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Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

nature.com

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Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#51

Post by kapitanjakc »

From my personal experience, nothing scientific or proven here.

I sit in a small office since last few years. A year or so ago I started to get less mentally active, as in things were going on in automatic mode.

And I did not feel good in general, a friend who practices Yoga advised me to do breathing exercises.

15-30 mins of deep breaths in open space in early morning, after shower, before breakfast. Followed by 3-5 min of rapid breathing. And finishing with taking as much air as I can and holding it for 30 sec to a min and repeating it for 2-3 times.

I do feel active after that, I wonder if it's related to these studies.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#52

Post by dukeofdoom »

collingreen wrote: post #39
dukeofdoom wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if one's thoughts can be altered depending on the amount of oxygen the brain receives. How can you possibly be sure about your own rationality. Couldn't you rationally start to question anything you've come to a conclusion about before, as just a byproduct of your brain's oxygen levels at that time.

The best part about true things is they are still true whether you believe and understand them or not. Seeking truth isn't limited by your ability to understand everything.

I'm not sure about that. If there's no conscious mind to interpret something, can anything possibly be True? Or is it just information.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#53

Post by crowdyriver »

kapitanjakc wrote: post #51

From my personal experience, nothing scientific or proven here. I sit in a small office since last few years. A year or so ago I started to get less mentally active, as in things were going on in automatic mode. And I did not feel good in general, a friend who practices Yoga advised me to do breathing exercises. 15-30 mins of deep breaths in open space in early morning, after shower, before breakfast. Followed by 3-5…

Did you check the co2 levels on your office? that could be one reason.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#55

Post by elevaet »

maebert wrote: post #33

i am a (former) neuroscientist and breathwork facilitator (mostly conscious connected breath) — AMA. the effect of decreased co2 concentration on vasoconstrictions (and also alkalosis-induced tetany, ie your muscles cramping, which happens a lot during breathwork) are well known [1], but i've never seen them quantified in such a clear way. It's cool to see mainstream science give it a closer look! [1] for anyone inte…

This is a bit off topic, but what do you think about people doing nitrous recreationally? It's always concerned me that people are inhaling close to pure nitrous oxide and holding it in. I've always wondered if this creates damaging low-oxygen conditions without the normal reflexes kicking in, and if this can cause brain/neuronal damage.

I believe in medical settings it's delivered in a mixture with O2, but in recreational settings it's usually inhaled directly.

I see a lot more talk about the risks of vitamin B12 depletion, and not much talk about O2 deprivation, so not sure if everyone else is crazy or if it's me who is the crazy one.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#56

Post by latchkey »

dripdry45 wrote: post #24

In yoga breath work which happens there is directly tied into the rest of the practice. it isn’t taught enough in America, but if you find an actual good teacher, of which there do not seem to be many, the benefits are wonderful. Anecdotally and from personal experience, they say that when beginning a consistent practice you will often feel a great euphoria after practicing for 60 or 90 minutes. Can confirm; and it l…

Sivananda teaches pranayama as part of their core practice. They are based globally with multiple ashrams in the US.

https://sivanandayogafarm.org/

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#57

Post by dukeofdoom »

HK-NC wrote: post #48
dukeofdoom wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if one's thoughts can be altered depending on the amount of oxygen the brain receives. How can you possibly be sure about your own rationality. Couldn't you rationally start to question anything you've come to a conclusion about before, as just a byproduct of your brain's oxygen levels at that time.

Oddly enough becoming a serious athlete, changing my diet and training as my job, completely changed who I am and remembering my thought processes and overall mental state of the previous lifestyle is bizarre as though that person is truly alien to my current self.

So increasing your VO2 max, has improved how your brain functions. A few years ago, I read an article where they improved kids Math scores by having them exercise on a treadmill before class.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#58

Post by anshumankmr »

I rarely practised breathwork in my life but during my final year of high school I was basically locked in my house, and got a vitamin D deficiencey (quelle surprise) so I took up doing breathing meditation in a public park, and that really worked for me in a highly stressful period of time in my life, which got me some very good results, aced my exams, got into a decent college. I don't think I have applied myself as dedicated to anything as intensely as I did. I regret not making it a daily habit in my life, unlike gymming. Although I still sort of deep exhalations in highly stressful situations but thats about it. Also if you count breathing in and out during heavy lifts, that helps a lot too in my form, especially during squats.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#59

Post by layman51 »

anshumankmr wrote: post #58

I rarely practised breathwork in my life but during my final year of high school I was basically locked in my house, and got a vitamin D deficiencey (quelle surprise) so I took up doing breathing meditation in a public park, and that really worked for me in a highly stressful period of time in my life, which got me some very good results, aced my exams, got into a decent college. I don't think I have applied myself a…

What kind of breathwork? Is it kind of the same as box breathing? That’s breathing in for four seconds, holding it in for four, exhaling and pausing all for four seconds.

Re: Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

#60

Post by Youden »

elevaet wrote: post #55
maebert wrote: post #33

i am a (former) neuroscientist and breathwork facilitator (mostly conscious connected breath) — AMA. the effect of decreased co2 concentration on vasoconstrictions (and also alkalosis-induced tetany, ie your muscles cramping, which happens a lot during breathwork) are well known [1], but i've never seen them quantified in such a clear way. It's cool to see mainstream science give it a closer look! [1] for anyone inte…

This is a bit off topic, but what do you think about people doing nitrous recreationally? It's always concerned me that people are inhaling close to pure nitrous oxide and holding it in. I've always wondered if this creates damaging low-oxygen conditions without the normal reflexes kicking in, and if this can cause brain/neuronal damage. I believe in medical settings it's delivered in a mixture with O2, but in recrea…

I was being treated with nitrous medically. I asked the anaesthesiologist about how it works recreationally and his answer was that yes, it was mostly just hypoxia.
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