Breathing techniques increased pH levels and decreased sensitivity to pain | Wim Hof
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Wim Hof's breathing techniques can increase the blood's pH level to above physiologically normal levels. At higher pH levels, pain-sensing receptors are deactivated and allow practitioners of Hof's techniques the ability to withstand cold temperatures. In this clip, Wim Hof describes how his breathing methods impact blood levels and can modify the body's response to pain.
Rhonda: What's interesting to me is that there's the pain receptor, the acid sensing receptor that is coupled to the pain signalling pathway, and so when you are able to raise your pH by this brilliant technique, and lowering the carbon dioxide to 7.75 or 7.8...
Wim: Eight, average, last study.
Rhonda: Eight.
Wim: It's still not published, but I can say...
Rhonda: Well, in the published study, it was about 7.75 or 7.8, which is still high. And that's too...that's a high enough pH to deactivate the receptor that senses the acidity, and therefore it is unable to send signals to the other pain receptors.
Wim: Wow, great. Science, I love this shit. If you get it to 7.6, the trimerization goes into monomer, so the pain signal is composed by three...
Rhonda: Receptors. They [inaudible 00:15:38].
Wim: ...receptors, then two get away because there's just no signal on them. I loved your...
Rhonda: And that's why you can sit in the pool.
Wim: And then it goes away. And there is no pain. That's the way we master our own body again.
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