The science behind breathwork and inflammation

One of the primary reasons women experience more fluctuations in inflammation compared to men is due to hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle, especially around ovulation - when an egg is released from an ovary.

During ovulation, hormone levels, especially estrogen and progesterone, but also FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (Luteinizing hormone) fluctuate significantly.

Vagal activity, meaning, inflammation regulation through the release of acetylcholine, is generally lower during ovulation, particularly around the LH surge.
 
Each menstrual cycle therefore reduces your parasympathetic nervous system and immune function to prevent immune cells from destroying a fertilized egg and to allow for implantation.

We recommend pursed-lip breathing.

Breathe in through your nose and breathe out slowly, yet firmly, through pursed lips – as if you're blowing out a candle.

Think of the top sensor of the egg – 4 little mesh inlets, or 'petals,' as a soap bubble wand: blow to the left to move the character to the left in the game, and so on.

The egg biosensor measures vagal activity - the activity of your vagus nerve, and respiratory frequency - which our games guide you to slow down.

Vagal activity is measured indirectly through heart rate variability (HRV), or more exactly pulse rate variability (PRV), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). HRV assess the neurophysiological activity on your autonomic nervous system (ANS) via beat-to-beat variation in the heart over time.

Simply put, higher HRV means greater vagal activity and a more balanced autonomic nervous system.
 
Most smartwatches, rings, and apps assume 'higher is better' for HRV: this is a misleading simplification of physiological dynamics. For example, a spike in HRV can at times reveal too much vagal activity.

This is why we emphasize accuracy by collecting high-resolution raw data and following a rigorous protocol where measurements are intentionally taken within a well-defined context – breath-controlled games.

Your breathing frequency is assessed through your respiratory rate (RR) - breathe in, breathe out, possibly hold and pauses.

In addition, how you interact with a game with the egg allows to evaluate your ability to concentrate on breathwork - cognitive load.

Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in the constant, daily regulation of inflammation.

It's a key part of the "cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway" (CAP, or CAIP), a system where your nervous system interacts with your immune system.

The CAP is a network of molecules and cells that interacts with the immune system via the vagus nerve to respond to internal and external pro-inflammatory stimuli.

The ACh cholinergic pathway plays a significant role in pain modulation: an increase in ACh levels induces analgesia - influencing pain perception.

In summary, ACh acts like a brake on the immune system, preventing it from overreacting and causing excessive, cumulative, chronic, systemic inflammation.

And when we breathe around the frequency of 0.1 Hz, we stimulate the vagus nerve to secrete acetylcholine.

No. The egg is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, monitor, or prevent medical conditions.

The egg is a wellness product that helps you stimulate, measure and track your vagus nerve activity.

Seesaw Health explicitly states that its data and insights should not be considered medical advice. Always talk to your doctor if you have any concerns about your health.

First and foremost, let us repeat that you should talk to your healthcare provider before using our solution if you are pregnant.

Among others, please consider the following factors: how far along are you – you may want to avoid the first 12 weeks? Do you have a pre-existing condition – for example, low-blood pressure, epilepsy, others? Are you on any sort of medications? And of course, do you have a delicate pregnancy?

In the situations above, gentle breath practice remains beneficial to most, and it is most often ok to use our solution ‘halfway,’ for example by breathing out until the progress bar gets half blue, without exhaling all the way through full green bar.

Recent science says that 'The Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway (CAP) may play a relevant role in regulating the maternal inflammatory response during pre-eclampsia and protecting the developing fetus from inflammation-induced damage. Some studies suggest that therapeutic stimulation of this pathway may improve maternal and fetal outcomes in preclinical models of pre-eclampsia. Modulation of vagal activity influences the CAP, improving maternal hemodynamics, limiting the inflammatory response, and promoting the growth of new neurons, which enhances synaptic plasticity and improves fetal neurodevelopment.' and concludes that 'modulation of vagal activity may improve maternal and fetal outcomes in pre-eclampsia by targeting underlying immune dysregulation and promoting better fetal neurodevelopment.'
(Frontiers in Immunology, Nov 2023)

While our app's content and features are primarily focused on tracking inflammation fluctuations in the female body, you can still use the app as a male and simply disregard the features that are not relevant to your body. Data collection and analysis will remain equally accurate, regardless of your gender.

Always talk to your doctor before using the egg if you have asthma or a respiratory condition.

Deep breathing exercises can help people with asthma.

Our games can help you calm down and control your breathing, especially when you're short of breath.

In the long-term, 0.1 Hz breathing can help improve respiratory control.

The egg should have it cap on when not in use to prevent dust and debris to enter the top sensor.

You can use a clean, dry and soft cloth to wipe both sensors if needed.

Keep the device away from water and other liquids.

The battery should last 3 weeks on one charge when the egg is used once to a few times a day, for 3-minute sessions.

It is rechargable through a mini USB cable (provided).

Usage frequency, climate, charging habits significantly impacting its lifespan.

The egg is covered by a 1-year limited warranty. If your egg is defective and we’re not able to fix it, we’ll send you a new one with free shipping.

You can initiate a return request within 30 days of product delivery. The product must be unopened, unused, and in its original condition. Please contact us for return authorization.

Neurophysiology explains how controlled breathing stimulates your vagus nerve.

When you play our games, you practice respiratory vagal nerve stimulation (rVNS).

Just a few minutes of 4-second inhalation (breathing in) and 6-second exhalation (breathing out) can stimulate your vagus nerve and keep it active, therefore optimizing inflammation regulation.

Essentially, you are hacking the brain-body connection to enhance anti-inflammatory response and therefore further support your efforts to get and stay healthy.

After downloading the game you want to play, start it from the app.

To control and interact with the game, it's all about your breath and your breath only.

Our games guide you to inhale - when the screen gets darker, and exhale - when it lights up.
The goal is to fill the progress bar in green on each exhale (breathe out) - it is blue first, when you exhale.
It's ok to hold your breath, to pause between inhales and exhales, depending on how you feel.

For optimal effectiveness, we recommend that you breathe in through your nose and breathe out slowly, yet firmly, through pursed lips – as if you're blowing out a candle.

Think of the top sensor of the egg – 4 little mesh inlets, or 'petals,' as a soap bubble wand: blow to the left to move the character to the left in the game, and so on.

The games are about 3 minutes long - they adapt to your own breathwork pace. 

For meaningful insights and extended effect, use the egg daily.

You can play multiple times a day: we recommend between 3 to 5 games for best results, but everybody is different, and when your biomarkers are good, 1 game a day may be enough. At times, studies showed that up to 10 games per day might be optimal.

In just a few weeks, your personal, longitudinal data will enable to guide you so you play based on your individual anti-inflammatory response and needs.

In general, breathwork, when practiced properly, is safe, and scientifically proven to offer numerous physical and mental benefits.

Your comfort and safety are central to the development of our solution.

However, those who do it incorrectly or ignore safety considerations could be at risk of various side effects such as hyperventilation.

Furthermore, respiratory, cardiovascular, vision conditions, recent surgery, seizures, aneurysms, the use of medications, especially antipsychotic, may require special attention.

You should talk to your doctor about your health, as the egg is not a medical device and our solution is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical conditions.

Seesaw Health provides insights into your health that you can share with your doctor.

Anyone feeling uneasy should pause immediately and likely try a more gentle breath practice with Seesaw Health, for example by breathing out (exhaling) until the progress bar gets half blue, without exhaling all the way through full green bar.

Yes! The games are and will always be free to download and play.

Yes, you need to download the app to launch the games, have access to your results, trends and content.

We take your data ownership and privacy very seriously.

The data you generate with Seesaw Health is very personal.

We will not sell your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes.

Periodically, we may process your personal data to improve the quality of our service, always keeping in mind the protection of your privacy, thanks to privacy-enhancing and privacy-protective technologies.

For improvement and statistical purposes, we will use your data in aggregated or anonymized format in which your data is no longer considered personal data.

Repeated measurements of your own biomarkers, unstimulated and stimulated, allows to continuously analyze how these markers change and relate to breathwork, vagal response, symptoms, phases of your menstrual cycle – or its absence, over time, providing a highly dynamic understanding of your ever-changing anti-inflammatory health, compared to single-time point measurements.

Yes! The app is free to download and use. Keep it updated.

The app and egg are compatible with all iPhone devices (iOS 14.0 and up) and Android devices (Android 10.0 and up).

It may work with older versions.