Effects of High Ventilation Breathwork With Retention (HVBR) on Health
- Conditions
- AnxietyDepressive SymptomsPositive AffectStressMental WellbeingNegative AffectSleep-Related Impairment
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Placebo HVBRBehavioral: High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR)
- Registration Number
- NCT06064474
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Sussex
- Brief Summary
The investigators are conducting a randomised-controlled trial comparing high ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) to a breathwork placebo (paced breathing at 15breaths/min with brief retentions). The metric of 15b/min aligns with guidance from the British Journal of Nursing, Royal College of Physicians and Johns Hopkins Medicine which state that the average, healthy rate should range from: 12-20, 12-18 and 12-16b/min, respectively. The main questions the study attempts to address are: Does HVBR lead to improved state and trait mental health and wellbeing in a general population adult sample?
The study will be conducted entirely online through the research platform Prolific, so participant data will be anonymous. The investigators will collect self-reports of mental health and wellbeing before and after the three-week breathwork period, in addition to a follow-up three weeks later. Pre-post intervention and follow-up questionnaires will be completed online via the survey platform Qualtrics which will be linked to Prolific. Data on self-reported adherence to, and credibility/expectancy of, the breathwork will also be collected, along with participants' experiences to gauge the safety and tolerability of the breathwork protocol.
- Detailed Description
Not available
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- COMPLETED
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 200
Not provided
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Placebo HVBR Placebo HVBR Guided audio of placebo HVBR pre-recorded by a trained breathwork facilitator for \~20min/day over 21 days (three weeks). Delivered remotely through audio link, comprising music and four rounds of paced breathing at 15b/min (equal inhale:exhale) with four separate brief retentions, progressively increasing in length (from \~10secs to \~25secs). High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) High ventilation breathwork with retention (HVBR) Guided audio of HVBR pre-recorded by a trained breathwork facilitator for \~20min/day over 21 days (three weeks). Delivered remotely through audio link, comprising evocative music and four rounds of hyperventilation with four separate retentions (breath holds), progressively increasing in length (from \~45seconds up to \~90 seconds).
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Subjective stress Pre-post intervention and follow-up (immediately before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention). Primary timepoint is post-intervention Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) - stress subscale (score range: 0-21; higher scores denote worse outcome). Score on DASS-21 then multiplied by two to convert it to the longer form DASS-42 final score
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Subjective anxiety Pre-post intervention and follow-up (immediately before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention) DASS-21 - anxiety subscale (score range: 0-21; higher scores denote worse outcome)
Subjective positive affect Pre-intervention (immediately before the intervention), post first breathwork session (immediately after starting breathwork), and post-intervention (immediately after the intervention) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) positive affect subscale (score range: 10-50; higher scores denote better outcome)
Subjective sleep-related impairment Pre-post intervention and follow-up (immediately before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention) PROMIS Item Bank v. 1.0 - Sleep-Related Impairment - Short Form 4a (score range: 5-20; higher scores denote worse outcome). Data scored using a T-score transformation according to PROMIS Sleep scoring manual on: www.healthmeasures.net
Subjective depressive symptoms Pre-post intervention and follow-up (immediately before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention) DASS-21 - depression subscale (score range: 0-21; higher scores denote worse outcome)
Subjective mental wellbeing Pre-post intervention and follow-up (immediately before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention) Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS) (score range: 7 to 35; higher scores denote better outcome). Total raw scores are then transformed into metric scores using the SWEMWBS conversion table on: www.warwick.ac.uk
Negative side effects due to protocol Post-intervention (immediately after the intervention) Whether participants experienced unpleasant/unwanted short-term effects and/or lasting bad effects from the breathwork
Subjective negative affect Pre-intervention (immediately before the intervention), post first breathwork session (immediately after starting breathwork), and post-intervention (immediately after the intervention) PANAS negative affect subscale (score range: 10-50; higher scores denote worse outcome)
Subjective credibility and expectancy of protocol Immediately after starting breathwork intervention Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ-6). Two Sets (Credibility of course/therapy \[breathwork\] and expectancy of course/therapy \[breathwork\]). Four items scored 1-9 and two items scored 0-100%. Scores for expectancy set then standardised via converting them to z-scores. Higher scores denote greater credibility and/or expectancy of specific breathwork technique
Self-reported adherence to protocol Post-intervention (immediately after the intervention) Number of sessions participants self-report practicing out of 21 days assigned
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
Prolific
🇬🇧Remote/Online, United Kingdom