Soon after, the participants answered questions about mood, fear, and their state of consciousness. The researchers then compared brain scans and body signals to these reports.

Less fear and more unity

Fear dropped and negative emotions eased. Discomfort rose a little, especially in the MRI machine, but no one experienced panic attacks.

The most common response was Oceanic Boundlessness, a feeling of unity, insight, and bliss.

Freud described this state more than a century ago. Psychedelic users know it well. Here, breathwork produced it reliably without drugs.

Shifts in the brain

The brain told its own story. Global blood flow fell sharply during HVB, which fits with what hyperventilation usually does. But certain regions behaved differently.

Flow to the posterior insula and parietal operculum dropped, and those decreases linked directly to feelings of bliss and unity.

At the same time, the right amygdala and hippocampus lit up with more blood flow. These regions process emotional memory.

The combination suggests HVB loosens the sense of self while opening access to deep emotional material.

The body under stress

The body reacted as if stressed. Heart rate variability fell, showing a shift toward sympathetic activation. Normally, this signals pressure or strain. Yet participants reported relief, not distress.

Scientists point to hormesis, the idea that brief stress makes us stronger. Here, the physical demand of rapid breathing may actually create psychological release.

Breathwork effects vary by setting

Not every setting worked the same. Participants in the quiet lab reported stronger states than those at home. The MRI group showed more discomfort, probably from the scanner’s noise and tight space.

These differences echo psychedelic research, where set and setting often shape the entire experience.

The findings hint at why HVB could help people with trauma or depression. Reduced activity in the insula may dissolve rigid self-boundaries, while increased activity in memory and emotion circuits may help people process difficult experiences.

Together, these shifts might explain why breathwork leaves many feeling lighter and more open.

Significance of breathwork

“Our research is the first to use neuroimaging to map the neurophysiological changes that occur during breathwork. Our key findings include that breathwork can reliably evoke profound psychedelic states,” noted the experts.

“We believe that these states are linked to changes in the function of specific brain regions involved in self-awareness, and fear and emotional memory processing.

According to the researchers, they found that more profound changes in blood flow in specific brain areas were linked to deeper sensations of unity, bliss, and emotional release, collectively known as “oceanic boundlessness.”

This insight highlights how HVB may influence not just mood but the very circuits that shape how we process memory and emotion. It shows why participants often describe the experience as deeply moving, even transformative.

Future research on breathwork

“Conducting this research was a fantastic experience. It was thrilling to explore such a novel area,” said study lead author Amy Kartar.

“While many people anecdotally recognize the health benefits of breathwork, this style of fast-paced breathing has received very little scientific attention. We are very grateful to our participants for making this work possible.”

The study offers a starting point for future work, especially with larger groups and more diverse settings.

“Breathwork is a powerful yet natural tool for neuromodulation, working through the regulation of metabolism across the body and brain,” noted Dr. Alessandro Colasanti, the study’s principal investigator.

“It holds tremendous promise as a transformative therapeutic intervention for conditions that are often both distressing and disabling.”

The study is published in the journal PLOS One.

—–

Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates. 

Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

—–