The Study
Human cerebrospinal fluid net flow enhanced by respiration during the awake state
This study found that people who practice a special kind of slow breathing have more fluid moving around their brains than people who don’t. But it doesn’t prove that the breathing caused it — maybe those people were already healthier in other ways. It’s like noticing that people who run every day also have better sleep — but we don’t know if running causes better sleep or if people who sleep well just like to run.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Your brain has a cleaning system that uses fluid called CSF. This study found that breathing deeply, especially using a special belly-breathing method, helps push this fluid around to clean out waste.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — better CSF flow may help the brain remove toxins linked to aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s, making this a simple, non-drug way to support brain health.
- 2People who practiced belly breathing for years moved 2.5x more CSF fluid during normal breathing than others.
- 3When everyone breathed deeply, CSF movement increased by up to 3x.
- 4Longer inhales and bigger belly movements meant more fluid flow.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nature Communications
Year
2025
Authors
Seokbeen Lim, P. Cogswell, David N. Jacobson, Mahathi Kandimalla, Yurim Choi, M. Nycklemoe, Daniel C. Kim, Pragalv Karki, Phillip J. Rossman, Zona McKenzie, John G. Park, Sangwon Lee, Sandeep Ganji, Walter K. Kremers, I. Mark, D. Kang, M. In, Jeffrey L. Gunter, J. Graff‐Radford, E. Benarroch, John Huston, C. Jack, R. Petersen, M. Lapid, V. Lowe, Daehyun Jung, Paul H. Min
Related Content
Claims (7)
Cerebrospinal fluid movement at the base of the skull is affected by blood flow changes from the superior sagittal sinus and heart rate fluctuations linked to breathing, while fluid movement in the brain's lateral ventricles is primarily controlled by mechanical forces.
Deep breathing causes greater movement and flow of cerebrospinal fluid at the base of the skull in all people, whether or not they have trained in breathing techniques.
People who have trained for a long time in Seokmun Hoheup breathing have measurably more cerebrospinal fluid movement at the base of the skull during breathing, compared to people who have not trained in this practice.
Longer breaths and greater movement of the diaphragm during breathing are linked to higher volumes of cerebrospinal fluid moving past the base of the skull.
People who practice Seokmun Hoheup for a long time breathe more slowly and use their diaphragm more during normal breathing than people who do not practice it.
Diaphragmatic breathing increases pressure changes in the chest that intensify the fluid-based clearance of waste from the brain.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.