Breathwork and Music Trigger Psychedelic Brain Benefits.

In 2025, Amy Amla Kartar and colleagues from the Colasanti Lab at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the UK studied how high-ventilation breathwork (HVB) with music affects the brain and emotions. They tested 42 participants (15 online, 8 in lab, 19 with fMRI) during 20-30 minute sessions of cyclic breathing, followed by questionnaires on altered states of consciousness (ASCs) and scans for blood flow changes.

The breathwork evoked blissful states with reduced negative emotions, increasing blood flow to emotion-processing areas like the insula and anterior cingulate (10-20% more activation). ASC intensity tied to sympathetic activation, with deeper changes linked to feelings of unity and bliss (oceanic boundlessness scores up 30-40%), mimicking psychedelics without drugs.

Practice high-ventilation breathwork with music for 20-30 minutes to naturally boost mood and reduce stress.