Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Newquay: What HBOT Actually Involves
NextGen Wellness offers mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) at 1.5 ATA, with 60 and 90 minute sessions available in Newquay. Here's what the therapy is, what a session looks like, and what to expect.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is one of the two core therapies we offer here at NextGen Wellness, alongside red light therapy. It's a therapy that gets talked about a lot but explained properly quite rarely, so we wanted to put together a straightforward guide to what it actually is, what happens in a session, and why we chose to bring it to Newquay.
What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing oxygen inside a pressurised chamber. The pressure increases the amount of oxygen your body can absorb and carry around in the blood, well above what you'd take in breathing normally at sea level.
There are two broad types of chamber. Hard, medical-grade chambers used in hospitals for serious clinical conditions run at much higher pressures. What we offer at NextGen is a mild hyperbaric chamber, running at 1.5 ATA (that's atmospheres absolute, a measure of pressure). It's a softer, gentler version of the therapy, and it's the type most people mean when they talk about HBOT in a wellness or recovery setting rather than a hospital one.
We offer two session lengths: 60 minutes and 90 minutes, depending on what you're looking to get out of it and how much time you've got.
What Does a Session Feel Like?
You'll lie down comfortably inside the chamber while it pressurises gradually. Most people describe the sensation as similar to the ear pressure you get during a flight's descent, and we'll talk you through equalising your ears before you start so it's completely comfortable.
Once you're at pressure, you simply relax. Many clients read, listen to music or podcasts, or just close their eyes and use the time to properly switch off. It's genuinely one of the more restful things you can do with an hour of your day.
At the end of the session, the chamber depressurises gradually and you step out. There's no recovery time needed afterwards, though we do recommend easing back into anything strenuous rather than heading straight to intense exercise.
Preparing for Your Session
A few things make a real difference to your experience in the chamber:
Avoid a heavy meal in the two hours beforehand
Skip alcohol, caffeine, smoking and carbonated drinks before your session
Come without cosmetics, perfume, deodorant or heavy lotions
Leave jewellery, watches and metal accessories at home
If you've flown recently, wait at least 24 hours before your session
None of this is complicated, it's mostly about giving your body the best possible conditions to make the most of the session.
Why We Chose 1.5 ATA
There's a lot of variation across the HBOT world in terms of pressure and chamber type, and it's a genuinely important thing to understand before you book anywhere. Mild hyperbaric chambers, running in the 1.5 to 1.7 ATA range, are a different category to the high-pressure hard chambers used for serious medical treatment in hospital settings. We've deliberately chosen a mild chamber for NextGen Wellness because it fits what we're here to offer: an accessible, comfortable, complementary wellness and recovery therapy for our community, not a substitute for hospital-grade medical treatment.
If you're dealing with a specific medical condition, always speak to your GP or consultant first. We're very happy to have that conversation with you too and point you in the right direction.
Why We Brought HBOT to Newquay
Zac set up NextGen Wellness because he wanted proper recovery tools available to everyday people in Newquay, not just professional athletes or people willing to travel to a city clinic. As a Sports Science graduate and someone who's spent his life playing football, golf, tennis and padel, he saw firsthand how much recovery gets overlooked once you're not training at an elite level.
HBOT sits alongside red light therapy as the two pillars of what we do here: one working through pressure and oxygen, the other through light and cellular energy. Different mechanisms, same underlying goal of helping your body recover and function better.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between mild and medical HBOT? Medical hard chambers run at much higher pressures and are used in hospitals for serious clinical conditions. Mild hyperbaric chambers, like ours at 1.5 ATA, run at a lower, gentler pressure and are typically used for wellness and recovery purposes.
How long is a session? We offer 60 minute and 90 minute sessions, depending on what suits you.
Does it hurt? No. You may feel some ear pressure similar to a flight, which eases once you know how to equalise. We'll guide you through it.
Do I need to prepare beforehand? Yes. Avoid heavy meals, alcohol, caffeine and smoking beforehand, skip cosmetics and jewellery, and avoid flying within 24 hours of your session.
Can I combine HBOT with red light therapy? Yes, many of our clients do both as part of a wider recovery routine. Ask us about combining sessions.
Book Your Session
If you're curious but not sure where to start, our 30-minute in-clinic consultation is a great first step. Come and see the space, ask us anything, and we'll help you figure out what fits your goals.
Book online or come and see us at Saw 3, Prow Park, Treloggan Business Park.