"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy": a new "secret" to improve test scores?
【Pediatric "Department"】
◎Intern reporter Du Peng
Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve test takers' brain fatigue, there is no rigorous evidence that it improves performance.
The improvement of test scores not only requires a clear mind, but also is related to factors such as knowledge reserve and effort level. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not a "secret" for taking the test.
——Zhang Yi, Deputy Chief Physician of Hyperbaric Oxygen Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University
In June and July every year, with the advent of the middle school and college entrance examinations and the final exams of primary and secondary school students, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is always mentioned by many parents.
Improve sleep, enhance memory, relieve brain fatigue... The hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the mouth of parents has become a "secret" for exams.
In order to allow children to receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy at any time, some parents even purchase a home hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
The reporter saw on a domestic e-commerce platform that there are more than 10 different types of related equipment on sale, with prices ranging from a few thousand yuan to ten thousand yuan.
So, does hyperbaric oxygen therapy really help children improve test scores?
In response to this issue, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed relevant experts.
Increases physical dissolved oxygen content in the blood
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as the name suggests, refers to a method in which the body inhales pure oxygen or high-concentration oxygen in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber with a pressure higher than 1 atmosphere to treat diseases.
Zhang Yi, deputy chief physician of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, introduced in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that the brain is the organ with the largest demand for oxygen in the human body, and the weight of a normal human brain accounts for 2% to 3% of the total body weight. %, but its oxygen consumption accounts for 20% to 30% of the total oxygen consumption of the human body.
"There is a saying that 'the brain is inseparable from oxygen protection'. The brain is extremely sensitive to hypoxia." Zhang Yi said that when the human brain has hypoxia symptoms, oxygen supplementation is the fastest way to recover.
Compared with ordinary oxygen inhalation, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber is superior in oxygen supply to the brain.
According to Zhang Yi, there are two forms of oxygen in the blood: one is combined oxygen, that is, after oxygen enters the blood, most of it will be combined with hemoglobin in red blood cells; the other is physical dissolved oxygen, that is, oxygen enters the blood. After blood, instead of binding to hemoglobin in red blood cells, it is dissolved in plasma.
Under normal circumstances, the proportion of physical dissolved oxygen in the total blood oxygen content is very low, almost negligible.
The human body supplies oxygen to various tissues and organs, mainly providing combined oxygen.
"Ordinary oxygen inhalation, that is, the nasal cannula we usually use to inhale oxygen, can only increase the content of bound oxygen in the blood, and the degree of improvement is limited." Zhang Yi said, but in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the purity of human inhalation is 85%. After reaching 99% oxygen, not only the content of bound oxygen in the blood will increase, but more importantly, the content of physical dissolved oxygen will also increase with the increase of pressure.
Even when a certain pressure is reached, physical dissolved oxygen alone can meet the needs of the body.
The data shows that in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber environment, the blood oxygen content in the human body can reach several times or even dozens of times that of oxygen inhaled under normal pressure.
It can be said that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has more prominent advantages in improving cerebral hypoxia.
There is no rigorous evidence that it improves performance
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was first known to the public, thanks to its wide application in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide has a stronger ability to bind hemoglobin than oxygen. Therefore, when the human body inhales a large amount of carbon monoxide gas, the carbon monoxide entering the blood will bind a large amount of hemoglobin, thereby reducing the content of bound oxygen in the blood, resulting in hypoxia symptoms in various tissues and organs of the human body. In severe cases, it can be life-threatening.
With the help of the high-pressure and high-concentration oxygen environment of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the content of bound oxygen and physical dissolved oxygen in the blood can be significantly increased, thereby supplying oxygen to various tissues and organs of the human body in a timely manner, and finally "driving" carbon monoxide out of the blood.
However, with the significant improvement of people's living standards today, carbon monoxide poisoning events caused by burning coal are not common.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy began to serve more patients with symptoms of cerebral hypoxia, providing restorative treatment.
Brain hypoxia may sound far away from people's daily life, but in fact, for students and office workers who often use their brains intensively, brain hypoxia is a situation they often encounter.
According to Zhang Yi, when people use the back of the brain for a long time and with high intensity, symptoms of brain hypoxia often occur, mainly including less sleep at night, difficulty falling asleep, frequent dreams after falling asleep, easy to wake up, difficulty falling asleep after waking up, and dizziness , inattention, slow response, decreased memory and appetite, irritability, etc.
Every year when the exam season arrives, many parents of candidates will consult Zhang Yi, hoping to relieve the symptoms of brain hypoxia in their children through hyperbaric oxygen therapy, so as to improve their learning status.
Zhang Yi said that the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to improve the brain fatigue state of candidates does have a certain scientific basis.
"But it should be pointed out that not all candidates need hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but if the candidates do experience symptoms of hypoxia and brain fatigue, especially if they cannot be relieved by ordinary oxygen inhalation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be considered." Zhang Yi emphasized that children need to be evaluated by professionals before receiving treatment to rule out situations that are not suitable for treatment.
However, Zhang Yi reminded parents that although hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help relieve brain fatigue, to prevent and relieve brain fatigue, hyperbaric oxygen therapy cannot be completely relied on. Children should also take appropriate physical exercise and pay attention to the combination of work and rest.
As for whether receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy can directly improve test scores, Zhang Yi said that there is no rigorous evidence to prove that it can improve test scores. To answer this question, a large-scale scientific study needs to be designed.
The improvement of test scores not only requires a clear mind, but also is related to factors such as knowledge reserve and effort level. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not a "secret" for taking the test.
Home equipment does not meet the pressure required for treatment
In addition to the hyperbaric oxygen chambers configured in hospitals, related equipment such as home hyperbaric oxygen chambers have also appeared on the market in recent years.
High school and college entrance examination candidates did not have time to go to the hospital for hyperbaric oxygen therapy because they were busy with reviewing, so parents bought related household equipment for their children.
"Strictly speaking, these devices cannot be called hyperbaric oxygen chambers. It is more appropriate to call them 'microbaric oxygen chambers' or 'soft oxygen chambers' because these devices cannot meet the pressure required for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Pressure." Zhang Yi said that the pressure added by general household equipment does not exceed 0.3 atmospheres, while the pressure required for hyperbaric oxygen therapy is usually 1.6 to 2 atmospheres.
"At present, the most widely used micro-pressure oxygen chambers are in the plateau area, because the hypoxia in the plateau is mainly caused by low air pressure. For example, the atmospheric pressure in Lhasa, Tibet is 0.65 atmospheres. If the pressure can be increased by 0.3 atmospheres, it is basically close to the plains. If the region is located, the hypoxia of the human body will naturally be improved." Zhang Yi said.
So, for students with cerebral hypoxia symptoms, is the hyperbaric oxygen treatment plan different from that of patients with other diseases?
"When performing hyperbaric oxygen therapy on students, the pressure of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber can be appropriately reduced, for example, the pressure of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber can be kept at about 1.6 atmospheres, and the pressure increase is slow to reduce the possibility of earache and other discomfort." Zhang Yi said .
In addition, Zhang Yi reminded that children with lung diseases such as bullae and severe emphysema should not be treated with hyperbaric oxygen.
At the same time, children with high blood pressure should control their blood pressure below 160/100 mm Hg before undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
For children without underlying diseases receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy, some parents worry that there will be side effects and oxygen toxicity?
Zhang Yi explained that oxygen poisoning refers to the inhalation of oxygen exceeding a certain pressure and time, resulting in physiological disorders and organ damage.
At present, the conventional hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the hospital is mostly 1.6 to 2 atmospheres, and the oxygen inhalation time is 60 minutes, once a day. In theory, it generally does not cause oxygen toxicity.
However, she still stressed that before anyone receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy, they must be diagnosed and evaluated by a professional doctor, and there is a need for further treatment.