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MYTH BUSTED: Do Oxygen Bars Actually Improve Your Health?

For healthy individuals, there is little harm but also absolutely no scientific evidence of benefit. You're essentially paying for expensive air and a placebo effect... The medical community is clear: Oxygen bars are recreational entertainment at best, and potentially harmful pseudoscience at worst. Your healthy lungs are already giving you all the oxygen you need.

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 Suffocating Trends: Oxygen Bars and Drinks

Don't get me wrong. I like oxygen. I breathe in my share every day. Nevertheless I remain skeptical of new products designed to put more oxygen into my body. Marketers of oxygenated bottled water and oxygen bars are breathing down my neck. Actor and noted hemp enthusiast Woody Harrelson opened an oxygen bar in Hollywood a few years ago, where you pay a premium to breathe in the good stuff. I know what you're thinking: "Woody Harrelson! I loved him as a bald-headed mass-murderer in 'Natural Born Killers.' Surely he knows a thing or two about my respiratory system." Well, believe it or not, Woody might be a little off this time.

 Why Oxygen Bars are the New Wellness Trend

The wellness industry is known for introducing innovative methods to help people relax, rejuvenate, and recharge. Enter: Oxygen Bars. If you've strolled through a high-end spa or wellness center recently, you've probably spotted one. But what's behind the growing popularity of these futuristic-looking stations? Let's take a deep breath and dive into the world of oxygen bars and their burgeoning role in modern wellness.

Articles of Interest

Are Oxygen Bars Safe? Here’s What You Need to Know

While oxygen bars tout various health benefits, it’s important to know that not every claim is necessarily true. The actual health benefits of oxygen bars remain largely unsubstantiated by scientific evidence. Oxygen therapy, whether through bars or medical devices, has its limitations. While it can provide temporary relief for conditions like altitude sickness or hangovers, it’s not a cure-all solution for chronic health issues. Moreover, inhaling concentrated oxygen for extended periods without medical supervision can lead to oxygen toxicity and respiratory complications.

Can Oxygen Bars Cure Hangovers?

Wake up with an aching head and queasy stomach this weekend? (Or this morning? Did you have a Sunday Funday? No judgment!) Hangovers suck, no question about it. Ibuprofen, sleep, a Bloody Mary -- they may provide some relief,...

Dangers of Oxygen Bars

Oxygen as an elixir is a nutty idea and can be harmful to your health. While essential for human life, oxygen also produces cellular abnormalities and other problems. The purpose of foods and supplements that contain antioxidants is to counter and reduce the undesirable effects of oxygen on our cells. The ideal human situation would be to survive at the lowest oxygen level.

I Tried It: Personal Oxygen Device

You know those oxygen bars in big cities where you pay $15 or more for a few minutes of oxygen delivered through a mask? Well, I recently heard about the at-home version--a new-ish product called POD (AKA: personal oxygen device). Basically, you toss a canister the size of a small bottle of hairspray in your purse and inhale when you need a little rejuvenation. I gave it a try recently, and here's what I thought.

Is canned oxygen just a load of hot air?

John Brewer, professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire, says that while extra oxygen is undoubtedly beneficial, not all of what is inhaled from a can is diffused from the lungs to the bloodstream. Brewer says that there is no disputing that oxygen is crucial for exercisers. “It is important during the recovery process and, by improving the body’s capacity to transport oxygen from the air that enters the lungs to the bloodstream, it can reduce fatigue,” he says. “But it is stretching that truth to suggest you can definitely obtain greater effects from a can.”

Oxygen at Hand, Delivered by the Sip

The novelty of inhaling oxygen in lieu of drinking alcohol quickly wore off, and many buzzed-about bars, like O2 in Los Angeles, owned by the actor Woody Harrelson, came and went. But Oxia, a new company in Vancouver, British Columbia, that sells personal-sized oxygen canisters for everyday use, says consumers are still yearning for concentrated shots of the gas, which makes up about 21 percent of the air we breathe.

Oxygen bar effectiveness: a randomized quantitative study

Using a repeated measures analyses of variance there were no significant differences between and within groups at each time period for all variables. The use of O2 bars was found not to have an effect on subject’s energy, relaxation or stress levels.

Oxygen Bars Are Back! Why?

I’m pretty sure breathing high-oxygen air is not therapeutic unless you’re going under anesthesia or maybe crashing in the ocean in a pressurized pod after abandoning a malfunctioning spaceship. I don’t mean to be snarky towards a vital life force (water’s boring btw), but c’mon, this company has (non-ironic) quotes like this on their website:

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Breath of fresh air

According to the latest theories, if you really want to be in your best ever physical and mental shape, all you need is the air that you breathe. Even experts seem to think there may be benefits in the new market for selling, well, a load of air. "Inhaling pure oxygen is beneficial for people suffering from illnesses that compromise the function of the lungs and cardiovascular system," says Dr Peter Jokl, head of sports medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine.