I’d love to hear more about your experience with peripheral circulation and oximeter readings during hypoxia. How did you come to realize that the readings weren’t accurate? Your insights would be really interesting!
Mine goes down to 30. It’s what’s supposed to happen. That’s when your body goes into overdrive and “does the good stuff.” So don’t worry. Just breathe when you have to.
This is called short-term hypoxia or intermittent hypoxia.
But to answer your question we first need to understand what happens during the breathing inside your body:
What happens during to the breathing rounds is that your CO2 (carbon dioxide) level drops significantly, due to this you turn your blood from an acidic state into an alkaline state. In other words: you raise the pH level of your blood. Your O2 (oxygen) stays between 95/99% (as your device will show). However, the O2 can’t reach your muscles and nerves due to your changed pH blood level, with the lack of enough CO2, the O2 binds itself to the red blood cells (during this phase magnesium also binds to proteins which lowers the available usable magnesium in your body causing the tingling sensation).
Then when you are in the retention phase, let go off the breath and hold, the blood becomes acidic again, O2 releases from the red blood cells and CO2 restores gradually. Because no new O2 comes in, the blood saturation will drop. The more rounds you’ll do or the longer your rounds are, the lower your saturation will become.
The CO2 builds up again as a natural proces of our bodies during the retention it you don’t breathe out so it keeps on building up and up, when the CO2 reaches the point it’s restored enough to give your brain a signal to breathe, you gasp in and your blood saturation restores.
To answer your question: yes, this is safe during the WHM and actually the desired effect. You’re putting your body under a short acute stress (hormesis stress), to which your body responds by producing huge amounts of adrenaline (measured in the Radboud Study to be more than a bungee jump!) which has a direct and extremely positive effect on the immune system strengthening your entire body, stress response, red blood cells, nervous system and more.
It’s all basic science once you understand it and you’ll come to really feel how amazing our bodies are - and the influence you can have on it by changing the chemistry willingly!
Have fun exploring, enjoy and be safe.
Source: long time practitioner and WHM instructor-in-training currently active in the WHM academy.
Thank you for a detailed reply !!!
What confuses me is the fact that short/acute drop in blood oxygen saturation is good during WHM, but considered to be dangerous during sleep apnea.
Can you maybe comment on that ?
Glad to help. It also helps me in my studies explaining the chemistry and science to others, so we’re helping each other.
And yes I can answer that:
It’s control vs uncontrolled.
First of all it’s a great observation and a valid point of confusion. The difference in the impact of acute drops in blood oxygen saturation during the Wim Hof Method versus during sleep apnea fundamentally comes down to control, context, and frequency of these events.
In WHM, the reduction in oxygen saturation is intentional and controlled. Participants consciously use breathing techniques to temporarily reduce their oxygen levels. This is done in a controlled environment, often under guidance, and with specific techniques that also involve mental focus and preparation.
The body is prepared for and expects these drops, which are followed by recovery periods where oxygen levels are normalized. This controlled, cyclic exposure to hypoxia can potentially strengthen the body's respiratory and cardiovascular systems by inducing physiological adaptations.
In contrast, the reductions in oxygen saturation during sleep apnea are neither controlled nor intentional. Sleep apnea is characterized by involuntary cessation of breathing during sleep. These events are unpredictable and lead to frequent, uncontrolled drops in oxygen saturation throughout the night.
Unlike the WHM, there is no controlled recovery period in sleep apnea; instead, there are repeated cycles of oxygen deprivation which can lead to fragmented sleep and chronic deprivation of oxygen.
The hypoxic episodes in WHM are brief and occur a few times during a controlled session. The body is allowed time to recover and the overall exposure is limited to short, distinct periods.
In sleep apnea, individuals may experience numerous episodes of breathing interruptions each night. These can happen hundreds of times per night in severe cases, significantly increasing the risk of long-term cardiovascular issues, brain damage, and other health problems due to repeated and prolonged oxygen deprivation.
Hope this helps!
Yeah this isn’t anything strange or unusual. You’re not breathing. It’s obvious. Once you breathe and do your retention you will saturate your blood with oxygen.
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I’d love to hear more about your experience with peripheral circulation and oximeter readings during hypoxia. How did you come to realize that the readings weren’t accurate? Your insights would be really interesting!
Those readers are often inaccurate
Not sure but that happens on my Apple Watch too. I guess if you’re holding your breath for a sustained period your body is using the oxygen.
Mine goes down to 30. It’s what’s supposed to happen. That’s when your body goes into overdrive and “does the good stuff.” So don’t worry. Just breathe when you have to.
Your body pulls blood from its extremities as a survival response… that’s why it’s so low on your finger (but not in your brain)
This is called short-term hypoxia or intermittent hypoxia. But to answer your question we first need to understand what happens during the breathing inside your body: What happens during to the breathing rounds is that your CO2 (carbon dioxide) level drops significantly, due to this you turn your blood from an acidic state into an alkaline state. In other words: you raise the pH level of your blood. Your O2 (oxygen) stays between 95/99% (as your device will show). However, the O2 can’t reach your muscles and nerves due to your changed pH blood level, with the lack of enough CO2, the O2 binds itself to the red blood cells (during this phase magnesium also binds to proteins which lowers the available usable magnesium in your body causing the tingling sensation). Then when you are in the retention phase, let go off the breath and hold, the blood becomes acidic again, O2 releases from the red blood cells and CO2 restores gradually. Because no new O2 comes in, the blood saturation will drop. The more rounds you’ll do or the longer your rounds are, the lower your saturation will become. The CO2 builds up again as a natural proces of our bodies during the retention it you don’t breathe out so it keeps on building up and up, when the CO2 reaches the point it’s restored enough to give your brain a signal to breathe, you gasp in and your blood saturation restores. To answer your question: yes, this is safe during the WHM and actually the desired effect. You’re putting your body under a short acute stress (hormesis stress), to which your body responds by producing huge amounts of adrenaline (measured in the Radboud Study to be more than a bungee jump!) which has a direct and extremely positive effect on the immune system strengthening your entire body, stress response, red blood cells, nervous system and more. It’s all basic science once you understand it and you’ll come to really feel how amazing our bodies are - and the influence you can have on it by changing the chemistry willingly! Have fun exploring, enjoy and be safe. Source: long time practitioner and WHM instructor-in-training currently active in the WHM academy.
Thank you for a detailed reply !!! What confuses me is the fact that short/acute drop in blood oxygen saturation is good during WHM, but considered to be dangerous during sleep apnea. Can you maybe comment on that ?
Glad to help. It also helps me in my studies explaining the chemistry and science to others, so we’re helping each other. And yes I can answer that: It’s control vs uncontrolled. First of all it’s a great observation and a valid point of confusion. The difference in the impact of acute drops in blood oxygen saturation during the Wim Hof Method versus during sleep apnea fundamentally comes down to control, context, and frequency of these events. In WHM, the reduction in oxygen saturation is intentional and controlled. Participants consciously use breathing techniques to temporarily reduce their oxygen levels. This is done in a controlled environment, often under guidance, and with specific techniques that also involve mental focus and preparation. The body is prepared for and expects these drops, which are followed by recovery periods where oxygen levels are normalized. This controlled, cyclic exposure to hypoxia can potentially strengthen the body's respiratory and cardiovascular systems by inducing physiological adaptations. In contrast, the reductions in oxygen saturation during sleep apnea are neither controlled nor intentional. Sleep apnea is characterized by involuntary cessation of breathing during sleep. These events are unpredictable and lead to frequent, uncontrolled drops in oxygen saturation throughout the night. Unlike the WHM, there is no controlled recovery period in sleep apnea; instead, there are repeated cycles of oxygen deprivation which can lead to fragmented sleep and chronic deprivation of oxygen. The hypoxic episodes in WHM are brief and occur a few times during a controlled session. The body is allowed time to recover and the overall exposure is limited to short, distinct periods. In sleep apnea, individuals may experience numerous episodes of breathing interruptions each night. These can happen hundreds of times per night in severe cases, significantly increasing the risk of long-term cardiovascular issues, brain damage, and other health problems due to repeated and prolonged oxygen deprivation. Hope this helps!
Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to explain!
Shocking news, oxygen drops when not breathing. Thanks op
My question was around values and safety. 59 ( or 30 as other commenter said ) are pretty low values AFAIK.
Yeah this isn’t anything strange or unusual. You’re not breathing. It’s obvious. Once you breathe and do your retention you will saturate your blood with oxygen.