Over the years, the nature of sports has become more competitive and intense. As a result, athletes and sportspersons feel the heat of high competition on their bodies. There has been an increase in the use of hyperbaric chambers for athletes, with modern technology at the forefront and the need for quicker treatments and faster recovery.
From acute sports injuries due to accidents at sporting events or during training, or excessive fatigue due to over-training, athletes have to frequently deal with these banal effects of sports in their careers. However, whatever be their demeanor in the field, all sportspersons and athletes have a firm resolve and thus go around to find ways to bounce back.
Using Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers for Athletes to Sleep
Athletes and sports doctors have found a unique way to solve their problems by sleeping inside a hyperbaric chamber for athletes. Many sports people love to spend time with their hyperbaric chambers because of their noticeable and marked benefits. Below we will discuss why it is so.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy – A Brief Overview
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, involves breathing 100% pure oxygen inside a specialized hyperbaric chamber. The atmospheric pressure (ATA) inside the chamber is increased to – between 1.3 and 3.0 ATA.
The increased atmospheric pressure helps the body to receive the 100% oxygen it is breathing and, more importantly, induces it into the bloodstream quickly.
Since oxygen plays a crucial role in the rejuvenation and recovery of the cells in the human body, the extra dose of oxygen helps the body in many ways. We shall see further how using hyperbaric chambers for athletes may benefit them in various ways.
● Improved Performance
One of the apparent benefits of sleeping inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is that the blood instantly receives 100% pure oxygen. The atmospheric pressure inside the chamber makes the oxygen travel deep inside the body resulting in power, endurance, and increased stamina.
The body feels naturally light due to the oxygen infusion, and agility increases during the performance. The pressurized input of oxygen into the body also ensures that oxygen reaches far-rung corners of the body, including the brain and scalps in the head and toes, heels, and ankles in the legs. So the body receives oxygen in every part of the body from head to toe.
When the body receives the extra dose of oxygen, it spreads and infuses the plasma cells in the blood with oxygen. Thus, it ensures that the extra oxygen received is evenly distributed throughout the body cells.
It results in swift bodily movements, quicker reaction and response, and marked improvement in agility. Athletes thus improve their performance on the field.
● Better Mind Functions
When the oxygen is carried through the blood cells and reaches the far-rung corners of the body, including the brain cells, it rejuvenates the brain with oxygen.
Since the brain consumes approximately 80% of the oxygen we breathe, the extra dose of oxygen helps the brain in better and improved cognitive performance. The brain can handle critical decisions and finer neuromotor movements in a better way.
Thus, the ability of the brain to think, recall, and visualize enhances big times, resulting in sharper mental clarity. Oxygen also builds the brain’s stamina to focus deeper and longer.
The mind’s concentration level heightens, and it transforms and shows in the athlete’s performance on the field. Also, it helps in improved mind-body coordination. It dramatically enhances performance when the body and the mind work in sync together.
● Better and Sound Sleep
A sports person’s daily routine is full of strenuous bodily activity, from playing the sport to training on the ground or gymnasium and traveling to different venues. Often excessive stress and a competitive environment cause intense fatigue in athletes.
Both the body and mind can feel the intensity of fatigue. Thus under fatigue, the body might sleep at night, but the brain may be hyperactive during sleep. It hampers athletic performance too.
Using hyperbaric chambers for athletes causes the brain and the body to heal naturally and quickly. The brain cells become calm, and the body cells become relaxed. It helps in a sound sleep at night, leading to better performance on the field during the day.
● Healing from Inflammation
Research shows that HBOT sessions can reduce the soreness caused due to sports injuries. Inflammation is the body’s natural reaction to any sudden sports injury. When any injury occurs, the body starts its healing process almost instantaneously.
However, during the process, inflammation is the first and foremost component of recovery. The body expands its cell sizes to infuse and pump an extra dose of blood into the area.
Since an athlete receiving oxygen therapy inside a pressurized chamber has pure and denser oxygenated cells in the blood, the body now requires less blood in the injured spot, causing the same or better effect.
It results in reduced inflammation and soreness. Muscle tendons, ligaments, nerve tissues, joints, and filaments where sometimes oxygen cannot or does not reach now suddenly become active and heal themselves naturally.
Thus, a hyperbaric session can –
- Aid in healing strenuous sports injuries
- It also creates a ground or environment inside the body where long-stressed muscles and tissues can rest and recover quickly.
Wrap Up
All the benefits of sleeping inside a hyperbaric chamber for athletes are natural and harmless. Many sports medicos recommend hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an adjunct treatment alongside specialized sports medicines to combat any sports injury.
Performance heightens, decisions become more logical, responsible, and purposeful, and the mind thinks clearly. If you are a professional or amateur athlete, tell us about your experience undertaking HBOT sessions in your sports performance.