If you’re a member of the 0.1%, there’s a new must-have accessory this summer: a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Novak Djokovic took one on the back of a lorry to the US Open in 2019, Cristiano Ronaldo shelled out £15,000 to have one installed at his Cheshire mansion last year and it’s said Justin Bieber sleeps in his. It’s all part of the latest biohacking trend, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which delivers pure, pressurised oxygen to the body to increase cellular and tissue oxygenation. As a result, the body is able to work more efficiently and heal and recover faster — hence the treatment’s popularity amongst the sporting elite. Now there are clinics popping up all over London.
One such clinic is NUMA in Marylebone, opened in October. Founded by former NHS consultant Dr Nur Ozyilmaz in the basement of a smart terraced house just off Baker Street, it’s a pleasingly zen space, with soft lighting and Neom fragrances pumped through the air. Dame Kelly Holmes is a regular, and often posts about her sessions. I’ve been invited to try out a session of my own, to see what all the fuss is about. NUMA’s HBOT chambers work in two ways: first by creating a pressurised environment, then by delivering almost 100 per cent oxygen through a specialised mask. “In normal atmosphere pressure, we breathe 21 per cent oxygen, and the rest is a concoction of other gases,” explains Dr Ozyilmaz. “With HBOT, when we pressurise the environment the oxygen dissolves faster and better, and it dissolves right in the plasma, which is what makes the treatment so effective.” HBOT has been used since the 1950s, when it was first applied to treat difficult wounds, and is now used for a wide range of ailments like head traumass, inflammatory bowel diseases and, most recently, long Covid.
