Buzz
While browsing health or fitness content on TikTok, you may encounter a video claiming to test your lung health. The method varies, but it usually involves holding your breath while an animated timer counts down. A typical example might say, 'If you can hold your breath from point A to B, you're in the safe zone.' If you're concerned about your lungs being unsafe, expect the algorithm to suggest lung detox recipes soon after. But here's the reality: this is all nonsense for several reasons.
Holding your breath isn't a reliable way to test lung health
There’s a small kernel of truth here: individuals with serious lung conditions, like COPD or congestive heart failure, might find it harder to hold their breath as long as someone without these issues.
Rather than relying on TikTok breath-holding challenges, the American Lung Association recommends that you consult a doctor if you experience shortness of breath, persistent coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, fatigue, or recurrent lung infections. If you're coughing up blood, or have been producing mucus for a month or longer, it's time for a checkup.
Why do so many breath-holding tests fill social media? Because they are simple to create. Content creators can twist them however they like: here's a fun game, or let me make you panic about your health, or here’s a baseline test for your self-improvement journey.
The strange origin of breath-holding tests
The story takes a strange turn as you dig deeper. One video claims that a certain breath-holding test is 'the ultimate health check' and 'the #1 test for longevity,' calling it BOLT, or Body Oxygen Level Test. This method involves exhaling and holding your breath until you feel the urge to inhale, and it appears to have been popularized by a company called Oxygen Advantage, which, no joke, offers breathing classes.
This version of the breath-holding test has spread across TikTok. Some versions even reference scientific studies—like this 1975 paper about a breath-holding test. However, the test described there allowed people to inhale first, then hold their breath as long as possible. Additionally, the study used air mixtures with specific amounts of carbon dioxide, not regular air. The most interesting part: the test was designed to detect problems in individuals who could hold their breath longer than average, the opposite of what TikTok videos are suggesting.
Breath-holding tests have been suggested as indicators of physical fitness and health in the past, but there's a reason they're mostly discussed on TikTok now: they simply don’t work. We've known this for quite some time, as evidenced by a 1947 study, which presents data showing no correlation between breath-holding ability and cardiovascular fitness, which is one of the things TikTokers claim you’ll improve by holding your breath longer.
On the other hand, the American Lung Association, which actually conducts research and treats lung diseases, offers examples of lung function tests that healthcare professionals find useful. These tests include spirometry (a procedure where you exhale into a device), assessments of lung volume, and exercise tests.
Lungs cannot be 'detoxed' by herbs.
So, what are all these TikTokers encouraging you to do with the knowledge that you may not be able to hold your breath as long as you thought or hoped? Quite a few are trying to sell you products. These are mostly supplements, occasionally a meditation gadget, and sometimes weight-loss programs.
Then there are the detox recipes: 'This one’s for my smokers and vapers,' says the narrator of one video, preparing a tea made from ginger, ginseng, thyme, elderberry, and mullein leaf. Another video advises, 'All my ston3rs should add lung tonic herbs like mullein and marshmallow root to their sesh to protect their lungs down the road.'
Some of these products and remedies target people who are trying to quit smoking or vaping, but the majority seem to promote the opposite. 'If you're going to keep vaping, at least clear out the gunk,' says a smiling pair of lungs in one advertisement for herbal supplements. 'POV: You smoke daily but use natural herbs to detox your lungs,' reads another. 'Think your lungs look like this?' asks a video showing a pair of black, sooty smoker’s lungs in an anatomy lab. 'Then try this. All you need is ginger and water.'
It's a classic bait-and-switch: replacing something you really need (quitting smoking) with something you want (not quitting smoking because you're drinking herbal tea).
You cannot, in fact, detox your lungs. Drinking herbal tea doesn’t have any special healing properties, and inhaling steam—whether or not it contains herbs like mullein leaf—has no scientific backing either. If it makes you feel better, fine; it’s a traditional method for loosening mucus when you're sick. But it does nothing to reverse the damage caused by smoking or vaping.
By the way, mucus isn’t a cause of lung disease (much less the 'one root cause of all disease,' as another video claimed). It’s actually part of your body’s defense mechanism against damage and infection. So, if you're worried about your lung health, please consult a real doctor.
