Breath of God: Tripping on Xenon Gas
The more you learn about xenon gas the stranger it gets.
As you breathe in, you’re sucked into the depths of your unconscious mind — a place where nothing and nobody exists, yet you’re enveloped in pure ecstasy.
As you breathe out, you re-emerge right back where you started.
This is the magic of xenon gas.
Xenon is unique among psychedelic drugs because it’s a pure element. It leaves the body exactly as it entered, completely unchanged.
Creating elements larger than zirconium on the periodic table requires an incomprehensible amount of energy. The only things powerful enough to create this much energy are supernovas or colliding neutron stars.
This means all the xenon we have on Earth are remnants of ancient star mergers that took place billions of years ago.
On Earth, the concentration of xenon in the ambient air is around 0.00001% — so to get enough xenon gas to sustain a single 60-second trip (roughly 5 liters), we’d need to capture and condense around 5 billion liters of air.
At standard atmospheric pressure, that’s about the size of 2000 Olympic swimming pools (2.5 million liters each).
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Xenon’s Mind-Bending Effects
Xenon’s effects are unusually euphoric and dissociative.
Within seconds, the user experiences a stark feeling of separation from the body, closed and open-eye visuals, and an overwhelming sense of ecstasy.
The so-called “euphoric nothingness” that makes other dissociative drugs like ketamine such a powerful worldview changer is further exaggerated by xenon gas.
Within seconds of inhaling xenon, you’re teleported to a place far outside your body — often with no comprehension of your identity at all. You end up in a place of pure light and euphoria — some describe it as a merger with the universe itself.
Xenon & Enlightenment
Zen Buddhism teaches that enlightenment is inherent to all beings — it isn’t a special quality only some people possess. Since enlightenment is already present in all beings, it’s something we’re all capable of realizing.
The problem is that our minds are constantly clouded by distractions such as anger, greed, jealousy, grief, and fear. In Buddhism, the path to enlightenment involves clearing away these obstructions to experience the enlightenment that’s already there.
Could xenon, and other dissociatives, be enlightenment inducers?
Xenon induces a “euphoric nothingness” state of consciousness, which is void of all of these emotions. There’s no attachment, no resentment, no shame, no guilt, nothing.
Everything standing in the way of a spontaneous glimpse of enlightenment has been dismantled.
This could explain why dissociatives like xenon can induce such powerful “bliss” states of consciousness (euphoria).
Xenon is Prohibitively Expensive
Xenon is extremely expensive — a single 30-second dose costs between $50 and $80. This cost comes from the extreme lengths required to get it.
Large extractors condense massive amounts of ambient air into a liquid. Individual elements in the air form layers which can be siphoned off.
The cost of xenon is roughly $10 per liter. For comparison, helium, another noble gas, costs around 10 cents per liter. Argon and neon cost about $2 per liter each.
Because of these prices, xenon use is reserved for luxury clinics, and the psychedelic elite willing to spend upwards of $300 for just a few minutes of xenon-induced enlightenment.
Xenon is the Perfect Anesthetic
Xenon was discovered in 1898 but wasn’t used as an anesthetic agent for the first time until 1951. It was quickly realized that xenon was the “holy grail” of anesthetics — but its prohibitive cost continues to keep it out of the mainstream to this day.
Xenon is considered “the perfect anesthetic” for 5 reasons:
It’s extremely fast-acting — xenon gas kicks into full effect within seconds
It wears off quickly — once the gas is removed, normal consciousness comes back within a minute or two
It doesn’t interact with other drugs
It leaves no lasting side effects or toxicity
The anesthetic state xenon induces is extraordinarily powerful
Xenon is safe and highly effective — but it’s damn expensive. You’ll rarely find xenon in surgical clinics because it’s hard for these hospitals to justify spending nearly $10 per liter when there are drugs that can achieve similar for just a couple of cents per liter.
The problem is that most of the drugs used in anesthesia (such as Halothane and Isoflurane) carry much higher risk and can cause liver damage or other lasting side effects.
Clinics that do administer xenon usually employ a rebreathing system to capture the xenon as it’s exhaled. This is then filtered and recondensed to use again and again. Clinics generally mix their xenon with about 30–40% oxygen to prevent asphyxiation.
Blood Doping With Xenon
Xenon gas exposure has been shown to increase the production of a protein called HIF1 alpha (HIF1A) and, subsequently, erythropoietin (EPO).
EPO increases the body’s red blood cell production, directly benefiting athletes. This is a common target for athletes seeking to enhance their athletic output for a competitive edge.
A randomized, controlled trial in 2016 confirmed xenon’s blood doping effects at subanesthetic doses. The effects appear roughly 8 hours after the treatment and remain in place for 24 hours.
Treatment works by spending 5–10 minutes inhaling about two or three liters of a xenon and oxygen blend (roughly 30–60% xenon) at least 24 hours before competing.
At the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games, a Russian Olympic team used xenon before their performances. That year, 22 Russian athletes won medals, 15 of which reportedly used xenon treatments before performing.
Eight years later, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) added xenon to its list of prohibited substances.
The Neuroprotective Effects of Xenon
Not only is xenon not neurotoxic like many other dissociative drugs but it’s also been shown to actually protect brain cells.
A study from 2005 found that xenon treatment could reduce ischemic injury to the cerebral arteries in pigs.
Another animal study found that xenon gas (25% Xe, 75% O2) was able to interfere with the reconsolidation of long-term fear memories (trauma). This is similar to how ketamine is being used to treat PTSD.
The Dangers of Xenon Gas
Xenon displaces the oxygen we need to survive. Therefore, inhaling too much xenon for too long can cause asphyxiation and death.
This poses a particularly high risk for people self-administering xenon through a respirator mask. If too much xenon is inhaled, the user may lose consciousness and become unable to remove the respirator. They will continue breathing in xenon, which continues to displace oxygen. Just 10 minutes of this is long enough to cause irreversible brain damage or death.
It’s extremely important to never use xenon gas alone.
Aside from the risk of asphyxiation, xenon has a very low risk of causing harm. Its lack of reactivity means it won’t interact or form metabolites in the body; it isn’t processed by the liver or any other bodily system. It leaves the body completely intact.
This impressive safety profile is part of the reason why xenon is considered a perfect anesthetic.
More Info About Xenon
Symbol and Atomic Number: Xenon's symbol on the periodic table is "Xe" and it has an atomic number of 54.
Noble Gas: Xenon is one of the six noble gases, meaning it's chemically inert and doesn't easily form compounds with other elements.
Discovery: It was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers in England. They found it while studying liquified air.
Color and State: Xenon is colorless and odorless in its natural state. It's a gas at room temperature.
Luminous Properties: When excited by electricity, xenon emits a bright light. This makes it useful in certain types of lighting, such as flash lamps in photography and in car headlights.
Anesthetic Properties: Xenon is used as an anesthetic in medicine due to its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and affect neuronal signaling.
Use in Imaging: Xenon-133 and xenon-135 are used in nuclear medicine imaging. Xenon-133 is useful for imaging blood flow, particularly in the brain.
Use in Spacecraft Propulsion: Xenon is used as a propellant for ion drives in spacecraft.
Heavy and Dense: Xenon is the heaviest non-radioactive noble gas, and one of the most dense gases under normal conditions.
Further Down the Rabbit Hole: Xenon
Xenon Gas 101 (Tripsitter)
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