Buteyko Breathing or Wim-Hof? Stop Hyperventilating!
We have discussed breathing numerous times. This quick blog will be a quick start guide into optimal breathing—the type of breathing we recommend practicing and the type we want to avoid.
Let’s jump in!
So, which breathing modality do we practice and recommend the most? Simple, the Buteyko Breathing Method, as well as traditional Box Breathing. Let’s summarize the Buteyko Breathing Method in as few steps as possible.
Breathe only through the nose (Exhale/Inhale)
Breathe very, very slowly, 30-60 second breaths (15-30 seconds in and out)
So slow that the hairs in your nostrils don’t even (or barely) move at all.
3. After 5-10 Minutes of super slow breathing, time how long you can hold your breath after a full exhalation, most people start with 20 seconds and work up to at least a 60-second hold.
4. Mouth Tape at night to avoid mouth breathing during sleep.
5. You can experiment with Box Breathing instead of just inhaling + exhaling, you can simply add a breath hold at the top of the inhalation and the bottom of the exhalation…
Example: Inhale for 10 seconds, hold for 10 seconds, exhale for 10 seconds, and hold 10 seconds.
6. It’s best to do this in a very relaxed state, laying in a reclined position, a bed, after a workout, after work, before bed, when you wake up etc.
Again, to reiterate, we recommend practicing this breathing technique before a nap, before bed, before or during a meditation. Maybe you need a midday break. Try it for 10 minutes while closing your eyes. You get the idea…
The Buteyko Method is all about Co2 Retention: So many people do not realize the importance of Co2 and how it is so much more than a “waste product”. Co2 is a potent antioxidant that protects oxygen from oxidizing so it safely delivers and saturates our red blood cells. Without Co2 you cannot oxygenate properly.
Quickly put, Buteyko's breathing aims to increase the criteria of the control pause. The goal of this is to reduce automatic respiratory volume per minute, achieving higher blood CO2% and higher cellular O2% via the Bohr effect. There are some links, for instance, higher blood CO2% = more cellular oxygenation, and probably faster or more efficient metabolism.
Check out Dr. Ray Peat PhD’s extensive article on the importance of Co2 Here! (This article, and the rest of his are worth the read, check it out!)
“The therapeutic effects of increasing carbon dioxide are being more widely recognized in recent years. Even Jane Brody, the NY Times writer on health topics, has favorably mentioned the use of the Buteyko method for asthma, and the idea of “permissive hypercapnia” during mechanical ventilation, to prevent lung damage from excess oxygen, has been discussed in medical journals. But still very few biologists recognize its role as a fundamental, universal protective factor. I think it will be helpful to consider some of the ways carbon dioxide might be controlling situations that otherwise are poorly understood.” – Dr. Ray Peat PhD.
“During the rapid-eye-movement (dreaming) phase of sleep, breathing is inhibited, and the level of carbon dioxide in the tissues accumulates. In restful sleep, the oxygen tension is frequently low enough, and the carbon dioxide tension high enough to trigger the multiplication of stem cells and mitochondria.” – Dr. Ray Peat, PhD. We were going to continue discussing the profound benefits of Co2 in this blog, but we will dive deeper into the regenerative effects of Co2 in another blog.
I want to mention quickly that a few of our followers have followed and applied Dr. Ray Peat’s work. So, as you know, the Buteyko Method has somewhat conflicting information when compared with Dr. Ray Peat’s Work. Buteyko suggests our pulse rate should be lower, somewhere around the 60’s, as Ray Peat suggests our morning pulse rate should be higher, somewhere around the 70-80’.
The Ray Peat approach: encourages the body to produce more CO2 in order to guide more oxygen into cells, which increases oxygenation and thus makes the metabolism more efficient.
The Buteyko approach is to train them to tolerate, and the nervous system retains higher amounts of CO2 in the blood in order to guide more oxygen into cells, which increases oxygenation and thus makes metabolism more efficient.
Ray Peat discussed how estrogen promotes relative hyperventilation while progesterone does the opposite. So, if taking T3 helps reduce estrogenic burden, it could reduce breathing volume by making metabolism more efficient.
Check out this interview (HERE), in which he says that while you can do breath-reduction exercises to reduce baseline hyperventilation, he simply prefers to take progesterone and ensure optimal thyroid function to achieve the same effect but in a much shorter time.
Now certain people do suggest that the Buteyko method can suppress one’s thyroid function and even slow your metabolism down. I don’t necessarily agree with this entirely, but I understand these assumptions' premise. There are many ways to boost one’s metabolism; if this breathing pattern happens to make such a drastic difference in your metabolism, then perhaps the individual should prioritize pro-metabolic habits such as eating more often, more nutrient-dense foods (avoiding thyroid suppressant supplements and foods) and moving better/more often throughout the day. Either way, I do not believe we have to be stuck in a single box/method of breathing, and this is the beauty of breath work in and of itself, the systemic impact it has on our overall physiology and psyche.
I don’t want to dive too much into that. I want to focus more on the positives of the Buteyko Method, why we recommend it as well, and why we now avoid the Wim Hof method. We don’t avoid the Wim Hof method entirely; we do not make it a priority nor utilize it as a daily breathing habit. Nonetheless, it does yield some benefits!
So now let’s discuss the Wim Hof Method for a bit.
Right away, I want to clarify that we are not necessarily, entirely, against the Wim Hof method, in short doses it yields a profound desired effect, but for the majority of your breathing, we believe the Buteyko method should be prioritized first and foremost. Check out this Forum discussing people’s experiences and general opinions between the Wim Hof and Buteyko Breathing method here! (Click Here!) The Wim Hof Method does involve a timed breath hold at the end of each intense breathing session, this is where the similarities between the two methods stop.
Check out this user’s experience with the Wim Hof Method:
“So I tried Wim Hof's method (funnily enough, they were both kind of ice-man-like, with Buteyko often strutting around the snow in his board shorts) - it was pretty euphoric. Basically, 2 minutes of intense, taxing hyperventilation. Followed by a maximum breath hold (holy cow did I just hold my breath for 2 minutes and 15 seconds whaaat). It felt pretty good. I then checked my ETCO2 readings from a capnometer, and I had dropped from my standard around 5.8 kPa down to 4.5 kPa. Definite CO2 decrease. Wim says his technique oxygenates the body, increases the pH level, and wipes out toxins, viruses, endotoxins, etc. It's documented scientifically.
Anyway, I then used a breathing technique to increase CO2, the 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out, 10 seconds hold one (repeated for 5 minutes). My etco2 went from 4.5 up to 5.1 kPa. 10 minutes or so later, there was no special breathing, and it was back around its usual 5.8. It sounds like a cool technique to wipe out viruses or something like that, granted that you get your CO2 levels back up quickly (as we all know, the benefits of higher CO2). Pretty interesting experience.”
“My understanding of why hyperventilation increases max breath hold time is this:
The drive to breathe is usually triggered by the CO2 level exceeding the current set point.
Hyperventilation lowers the CO2 level. So after hyperventilating, it takes longer than normal for the CO2 level to rise to the threshold of the CO2 set point that triggers breathing. This can result in a much-reduced oxygen level by the time you get to the max hold time.
This is why people have drowned by hyperventilating before going underwater - the oxygen level can run too low before getting the clear warning that they need to come up and breathe.”
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“It seems feasible to me that higher pH could be inhospitable to some pathogens. There are other ways to raise pH too, and some of them may not reduce CO2 as much. It's probably good not to have pH far above the normal range for too long.
I imagine that if one is using Hof's hyperventilation techniques it would be important not to allow the hyperventilation to go on for too long, bso as not to raise the CO2 set point. Deliberately restoring with reduced breathing/breath holds afterward makes sense to me.
I don't know that this practice would be safe for everyone. Hyperventilation has been used to trigger various conditions for diagnostic purposes - e.g., epileptic seizures.”
So, in conclusion.
We would say that the Wim Hof method could be utilized in dire survival situations, such as extreme cold, perhaps you’ve fallen into a frozen lake, or you’re stranded, perhaps you are doing some deep sea diving somehow, someway, somewhere I don't know… The point is, we don’t recommend this as a daily breathing practice, but you could if you desire to; again, it has beneficial health effects. That being said, we highly recommend that you prioritize the Buteyko Breathing method or focus on traditional box breathing every day after you wake up, for 5 minutes, before a midday nap, and before you go to bed in the evening. Box breathing is simple:
Box Breathing Method: (Through the Nose Only)
Breathe IN for 5-10 Seconds Plus
Hold the Inhalation for 5-10 Seconds Plus
Breathe OUT for 5-10 Seconds Plus
Hold the Exhalation for 5-10 Seconds Plus
Buteyko Breathing Method:
Breathe IN for 15-30 Seconds Through the Nose
Breathe OUT for 15-30 Seconds Through the Nose
After 5-10 Minutes, Finish with a Breath Hold and Time it Multiple times a day or 1x Daily (20 Seconds Plus at least)
Wim-Hof Breathing Method: Take a deep inhale, exhale, and repeat for 30 breaths.
After the last exhale, hold your breath until you feel the urge to breathe.
Then, take a deep breath in and hold for another 15 seconds.
Repeat the entire cycle 3 to 4 times.
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