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IHHT - with breathing to more energy?

You may have come across the term IHHT before. Do you know what it is and how it can help you get more energy? Find out more in this article.

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What is Interval Hypoxia Hyperoxia Therapy (IHHT)?

Ursprünge der IHHT: IHT und Höhentraining

Origins of IHHT: IHT and altitude training
Interval Hypoxia Hyperoxia Therapy is also known as Intermittent Hypoxia Hyperoxia Therapy or training. It starts in the area of energy metabolism and is therefore a kind of cell training or oxygen therapy. Central to IHHT are the different oxygen concentrations that are inhaled during the procedure.
To understand the background and the origin of IHHT, it is worthwhile to first take a look at its close relative and predecessor, interval hypoxia training (IHT).

In principle, IHT simulates altitude training at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. There, the air is, as they say, "thinner." This ultimately means that although the air at these altitudes has the same oxygen content as at sea level (20.95%), the air pressure up there is lower. So the higher you go up the mountain, the lower the air pressure and the less oxygen you take in through breathing (lower oxygen partial pressure).

This is noticeable! At airy heights, we find it harder to breathe and move. The resulting lack of oxygen is called hypoxia.

Was sind Hypoxie und Hyperoxie?

Hypoxia and hyperoxia
Hypoxia is by definition a lack of oxygen in the body and tissues, which leads to various adaptation mechanisms that can have a positive effect on energy supply. However, to induce hypoxia, one does not necessarily have to go to the mountains. One can also simulate it by breathing in a low level of oxygen through a mask. In addition to the phases with moderate hypoxia, in which little oxygen is inhaled, there are also phases in IHT in which oxygen is inhaled in the usual concentration (normoxic phases). Thus, there is alternation between the two phases. Hence the name interval hypoxia training.

IHHT can be seen as a further development of IHT and should lead to a faster recovery after hypoxia1,2. IHHT involves replacing periods of normal oxygenation with periods of high oxygenation. As a result, the patient breathes in more oxygen than usual and the body is supplied with more oxygen than usual. Consequently, exactly the opposite of hypoxia takes place here, namely hyperoxia. As with IHT, IHHT also alternates between the two phases.

IHHT procedure, duration and costs

As already mentioned, you do not have to climb to dizzying heights for IHHT, but you can relax and spend the therapy lying or sitting down. As it is best for you personally.

Procedure
During an IHHT session, you will wear a breathing mask through which the appropriate amount of oxygen (O2) will be inhaled. Since IHHT is about hypoxia and hyperoxia, you will not breathe in air with the usual oxygen percentage of 20.95% through the breathing mask, but alternately low oxygen air (hypoxia: 9–18% O2) and high oxygen air (hyperoxia: 30–40% O2).
While you lie or sit completely relaxed and breathe in the oxygen via the breathing mask, your heart rate variability (HRV), i.e. the fluctuations in your heart rate, is also measured for observation purposes. In addition, a pulse oximeter is also applied, either on the finger or earlobe.
In addition to heart rate, or pulse, it also measures oxygen saturation (SpO2) in the arterial blood. It indicates how much oxygen is bound to the red blood pigment hemoglobin.

Under normal conditions in everyday life, your SpO2 is about 98%. During hypoxia, when little oxygen is inhaled, IHHT generally aims for an SpO2 of less than 90%. Depending on your health condition, your physical capacity and the available equipment, a range of 80-75% can also be achieved. During the following hypoxia, the phase with a lot of oxygen, values above the usual 98 % are aimed for. Accordingly 98-100 %.

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Duration
A hypoxia phase of 5 to 7 minutes is always followed by a hyperoxia phase. It is somewhat shorter at 2 to 4 minutes. The cycle of hypoxia-hyperoxia is repeated 3 to 5 times in total.

The duration of a single IHHT session depends on the length of the individual phases and the number of cycles. It is always possible to adjust it to your individual condition. The total length per session therefore varies between 30 and 50 minutes. A total of at least 10 sessions is recommended, although it has proven to be best to have 2 sessions per week.

Costs
The cost of IHHT therapy varies significantly. The price depends on the place where the therapy is carried out, on your initial condition, on the goal and therefore also on the total therapy duration. For about 60 € you can already get a trial session in some practices. Further sessions can often be booked as a package of 5 or 10. Here the IHHT costs per session are about 70-100 €.

Kosten

Die Kosten für die IHHT Therapie schwanken deutlich. Der Preis ist abhängig vom Ort der Durchführung, von deinem Ausgangszustand, von der Zielstellung und somit auch von der gesamten Therapiedauer.
Für circa 60 € kann man in manchen Praxen bereits eine Probesitzung bekommen. Weitere Sitzungen sind oft als 5er und 10er Paket buchbar. Hier liegen die IHHT Kosten pro Sitzung bei circa 70–100 €.

Wie wirkt IHHT?

Die IHHT kann längerfristig zu verschiedenen körperlichen Anpassungsmechanismen führen. Je nach Mechanismus kann dies einige Stunden, Tage oder auch Wochen dauern3.

Regeneration der Mitochondrien

Im Fokus der IHHT stehen definitiv die Mitochondrien. Was sind Mitochondrien nochmal genau? Einfach erklärt sind die Mitochondrien die Kraftwerke deiner Zellen und entscheidend für deinen Energiestoffwechsel. Ohne sie wäre eine Bereitstellung von Energie in Form von Adenosintriphosphat (ATP) nur sehr begrenzt möglich. In manchen Zellen mit sehr hohem Energiebedarf befinden sich sogar bis zu 100.000 Mitochondrien. Du kannst dir sicher vorstellen, dass es, wenn die Funktion der kleinen Zellorganellen eingeschränkt ist und sie dysfunktional arbeiten, zu enormen Beeinträchtigungen im Alltag kommen kann.

Mitochondrien können sich durch direkte Teilung selbst vermehren4. Sollte es zu einer Schädigung der mitochondrialen DNA (mtDNA) kommen, werden die Mitochondrien dysfunktional. Das heißt, sie funktionieren nicht mehr richtig. Wenn sich die dysfunktionalen Mitochondrien teilen, entstehen dann weitere dysfunktionale Mitochondrien. Und das führt zu weiteren Einschränkungen in deiner Energiebereitstellung5.

IHHT can lead to various physical adjustment mechanisms in the longer term. Depending on the mechanism, this can take a few hours, days or even week3.

Regeneration of mitochondria
The focus of IHHT is definitely the mitochondria. What are mitochondria again exactly? Simply explained, mitochondria are the powerhouses of your cells and critical to your energy metabolism. Without them, the supply of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) would be very limited. In some cells with very high energy demands, there are even up to 100,000 mitochondria. You can imagine that if the function of these small cell organelles is limited and they work dysfunctionally, this can lead to enormous impairments in everyday life.

Mitochondria can self-replicate by direct division [4]. Should damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) occur, mitochondria become dysfunctional. That is, they no longer function properly. When the dysfunctional mitochondria divide, more dysfunctional mitochondria are then created. And that leads to further limitations in your energy supply5.

Damage to your mitochondria may be due to your lifestyle. For example, lack of sleep, poor diet, excess stress, or lack of exercise are all reasons for damaged mitochondria. On the other hand, aspects such as environmental toxins, viral infections, medications, and the normal aging process can also affect mitochondrial function4.

How do you notice that your mitochondria no longer perform what they once could, or actually could? It becomes clear especially with symptoms such as regular and persistent fatigue, low resilience, lack of energy and exhaustion.

But how can IHHT help in the area of mitochondria and energy supply?
IHHT can be seen as a way of mitochondrial therapy. Through the different administration of oxygen, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, the mitochondria are exposed to stress. Not all mitochondria survive this, but only the well-functioning ones. The dysfunctional mitochondria die as a result. At the same time, this allows new young mitochondria to form1,6,7,8.

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Wie kann aber nun die IHHT im Bereich Mitochondrien und Energiebereitstellung helfen?

IHHT kann als eine Möglichkeit der Mitochondrien-Therapie gesehen werden. Durch die unterschiedliche Gabe von Sauerstoff, mal wenig, mal viel, werden die Mitochondrien Stress ausgesetzt. Das überleben nicht alle Mitochondrien, sondern nur die gut funktionierenden. Die dysfunktionalen Mitochondrien sterben dadurch ab. Gleichzeitig können sich so neue junge Mitochondrien bilden1,6,7,8.

Weitere Anpassungsmechanismen

Durch den Mangel an Sauerstoff, also die Hypoxie, werden durch das regulatorische Protein HIF (Hypoxie-induzierter Faktor) eine Reihe weiterer Mechanismen im Körper angestoßen3. Diese Anpassungen beruhen vor allem darauf, dass HIF auf das geringe Sauerstoffangebot reagiert, um das Sauerstoff-Gleichgewicht aufrechtzuerhalten. Das tut das Intervall-Hypoxie-Hyperoxie-Training (IHHT), indem zum einen mehr Sauerstoff zur Verfügung gestellt wird, indem mehr rote Blutkörperchen produziert werden, die Sauerstoff zu den Zellen transportieren. Außerdem werden neue Blutgefäße gebildet, durch die das Blut mit Sauerstoff fließen kann.

Zum anderen wird durch HIF auch der Sauerstoffverbrauch verringert, indem vom oxidativen Stoffwechsel (oxidative Phosphorylierung) auf andere Wege der Energiegewinnung umgeschaltet wird, die keinen Sauerstoff benötigen.

Weitere mögliche Vorteile von IHHT können eine Verbesserung der Fitness deines Herz-Kreislauf-Systems, des LDL Cholesterins, des Körperfettanteils, der kognitiven Fähigkeiten und deines subjektiven Wohlbefindens sein.¹'⁵'⁷'⁹

Who can use IHHT?

In a nutshell, almost anyone can use IHHT2. From young to old and from healthy to exhausted. The beauty of intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia training is that it can be adapted to your ability. The duration and the intensity of the load can be chosen individually. In addition, the therapy is continuously monitored by means of measurements.

Since IHHT is not a sport where you move and sweat, the training can also be a therapeutic approach for various diseases and indications. Examples are burn out, permanent fatigue and lack of energy, chronic diseases and lipometabolic disorders.

Of course, IHHT can also be used to enhance performance in sports10 or, in older age, to improve cognitive performance5,6.

Wie kannst du deine Mitochondrien noch stärken?

Wie alle Prozesse in unserem Körper, benötigen auch Mitochondrien viele Bausteine in Form von Nährstoffen, um gut zu funktionieren. Ergänzend zur IHHT wäre auch eine ausreichende Nährstoffversorgung wichtig. Denn ohne Bausteine kann leider auch nichts gebaut werden, also auch keine neue Energie. Daher sollte ein besonderes Augenmerk auf die Energiekraftwerke unserer Zellen gelegt werden.

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Dieser Artikel beruht auf sorgfältig recherchierten Quellen:

Bibliography

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2 Glazachev, O. S. (2013). Optimization of Clinical Application of Interval Hypoxic Training. Biomedical Engineering, 47(3), 134–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10527-013-9352-7

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6 Bayer, U., Likar, R., Pinter, G., Stettner, H., Demschar, S., Trummer, B., Neuwersch, S., Glazachev, O., & Burtscher, M. (2017). Intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic training on cognitive performance in geriatric patients. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 3(1), 114–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trci.2017.01.002

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9 Glazachev, O., Kopylov, P., Susta, D., Dudnik, E., & Zagaynaya, E. (2017). Adaptations following an intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia training in coronary artery disease patients: A controlled study: Cardiopulmonary and metabolic adaptations after intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia training. Clinical Cardiology, 40(6), 370–376. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.22670

10 Susta, D., Dudnik, E., & Glazachev, O. S. (2017). A programme based on repeated hypoxia–hyperoxia exposure and light exercise enhances performance in athletes with overtraining syndrome: A pilot study. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 37(3), 276–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpf.12296