- A Wim Hof breathing round is 30 fast, full breaths, then holding the breath after exhaling for as long as feels right, then one deep inhale held for about 15 seconds, repeated for 3 rounds.
- It was developed by the Dutch athlete Wim Hof; the full method also includes gradual cold exposure and meditation training, usually taught together with the breathing.
- A 2014 study at Radboud University Medical Centre found that 12 people trained for 10 days in the method showed higher adrenaline and a milder inflammatory response to an injected bacterial substance than 12 untrained people, though the study cannot separate the breathing from the cold exposure and meditation training done alongside it.
- A simplified fast-breathing-with-hold pattern in the same family was also tested in a 2023 Stanford trial, where it improved mood and reduced anxiety over 5 weeks of daily practice, by a smaller margin than the physiological sigh in the same trial.
- Fast breathing lowers blood carbon dioxide, which can cause light-headedness or tingling fingers; this is why the practice is done sitting or lying down, never in or near water.
- The hold time after exhaling tends to lengthen across the 3 rounds, though this varies day to day.
What is the Wim Hof breathing method?
The Wim Hof breathing round has three parts. First, 30 fast, full breaths in and out, without pausing between them. Second, after the last exhale, a breath-hold: you simply hold your breath, without inhaling, until you feel the first real urge to breathe. Third, one deep inhale, held for about 15 seconds, before you let go and start the next round. A full session is usually 3 rounds.
It was developed by the Dutch athlete Wim Hof. The full method he teaches also includes gradual cold exposure, such as cold showers, and a form of meditation and concentration training; these three parts are usually taught and practised together, not the breathing alone.
How to do the Wim Hof breathing round, step by step
Do this sitting or lying down, on an empty stomach, somewhere you cannot fall and are not near water.
- Take 30 fast, full breaths: a full inhale through the nose or mouth, then a relaxed, passive exhale, one right after the other, without pausing.
- After the 30th exhale, hold your breath. Do not inhale. Hold for as long as feels comfortable, until you feel the first real urge to breathe.
- When that urge comes, take one deep breath in and hold it for about 15 seconds.
- Let go of that breath and, if doing more than one round, start the next 30 breaths straight away.
- Repeat for 3 rounds in total.
The breath-hold has no fixed length: some rounds it will feel short, others longer. This is normal and is not something to push against.
Does the Wim Hof method actually work? What the research found
The best-known study is a 2014 trial at Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. 12 people who had trained for 10 days in the Wim Hof method, which combines this breathing, cold exposure and meditation, were compared with 12 untrained people. All 24 were then given an injection of a bacterial substance that normally triggers flu-like symptoms. The trained group showed higher blood adrenaline, lower levels of pro-inflammatory signalling molecules in the blood, and milder symptoms than the untrained group.
This is a real, peer-reviewed finding, but it is a small study, and because the training combined breathing with cold exposure and meditation, it cannot show that the breathing alone caused the effect; the cold exposure or the combination could be doing some or all of the work.
A separate, simplified fast-breathing-with-hold pattern in the same family, without the cold exposure, was tested on its own in a 2023 Stanford randomised trial of 108 adults. Over 5 weeks of daily 5-minute practice it improved mood and reduced anxiety compared with baseline, though by a smaller margin than the physiological sigh technique in the same trial. A single brain-imaging case study of one Wim Hof-trained individual during cold exposure also exists, but one person cannot be generalised to anyone else.
Why are fast breathing and cold exposure often done together?
The 2014 Radboud trial trained its 12 participants in breathing, cold exposure and meditation as one combined method, which is how Wim Hof teaches it and how most people practise it. That combined training is what showed the immune and adrenaline effects; no study has isolated the breathing from the cold exposure to show which part, or which combination, produced the result.
Why does the breath-hold time change between rounds?
It is common for the hold after exhaling to lengthen across the 3 rounds of one session, though this varies from day to day and person to person and is not a fixed target to chase. The exact length is not something to compare against anyone else's; it depends on things like how well-rested you are and how much practice you have, not on willpower.
Is the Wim Hof breathing method safe?
This technique carries the clearest specific safety risk of anything on these pages. Fast, deep breathing lowers blood carbon dioxide, which narrows blood vessels in the brain and can cause light-headedness, tingling fingers or lips, and, if breath-holding is then combined with standing up or being in water, a risk of fainting. Shallow-water blackout is a documented risk among breath-hold divers who hyperventilate beforehand, which is exactly the pattern here.
For this reason: practise sitting or lying down, never in or near water, never while driving or operating machinery, and stand up slowly after a hold rather than jumping straight up.
Anyone pregnant, or with epilepsy, a heart condition, or high or low blood pressure, should get a doctor's approval before doing this practice.
Wim Hof breathing vs the physiological sigh and box breathing
All three of the fast-breathing-with-hold pattern, the physiological sigh, and box breathing were compared directly in the same 2023 Stanford trial, and all three improved mood over 5 weeks, though by different margins. If your goal is energy and alertness rather than calm, the fast-breathing pattern here fits that goal better than the slower, calming techniques on the physiological sigh and box breathing pages.
Questions people ask
What are the steps of Wim Hof breathing?
30 fast, full breaths in and out without pausing, then a breath-hold after the last exhale until you feel the urge to breathe, then one deep inhale held for about 15 seconds. Repeat for 3 rounds.
Does the Wim Hof method really work?
A 2014 study found that 12 people trained for 10 days in the full method (breathing, cold exposure and meditation) showed a milder inflammatory response to an injected bacterial substance than untrained people, but the study cannot separate the breathing from the other two parts.
Is Wim Hof breathing dangerous?
It carries a real risk of light-headedness and fainting from lowered blood carbon dioxide, especially if combined with standing up quickly or being in water. Practise sitting or lying down, never in or near water.
How long should you hold your breath in Wim Hof breathing?
There is no fixed length. Hold after exhaling until you feel the first real urge to breathe, then take one deep breath and hold that for about 15 seconds.
Why does the hold time get longer each round?
This is common but not guaranteed; it depends on rest, practice and the day, not on willpower, and varies from person to person.
Can you do Wim Hof breathing in the shower or bath?
No. Never practise breath-holding techniques in or near water, because of the fainting risk from lowered blood carbon dioxide.
Do you need cold exposure for Wim Hof breathing to work?
The main study on this method trained breathing, cold exposure and meditation together, so it cannot show that breathing alone produces the same effect.
Who should not try Wim Hof breathing?
Anyone pregnant, or with epilepsy, a heart condition, or high or low blood pressure, should get a doctor's approval first.
- Kox M., van Eijk L. T., Zwaag J., van den Wildenberg J., Sweep F. C., van der Hoeven J. G., Pickkers P. Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans. PNAS, 2014, 111 (20), 7379–7384.
- Balban M. Y., Neri E., Kogon M. M., Weed L., Nouriani B., Jo B., Holl G., Zeitzer J. M., Spiegel D., Huberman A. D. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 2023, 4 (1), 100895.
- Muzik O., Reilly K. T., Diwadkar V. A. 'Brain over body': a study on the willful regulation of autonomic function during cold exposure. NeuroImage, 2018, 172, 632–641.
The guide above runs the round for you: it counts 30 breaths automatically at a steady pace, then times the breath-hold as a stopwatch you stop yourself, then times a fixed 15-second recovery hold, for 3 rounds in total.