Does the Wim Hof Method have a beneficial impact on physiological and psychological outcomes in healthy and non-healthy participants? A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Wim Hof, also known as the iceman, developed a method called Wim Hof Method which he claims to have several benefits on physical and mental health. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and synthesise the results of the studies conducted on Wim Hof Method on physiological and psychological health-related outcomes.   Materials and Methods: Medline and Web of Science were searched. Studies were included if they met the predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed on the included studies. The effects of Wim Hof Method were categorised into physiological or psychological related outcomes and narrative synthesis was conducted.    Results: Nine papers were included in this review which consisted of eight individual trials. The findings of this systematic review suggest that the Wim Hof Method may affect the reduction of inflammation in healthy and non-healthy participants as it increases epinephrine levels, causing an increase in interleukin-10 and a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, Wim Hof breathing method was suggested to not enhance the performance of an exercise as minute ventilation, tidal volume, and breathing frequency were statistically insignificant.  Conclusion: Taken together, the findings of this review show promising use of Wim Hof Method in the inflammatory response category. The focus of future studies should move away from investigating the use of Wim Hof breathing method to enhance exercise performance and towards exploring the benefits of Wim Hof Method in non-healthy participants with inflammatory disorders.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. This systematic review was my dissertation project for completing my MPH at University of Warwick. After graduating, the school accepted to fund my publication fee. Please contact Dr. Saran Shantikumar, my MPH course director, for further funding details (saran.shantikumar@warwick.ac.uk). Thank you in advance!

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

N/A

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

Data Availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

留言 (0)

沒有登入
gif