Oxygen (o2) is the earth’s most abundant element and the single most important determinant to our health and longevity. While we all know we need it to live, it’s worth unpacking oxygen’s vital role before we deep dive into Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (or mHBOT as it’s often called) and take you through this emerging wellbeing science and how it can support your healing and recovery and upgrade your overall health and wellbeing.
What is oxygen?
Oxygen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas essential to all living organisms. Oxygen is contained in the air we breathe (21%), along with other gases including Nitrogen (78%), argon (0.9%) and carbon dioxide (0.03%) with these gases making up to 99.99 % of the air.
Oxygen’s primary function is to provide our body with energy. Not surprisingly, 90 per cent of our biochemical and metabolic activities need oxygen. When we breathe, we take in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Oxygen is then taken from lungs through haemoglobin (the protein molecule in red blood cells) and delivered to every cell in the body.
You may have heard of mitochondria, these are organelles inside our cells which have been described as little batteries and the real energy generators in our bodies. Mitochondria use oxygen to transform nutrients from the digestive process into energy molecules (these are called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) and are the primary energy carrier in all living organisms) that can be used directly by the cell.
So, what happens if we don’t get adequate levels of oxygen?
In extreme cases, a severe lack of oxygen causes Hypoxemia (low oxygen in your blood) which can then cause hypoxia (low oxygen in your tissues). Without adequate oxygen, your organs begin to suffer very quickly, and this can be fatal.
Long term low levels of oxygen can cause healthy cells to lose their natural immunity and become more susceptible to viruses, bacteria and other external stressors which can lead the way to all kinds of serious health problems. Knowing that every tissue and organ in the body is dependent upon oxygen to function effectively, it makes good sense that we pay more attention to the oxygen levels in our bodies.
Enter the AirPod and Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (mHBOT)
mHBOT is a safe non-invasive therapy that uses an increase in atmospheric pressure to supply greater levels of oxygen to cells and tissues. The greater pressure causes additional oxygen to be dissolved into the blood plasma and enter the tissues directly, stimulating the body’s healing processes, increasing stamina and endurance and helping the body reach a state of balance and wellbeing.
It has been said that the delivery of hyperbaric (high-pressure) oxygen not only boosts the body’s ability to recuperate quickly, but also stimulates the cellular defences to actively fight infectious agents. Differing from alternative oxygen therapy, mHBOT delivers the oxygen under pressure and this increased pressure facilitates the blood plasma, cells, tissues, and fluids to receive up to 10 times more oxygen than the concentration of oxygen received through normal breathing.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy above 2.0ATA is a well-established and researched treatment for decompression sickness, a potential risk of scuba diving. Today, doctors and health practitioners are using mHBOT as an adjunctive modality and highly effective remedy for many other conditions including, skin and wounds, infections (increasing the production of white blood cells and antibodies, which are key to fighting off infection), inflammatory conditions, muscle and joint pain, injury recovery, anti-ageing, respiratory conditions and many more.
Many health and wellbeing practitioners, biohackers, longevity experts and general health enthusiasts are looking to mHBOT as a keystone in their preventative or ‘life-span’ activities. With its overwhelming benefits and additional emerging research mHBOT is much more than a wellness trend.
If you’re looking for one therapy that works systemically to treat many modern health and lifestyle conditions, addressing the underlying and the body as a whole, it's hard to go past mHBOT.
What to expect from your AirPod session?
AirPod mHBOT capsules offer both a seated and lying down option, the sessions typically last 60 or 90 minutes. The AirPod Revive offers the seated and reclined position and is perfect for those who would like to keep working with a laptop on the convenient internal table, but also suits those who’d like to wind down and read a book or meditate.
The AirPod Propel is for those who would like to experience the therapy in a lying down position for the ultimate relaxing and rejuvenating experience.
Benefits such as increased energy, reduced stress may be experienced immediately but are also cumulative with regular sessions optimising results and noticeable feelings of reduced stress and overall wellbeing.
Oxygen is one of nature’s great healers and whether you are seeking to support your body in dealing with a more serious illness or are looking to upgrade your performance and general wellbeing levels, mHBOT in an AirPod capsule should be high on your list.
To find out more about the science behind AirPod click here