What actually happens inside a hyperbaric chamber?

We have already talked about oxygen and why pressure changes the way oxygen behaves in the body.

So what actually happens when you step inside a hyperbaric chamber?

First, the pressure slowly increases

Once you are comfortable inside the chamber, the pressure begins to rise gradually.

This is the part where your ears may feel blocked — a little like during take-off or landing on a plane.

Equalising your ears helps your body adjust as the pressure changes.

At Repure Wellness, our chamber operates at up to 1.5 ATA, which means the pressure inside is around 50% higher than normal atmospheric pressure.

Then you simply relax and breathe

During the session, you breathe oxygen through a mask while resting inside the pressurised chamber.

You do not need to exercise or actively do anything.

The combination of oxygen + increased pressure allows more oxygen to dissolve into the liquid part of the blood — the plasma.

That is the key difference between simply breathing oxygen and breathing oxygen under increased pressure.

What does the session feel like?

Once the chamber reaches the required pressure, most people simply relax.

You can listen to music, read or just switch off for a while.

The session itself lasts around 60 minutes.

At the end, the pressure is slowly reduced back to normal before the chamber is opened.

So the idea is actually quite simple

Hyperbaric oxygen can sound very technical.

But the basic concept is:

oxygen + pressure = a different way for oxygen to be carried in the blood

And that is what makes a hyperbaric chamber different from simply breathing more deeply or breathing oxygen at normal pressure.