Breath holds and brain waves: could simple breathing exercises reshape your sleep and stress?
NCT ID NCT06317259
First seen Aug 04, 2026 · Last updated Aug 05, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a week of daily slow-paced breathing with breath holds—known as breathwork—can alter brain activity, sleep, mood, and body chemistry. Healthy adults aged 18 to 45 will practice breathwork for about a week, with some also listening to music and positive messages. Researchers will measure brain waves, sleep patterns, and biomarkers from blood, urine, and stool before and after the practice to see if breathwork has measurable effects.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Hypoxic breathwork (rhythmic breathing with breath holds), with or without music and positive messaging
- What this could lead to
- If breathwork measurably alters brain activity, sleep, and stress-related biomarkers, it could point toward a drug-free way to improve mental and physical well-being.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study in healthy volunteers, so results may not apply to the general public or to people with health conditions. The breath holds may cause discomfort or dizziness.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 75 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 45 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Persons, aged 18-45 * Availability for the duration of the study * In good general health as revealed by self-report * Stated willingness and capability to adhere to the breathwork regimen * Agreement to adhere to Lifestyle Considerations (see section 5.3) throughout study duration * Provision of signed and dated informed consent form Exclusion Criteria: 1. Current or past regular breathwork practice 2. Current use of psychoactive medications (e.g., anti-depressants or anxiolytics) 3. Pregnancy 4. Bedtime past 11:30pm or regularly getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night. 5. Feverish illness within 10 days 6. Regular smoker or tobacco user ( \> 1 cigarette, gum or pouch per month) 7. Presence of blood pressure above 140 systolic and/or 90 diastolic, seizure disorder, asthma, or serious cardiac fibrillation disorders.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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UC San Diego
RECRUITINGLa Jolla, California, 92093, United States