Breathwork, Driving, Water and Heights: Settings Where It Is Unsafe

Dizziness and fainting are the common thread

The NHS (UK) describes fainting as passing out for a short time. [1] Its dizziness page says not to do anything dangerous while dizzy, such as driving, climbing a ladder or using heavy machinery, and to lie down until the dizziness passes. [2]

A 2026 narrative review of breathing practices notes that slow, deep breathing can cause acute dizziness and lightheadedness through a drop in carbon dioxide, usually brief. [3] MedlinePlus describes the same pattern with overbreathing: lightheadedness, feeling dizzy or weak, and numbness or tingling around the mouth or in the arms. [4] Evidence label for these effects: established as a general physiological finding; how often they happen in any one practice is not well measured.

Gentle practice is different from forceful practice. The NHS stress-breathing guide describes a comfortable breath "without forcing it" and suggests standing, sitting or lying down. [5] If you feel dizzy, tingly, faint, anxious or short of breath, stop and return to normal breathing. Stopping is always allowed.

Driving

Proper evidence not found on breathing practice and road crashes. We searched Europe PMC for breathwork, breathing exercise and hyperventilation together with driving or motor vehicle crashes and found nothing usable. What we can say rests on the general dizziness and fainting advice above. In the UK, the NHS says you must tell the driving licence agency if you are fainting regularly, as it could affect your ability to drive. [1] Rules differ by country.

Plain guidance: do not practice while driving, and do not drive straight after a session that left you lightheaded.

Bathing and showers

Proper evidence not found on breathing practice in a bath or shower specifically. We searched Europe PMC for breathwork or deliberate hyperventilation together with shower, bath, fainting and drowning and found no relevant reports. The concern is the same as for any water: a faint in a bath or on a wet shower floor, with nobody near. Keep breathing practice for a dry, safe place.

Swimming, pools and open water

This is the setting with the best documented harm. A 2026 physiology review explains that overbreathing before a breath-hold dive lowers carbon dioxide and can delay the urge to breathe, which makes it worse. [6] A medical review says shallow water blackout can occur in any body of water at any depth. [7]

An Australian review of 317 snorkelling and breath-hold diving deaths linked up to 34 deaths to extended breath-holding, with or without overbreathing, and inadequate supervision, leading to drowning. [8] That is a review of diving, not of breathwork classes, but it shows what is at stake. Live Science reports that deliberate hyperventilation can cause people to black out underwater. [9] Cold water adds its own risk: a single gasp underwater can be enough to cause drowning. [9]

A company that teaches a well-known hyperventilation-plus-breath-hold method says people should never practice deep breathing before or during immersion in or over water, and should sit or lie down in a safe place. [9] See Wim Hof-style breathing and water and freediving and breath-hold sports.

Even strong swimmers are not protected. Never combine any deliberate overbreathing or breath-hold practice with a pool, bath, lake, sea or hot tub. Also see hydrotherapy safety and cold exposure plus breathwork claims.

Heights

Proper evidence not found on breathing practice at heights. The reasoning is again about dizziness and falls: the NHS lists climbing a ladder among things not to do while dizzy, [2] and it lists serious injury before or after fainting as a reason to call emergency services. [1] Skip breathing practice on ladders, roofs, balconies, trails with drop-offs and similar places.

Signs to stop and get help

A review of breathing practices lists pre-fainting, chest pain, palpitations and new neurological symptoms as red flags to stop at once. [3] In the United States, call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, a faint with injury, or a seizure. Rapid breathing for the first time can be a medical emergency. [4]

Where to go next

For the wider safety picture see breathwork safety: dizziness, medical conditions and unsafe settings and breathwork for beginners.