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Does Wim Hof breathing boost your immune system?
A small trial found it calmed an inflammatory reaction in a lab test; it doesn't boost immunity or cure disease.
What you hear: “Wim Hof breathing supercharges your immune system and cures inflammation.”
What the studies found
In a 2014 trial, 12 healthy volunteers trained for 10 days in the method (fast breathing with breath holds, cold exposure and meditation) and 12 were not; after a lab injection of a bacterial toxin, the trained group had lower inflammatory signals, a faster rise in an anti-inflammatory signal and fewer flu-like symptoms. That is a dampened immune reaction, not a boosted immune system, and it has not been shown to cure inflammatory diseases. A 2023 pooled analysis of 12 trials (785 adults) found breathwork of many kinds lowered self-reported stress by a small-to-moderate amount. But a 2024 blinded trial of 200 young adults found 3 weeks of this style of fast breathing with breath holds was no better than a slower dummy breathing routine for stress, anxiety or mood.
Take care: The method's own guidance says never to do the breathing before or during swimming, diving, driving or bathing, and not to practise it while pregnant or with conditions such as epilepsy.
What you could do
If you enjoy breathwork, it can be a calming habit; do it seated or lying down on dry land, and don't rely on it to treat an illness.
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Not medical advice. General information from published studies, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Talk with your doctor before starting a supplement or changing a medicine, especially if you are pregnant, take other medicines or have a health condition.
How we judged it
Partly true: Some truth, but oversold as usually said. We judge the claim as it is usually said online, not the habit itself. Trials assign people at random, so they can show cause; observed studies follow people and show a link, not proof. Last checked: October 2026.
The studies, in their own words
- Kox et al. PNAS 2014
Healthy volunteers were randomized to either the intervention (n = 12) or control group (n = 12).
- Kox et al. PNAS 2014
Levels of proinflammatory mediators TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 were lower in the intervention group and correlated negatively with IL-10 levels.
- Fincham et al. Sci Rep 2023
The primary outcome self-reported/subjective stress included 12 randomised-controlled trials (k = 12) with a total of 785 adult participants.
- Fincham et al. Sci Rep 2024
Brief remote HVBR therefore may not be more efficacious at improving mental health than a well-designed active comparator in otherwise healthy, young adults.
- Wim Hof Method: Safety warnings
Never attempt the exercises before or during diving, driving, swimming, or taking a bath
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