I had hyperbaric oxygen therapy and here's what happened…
Here’s me, in the chamber!
(not of secrets)
I first heard about hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) when I was studying naturopathy and it sparked my interest. But it wasn’t until I saw Justin and Hayley Bieber frequenting the oxygen chamber that I really had to investigate this health trend (nothing like a classic 30-something millennial getting influenced by her former 13 yr old crush and his wife).
Justin says he sleeps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to support his health- damn I thought my purchase of a king mattress was bougie, I didn't know we were all going the opposite direction and sleeping in tiny chambers- someone help me keep up with the trendzzz geez!!
Soooo if he is doing it to support his health, of course I need to check this out.
But what is HBOT exactly? Other than a cool acronym I affectionately pronounce H-bot.
In hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), you breathe 100% oxygen in a pressurised environment- usually greater than sea level. This process increases the amount of oxygen that dissolves in the blood, which can then be delivered to tissues more effectively. It has been used for multiple different purposes, some with research to back it up and some with limited studies. Mainly it is used for healing of chronic wounds, decreasing inflammation, treatment of ulcerated diabetic wounds, radiation-induced wounds, and chronic osteomyelitis (swelling in the bone), carbon monoxide poisoning or as a treatment for divers who suffered decompression sickness during World War II.
How does it work?
There are a few different ways of explaining how this works, depending on the desired effect you are after. But essentially using pure oxygen combined with the high pressure in a hyperbaric chamber allows the body to get a much higher supply of oxygen to the blood, tissues and organs.
Let's look at wound healing for example - cause I know you guys are all about that skin glow-up.
When the body is repairing tissue or healing wounds, it requires more oxygen. If a wound doesn't get enough oxygen, healing can slow down or stop. HBOT helps by providing a steady supply of oxygen to the injured area, supporting the healing process as it moves through different stages.
The increased oxygen levels also trigger the production of nitric oxide in the bone marrow. Stay with me here- this encourages the release of stem cells into the bloodstream. These stem cells travel to the wound, where they help form new blood vessels and accelerate healing. Plus, the high oxygen levels improve the function of these cells, making them more effective at creating the tiny blood vessels needed for healing.
Phew that was a lot.
Real-talk, what exactly do I use it for if I don’t have a “wound” or am not a diver and don't have decompression sickness?
Ok, good question, there are a lot of peeps doing this for general health reasons. But what does general health even mean?
That's where hypoxia comes in.
Hypoxia is another body state that is gaining interest lately, and for good reason. When our body runs out of glucose or sugar in the blood- it takes it from our muscles. But what happens when our cells don't get enough oxygen?
*I'll give you a moment*
We don’t have a backup system for this in our body. 😬
Hypoxia, or low oxygen levels, puts a lot of stress on cells, which can lead to various health problems. I’m not saying H-bot is the key to this, but it could be a start? Mouth taping at night to help train our brain to nose breathe may also be another idea- but that's for another blog post.
Exciting areas of interest
Apart from its already studied benefits, what can we expect to see come out of H-bot therapy in the future? When researching I came across this research article- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy associated with increased telomere length.😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Ok hold up. This is gold.
For those that don't know what telomeres are and why we need long ones, telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that stop them from becoming frayed or tangled- think a cap on shoelace. Generally speaking, the shorter your telomeres, the quicker you age and get age related diseases.
Ok back to H-bot, one study showed that regular sessions increased telomere length! Just note people in this study had 60 sessions, which is quite a lot.
Other areas of interest are the potential benefits to mental wellbeing, namely anxiety and depression. But of course, more research is needed on that.
What happened when I tried H-bot?
Disappointingly there was no horcrux in the chamber… but instead there was a nice pillow, a mattress and a button that I could press to ask someone to get me out of here incase voldemort came to attack.
I’m going to be honest, its a toight space. But I put my headphones in (yes you can take your phone and laptop in if you will, but I recommend using the time to chillax) and I listened to a sound bath meditation. I know- how classic “naturoapth” of me.
The pressure filled after a few mins and you spend this time constantly unblocking your ears, like you would on a plane, but once the initial nose blows and unblocks happen you are good to relax.
I spent 45mins in the chamber, and honestly it was one of the most relaxing relaxes i’ve had in a long time.
Full disclosure, I tried this because I felt a tickle in my throat that morning and thought it was the start of a sickness spiral. After the session, although feeling on cloud 9, there isnt much physical difference you can “feel” straight away. But that night I did have one of the deepest and restful sleeps i’ve had in a while.
The next day I woke with my sore throat 80% gone. Now, I am not saying it was due to the H-bot, but it might have played a role. How? Maybe it reduced inflammation, maybe it helped me relax enough to calm the eff down and have a good sleep, maybe the oxygen helped my immune system in some way. Not sure, but that was my real-word experience.
Also I have to mention, the best results apparently come by using this consistently and regularly. In most of the studies, people used it 5 times a week, for 6-12 weeks!!! (pls tell me- where do you get your disposable income from!? Musnt’t have the cozzy-livs crisis in that land).
So give it a go, or not, whatever floats your chamber- but now you have the low-down on the O2.
