Open Up's Scientific Research on "The Effects of Conscious Connected Breathing on Cortical brain activity, Mood and State of Consciousness" is published.
Non-ordinary states of consciousness, breathwork, mental health
We researched: ‘The effects of conscious connected breathing on cortical brain activity, mood and state of consciousness in healthy adults’. Read the manuscript here.
This Open Up study is set out by Katrien Franken in 2020. It was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Scientific and Ethical Review Board of the Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit (Date 28.6.2021/No 2021–141).
Foreword
I am quite confident that we are living in non-ordinary times, and that we need practices to attune to non-ordinary places in ourselves and in the world, to make sense of them.
With my organisation Open Up I am exploring the eco-psychotherapeutic and experiential potential of breathwork with a deep care to open to new ways of seeing, sensing, knowing and doing that can help us evolve and thrive in the chaotic times we live in. I have designed and run immersive personal development experiences for thousands of people around the world across multiple societal contexts, weaving visions of the possible for future generations from non-ordinary places.
In 2020 I set out a clinical scientific research; a non-profit Open Up project to build a solid foundation for more scientific understanding of how breathing, particularly 'conscious connected breathing' brings about inner change; neuro-physiologically and psychologically. I have worked together with a group of brilliant researchers and Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam for the last 3 years and am really excited to share the fruits of our labour with you in our manuscript. The results of our profound scientific study was accepted on August 10, 2023 and published online on September 8, 2023.
Besides initiating this research and co-authoring it, I am also the Creator of Concept Theory, Principal contributor of Conceptualization and Methodology, Creator of the Breathwork method, Writing — reviewing and editing. Supervisor.
Regardless of my excitement for what’s possible with our results and efforts in this project, science is demonstrating a suggestion of truth of (only) the things that can be measured, which is also exciting. It is a testament to the importance of unseen measures in our lives. We might agree that we are living in the age of measured accountability, of reward for measured performance, and a strong belief in the virtues of publicising the metrics through transparency. The danger is that it can become a general concept of usefully reducing a human endeavor to a set of statistics, which is one of the dominant paradigms of the 21st century and is pervading healthcare and policing. Although measurement itself is not a bad thing, it can also distort, distract and destroy what we claim to value. My understanding is that there cannot be any ‘official’ knowledge. As long as we remain servants to the paradigm that modernity has imposed on our body, it will continue to cover other existing relationships and surrounding landscapes for discovery. The whole point of science is that most of it is uncertain.
That’s why science is exciting, because we don’t know. Science is a process of exploring, which is always partial. I am therefore offering this Open Up scientific study as an examination and experiential practice to come into new transfers of thought and of perceiving the world. To stay open with an equal care for the process of knowing what we don’t know. I am excited to start introducing our work as extra-curricular; Alive Learning. A form of education and practice where we remain open to welcoming what I am now calling The Guest.
And here we are
It's been an incredible learning journey for me, and hard and challenging work. I'm deeply grateful for the joint effort. Also, a big thanks to all our participants! With the results I'm very excited about the next phase of my work.Join me in the unfolding with encouragement that this exploration need not end here.
Creative research inquiry
Is it possible that one could think of mental health care in radically different ways?
How can we find other means of framing the dialogue of healing, the practice, the process for coming to conclusions?
What is needed to co-create alternative spaces to heal?
Who can join us in finding the answers for global problems that we so desperately need from the more-than-human world?
Abstract
We examined breathwork in the form of connected breathing on electroencephalography (EEG) and mood states in 20 healthy participants (aged between 23 and 39 years) before and after breathwork. In addition, to compare with other means of inducing non-ordinary states of consciousness, and to advance understanding of breathwork and its viability as a therapeutic methodology, we measured the subjective effects of breathwork using the 11 Dimension Altered State of Consciousness questionnaire. (11D-ASC; Studerus et al., 2010) and investigated changes in mood in the participants, using the Profile of Mood States questionnaire (McNair et al., 1971). In addition, we measured the effects of breathwork in a way that is comparable to other altered states of consciousness, such as psychedelics. We compared it to more well-established intervention methods, i.e. the dose–response profile of psilocybin (Hirschfeld & Schmidt, 2021) together with changes in cortical brain activity in a resting state by comparing EEG spectral power before and after the session.
To the best of our knowledge, our study presents the first investigation into the immediate neuropsychological effects of connected breathing breathwork, as well as perceived changes in mood and consciousness during the experience, in healthy individuals.
Scientific Motivations
As the majority of studies provide knowledge on the effects of slow breathing. The overall objective of our study was to examine whether faster breathing intervention would induce comparable outcomes. It did.
Our focus is different than the research that is most often presented in relation to faster breathing as a way to cope with extreme cold. (i.e., the Wim Hof Method)
We wanted to examine if breathwork might alleviate depression. We are presenting our positive neurophysiological findings.
Further, we looked into the subjective reports of how breathwork changes consciousness during the experience and compared it to another non-ordinary state induced by psychedelics, in this case psilocybin, and found exciting overlaps.
Summary of results
Breathwork as a means of inducing non-ordinary states of consciousness is gaining traction as a potential therapeutic modality. In line with the notion that breathwork might alleviate depression, the results of the Open Up research indicate that ‘conscious connected breathing’ which is characterized by faster diaphragmatic way of breathing, changes brain activity, and is showing a positive effect on mood status that are associated with a better mental condition, and induces mystical experiences. We highlight as a consequence the potential of breathwork as a complementary therapeutic modality by activating therapeutic benefits on a neuropsychological level. These results are promising and suggest that our technique could be useful to improve mental well-being.
The Research Process (summery)
We performed EEG spectral power analysis of eyes closed rest recordings before and after the breathwork session showed a decrease in delta (1–4 Hz) and theta (4–8 Hz) frequencies in frontotemporal and parietal regions, respectively no changes were seen in Alpha (9–12 Hz) and Beta (12–30 Hz) bands. However, after decomposing the beta waves in Beta 1 (12–15 Hz), Beta 2 (15–20 Hz), Beta 3 (20–30 Hz), decreases in power were observed across Beta1 and Beta 2 in parietotemporal regions.
Notably we observed a decrease in slow wave spectral power together with an increase in gamma rhythm in experienced participants, which is a sign of cortical excitation which has also been found responsible for alleviating depression symptoms (Fitzgerald & Watson, 2018). This view is supported by results of multiple studies indicating that the most prominent EEG frequency marker for depression is an increase in absolute power in delta, theta and beta during eyes closed rest (Newson & Thiagarajan, 2019). Exactly in these three bands we found a reduction after the breathwork.
The reduction in delta and theta in our study correlates with the reduction in depression and leave us with an interesting clue about the potential of breathwork in this framework of depression.
The mood states as measured by the POMS questionnaire indicated that after the breathwork session, participants experienced a reduction in negative affect states; tension, confusion, depression and anger, while esteem increased.
As the subjective experience during breathwork sessions was anecdotally paralleled to the effects of meditation and psychedelics, we compared our findings with these modalities. The spectral changes found in our study are in similar frequency bands as found influenced by psychedelic states, for example DMT (Ayahuasca) which also displayed a decrease in theta, delta and beta power and an increase in gamma power.
The scores on the 11-ASC scale indicated that subjective experiences during breathwork were similar to the experiences after medium to high doses of psilocybin, which may be indicative of the occurrence of experiences of mystical quality. Our results indicate that breathwork induces non-ordinary states of consciousness are similar to psychedelics.
On all subscales of the ‘Oceanic Boundlessness’ subdimension (blissful state, spiritual experience, disembodiment, experience of unity, insightfulness) breathwork exhibited scores similar to high doses of psilocybin.
On the ‘Visionary Restructuralization’ subdimension breathwork exhibited scores similar to medium doses of psilocybin, with ‘changed meaning of percepts’ showing highest scores.
On the ‘Dread of Ego-Dissolution’ subdimension, participants scored very low. This dimension was also the lowest during psilocybin experiences.
For information
Delta activity has been linked to sleep states, known as Spontaneous Slow Wave.
Theta activity is associated with memory encoding and problem solving. (Elevated Theta power has been described in neuroticism and avoidance. The decrease in Theta power in our study could suggest a more open, less self-centered mindset and could be involved in changes in memory processing linked to the breathwork practice.
Beta waves have been associated with alertness, focus, stress, and anxiety. Increased Beta, and in particular Beta1 and 2 power have been linked to increased rumination, a phenomenon recurrently described in anxiety and depression.
Gamma waves are considered to be the fastest brain activity. It is responsible for cognitive functioning, learning, memory, and information processing. In optimal conditions gamma waves help with attention, focus, binding of senses (smell, sight, and hearing), consciousness, mental processing, and perception.
Study Design
20 healthy participants (age 23–39)
Psychological questionnaires: POMS, 11 D–ASC
Breathing rate recordings
Heart rate recordings
EEG recording (electrocortical activity)
Open Up Breathwork methodology
I had the joy of creating a method for this study which is designed to assess qualitative EEG data. With Open Up I don’t offer any standardized breathwork. In fact I’m approaching breathwork as a natural, spontaneous process and nuanced unfolding of movement and expression.
For this study I’ve provided verbal instructions on an audio recording together with a carefully designed music playlist for during the breathing. The instructions comprised 15 min and included a basic breathwork introductory talk, the possible effects of experience, instructions for breathing, and guidelines for integration support. The actual breathing time was 45 min. Participants were asked to lie in a comfortable position and were instructed to take full conscious connected diaphragmatic breaths leaving no pause between the inhalation and exhalation.
A specific feature of the breathwork technique applied in this study is that there was no psychological or theoretical priming before the session. Additionally, even though the participants were advised to breathe slightly faster than normal, they could set their own rate, pattern and nature of breathing in the session, to give full autonomy in exploring their own experiences. As a consequence, although the procedure of this session was standardized as much as possible, the setup of parameters like breathing rate and pattern was not fixed. After the session, participants received an information letter and, in case of questions, were invited to contact me.
Music as The Second Therapist
Like breathing, music and other forms of sound technology have been used for millennia as powerful mind-altering tools in ritual and scared practice. It plays an important role in a therapeutic setting and experiential process and is often considered ‘The second therapist’. In many cultures, sound technology has been used specifically for healing purposes as they have a specific effect on consciousness. In an Open Up session, music can have a sufficient volume and a high artistic quality that has little concrete content. Vocal pieces are in a language not known to most people, so the human voice is perceived as another musical instrument. The invitation is learn a new way of listening to sound.
In a normal setting the music journey and volume is intuitively adjusted to the state and process of the participant(s) or group. It can have a strong intensity with musical intervals, evoking moments for discharge and process. Live instruments and silence are part of it as well. However for our study it was required to make one musical journey, and as simple as it might seem, putting together the music set is extremely complex.
I followed these three phases.
The first phase introduces music that is activating, dynamic and flowing, and gradually increases in intensity, drawn from ritual and sacred traditions of various native cultures. It includes percussive, rhythmic and entrancing, designed to activate and open a ‘call to adventure’.
The second phase includes moving and emotional music, allowing for the physical or emotional charge in the body to become available for process and discharge.
The last phase of the breathwork offered quiet meditative music that can gradually move into for instance binaural beats. This phase is meant to integrate someone’s experience in a natural unfolding, towards rest.
Additional Notes
This research study is an non-profit project set out by Katrien Franken in 2020. She is a researcher but not a scientist. This study has been conducted without any financial support or funds for Open Up. All researchers and students who are part of this study volunteered to contribute. Only M. Irrmischer, J.B. Deijen and H. Engelbregt, received payments through their employment for Hersencentrum. Open Up and Katrien Franken did not work with, or for Hersencentrum.
Ethics approval: This Open Up study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Scientific and Ethical Review Board of the Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit (Date 28.6.2021/No 2021-141).
Notes for integrity: I am deeply grateful for the joint effort and input of all involved – and I am not indifferent to the many breaches of agreement by the affiliated researchers of Hersencentrum. We would celebrate our achievements even more if integrity and liability to agreements would have been met. These values ensure a quality of relationship and trust which acts as a different form of contribution.
Publisher: We thank our publisher Springer. And Current Psychology; an international forum for rapid dissemination of peer-reviewed research at the cutting edge of psychology.
Read more about the study and the manuscript here: www.openup.world/research