Practices marketed as a nervous system reset, such as cold plunges or breathwork, can reset the autonomic nervous system in a measurable clinical sense.

Is it true that practices marketed as a nervous system reset, such as cold plunges or breathwork, can reset the autonomic nervous system in a measurable clinical sense?

Unclear. A systematic review of slow breathing and a randomized trial of yoga in cardiac patients report measurable autonomic changes (heart-rate variability, sympathetic activity), and one primary study notes yoga breathing shifts sympathetic tone. These cover breathwork-type practices in specific populations only; nothing retrieved addresses cold plunges or establishes a general clinical 'reset' of the autonomic nervous system.

Verdict: PARTIAL LEAN · 3 sources for, 0 against · Last checked 2 Oct 2026

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing - PMC Lock. (n.d.). pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353

Deepeshwar, S. (2020). Cerebral autoregulation and sympathetic nervous system activity (SNS) while performing cognitive tasks during yoga practices which have different effects on SNS. zenodo.org. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3609367

Effect of yogic intervention on the autonomic nervous system in the patients with coronary artery disease:a randomized controlled trial. (2013). iris.who.int. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/118375