Smarter at altitude: how an altitude tent works
An altitude tent brings thin mountain air to your bedroom. You sleep in air with less oxygen, your body adapts, and during the day you live and train at sea level.
Mountain air without the mountain
An altitude generator filters part of the oxygen out of the air and blows oxygen-reduced air into the tent over your bed. Air pressure stays normal; only the oxygen percentage drops (normobaric hypoxia). This simulates altitudes from sea level up to 6,400 metres.
Sleep at altitude, train at sea level
- 1You sleep at a set altitude at night.
- 2Your body produces more EPO and red blood cells.
- 3During the day you train at full intensity at sea level.
In a placebo-controlled study, people who slept high enough at home for 14 nights had acute mountain sickness less often.
How the generator takes oxygen out of the air
Inside our generator are twelve small sieve beds filled with zeolite, in a ring around one rotary valve. Under pressure, zeolite holds on to nitrogen and lets oxygen through; without pressure it lets the nitrogen go again. The principle is called pressure swing adsorption. The valve turns slowly and puts each bed under pressure and releases it again, in turn.
Twelve beds, one valve
Standard oxygen concentrators work with two large sieve beds. Our generator spreads the work over twelve compact beds, four of which are always separating at the same time. That gives a very steady and quiet flow of air.
Safe by design
If the power fails, the generator sounds an alarm on a backup battery. And the tent is deliberately not airtight: room air always comes in.
Maintained in-house
Our technicians check and overhaul this system in our own service centre, from the sieve beds and the valve to the calibration of the altitude.
About the revisionWhat altitude training does to your body
Sleeping and training in low-oxygen air (normobaric hypoxia) trigger measurable adaptations. A selection of what peer-reviewed research shows:
Perform stronger
- Higher aerobic capacity (VO₂max) and endurance
- More natural production of EPO and red blood cells
- Faster times at sea level, even in elite runners
Adapt smarter
- More mitochondria for efficient energy
- Lower risk of altitude sickness through pre-acclimatisation at home
- May support metabolic health when training in low-oxygen air
Your SpO₂ sets your altitude
Every morning you measure your oxygen saturation with the supplied meter. That value steers your progression.
We supply an SpO₂ meter and guide you personally through the progression schedule.
For athletes and mountaineers
Athletes use the altitude tent for more endurance and faster recovery. Mountaineers pre-acclimatise at home to prevent altitude sickness and enjoy more of their expedition.
An altitude tent is not a medical device. If you have a medical condition (heart, lungs) or are pregnant, consult your doctor first. With symptoms at altitude, always descend and seek medical help.
Scientific evidence
Altitude training and pre-acclimatisation have been studied extensively in sports physiology and altitude medicine. Below you will find a selection of peer-reviewed research per area of effect, with a short note on what the results mean.
Individual responses to hypoxia differ. The studies therefore show what is possible at group level, not what every individual user is guaranteed to experience.
Mountaineers: less altitude sickness
Those who breathed low-oxygen air beforehand had altitude sickness less often or more mildly in controlled studies.
Less mountain sickness at a simulated 4,500 m in those who slept high enough.
Dehnert et al. (2014), Sleeping at home, 14 nights
Higher oxygen saturation during sleep and fewer symptoms on waking at 4,300 m.
Fulco et al. (2011), Sleeping in hypoxia, 7 nights
Milder mountain sickness on later exposure to a simulated 5,300 m.
Wille et al. (2012), Short exposures, 7 × 1 hour
Athletes: more endurance
Sleeping high and training low improved endurance performance, even in elite runners.
Live high, train low is best supported; simulated altitude worked in sub-elite athletes.
Bonetti & Hopkins (2009), Meta-analysis, 51 studies
Higher VO₂max and more haemoglobin in elite runners.
Brugniaux et al. (2006), Simulated altitude, 18 days
Faster 3,000 metres at sea level, even in elite runners.
Stray-Gundersen et al. (2001), Natural altitude, 4 weeks
Muscle adaptation
Training in low-oxygen air brought extra adaptations in the muscles.
More efficient mitochondria and longer time to exhaustion at high speed.
Ponsot et al. (2006), Training in hypoxia, 6 weeks
Metabolic health
Training in low-oxygen air brought less body fat and better metabolic markers, even at a lower load.
Greater fat loss than the same training in normal air, in overweight women.
Camacho-Cardenosa et al. (2018), Interval training in hypoxia, 12 weeks
All 13 sources with full references
Mountaineers: less altitude sickness
Less mountain sickness at a simulated 4,500 m in those who slept high enough. (Sleeping at home, 14 nights)
Dehnert C, Böhm A, Grigoriev I, Menold E, Bärtsch P (2014). Sleeping in moderate hypoxia at home for prevention of acute mountain sickness (AMS): a placebo-controlled, randomized double-blind study. Wilderness Environ Med 25(3):263-271. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2014.04.004
Higher oxygen saturation during sleep and fewer symptoms on waking at 4,300 m. (Sleeping in hypoxia, 7 nights)
Fulco CS, Muza SR, Beidleman BA, Demes R, Staab JE, Jones JE, Cymerman A (2011). Effect of repeated normobaric hypoxia exposures during sleep on acute mountain sickness, exercise performance, and sleep during exposure to terrestrial altitude. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 300(2):R428-436. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00633.2010
Milder mountain sickness on later exposure to a simulated 5,300 m. (Short exposures, 7 × 1 hour)
Wille M, Gatterer H, Mairer K, Philippe M, Schwarzenbacher H, Faulhaber M, Burtscher M (2012). Short-term intermittent hypoxia reduces the severity of acute mountain sickness. Scand J Med Sci Sports 22(5):e79-85. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01499.x
Athletes: more endurance
Live high, train low is best supported; simulated altitude worked in sub-elite athletes. (Meta-analysis, 51 studies)
Bonetti DL, Hopkins WG (2009). Sea-level exercise performance following adaptation to hypoxia: a meta-analysis. Sports Med 39(2):107-127. doi:10.2165/00007256-200939020-00002
Higher VO₂max and more haemoglobin in elite runners. (Simulated altitude, 18 days)
Brugniaux JV et al. (2006). Eighteen days of "living high, training low" stimulate erythropoiesis and enhance aerobic performance in elite middle-distance runners. J Appl Physiol 100(1):203-211. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00808.2005
Faster 3,000 metres at sea level, even in elite runners. (Natural altitude, 4 weeks)
Stray-Gundersen J, Chapman RF, Levine BD (2001). "Living high-training low" altitude training improves sea level performance in male and female elite runners. J Appl Physiol 91(3):1113-1120. doi:10.1152/jappl.2001.91.3.1113
Temporarily more EPO; the performance gain was not significant. (Natural altitude, 2 weeks)
Dehnert C et al. (2002). Erythropoiesis and performance after two weeks of living high and training low in well trained triathletes. Int J Sports Med 23(8):561-566. doi:10.1055/s-2002-35533
Muscle adaptation
More efficient mitochondria and longer time to exhaustion at high speed. (Training in hypoxia, 6 weeks)
Ponsot E et al. (2006). Exercise training in normobaric hypoxia in endurance runners. II. Improvement of mitochondrial properties in skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol 100(4):1249-1257. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00361.2005
Higher anaerobic threshold, but no better time trial than in normal air. (Sprint training in hypoxia, 6 weeks)
Puype J, Van Proeyen K, Raymackers JM, Deldicque L, Hespel P (2013). Sprint interval training in hypoxia stimulates glycolytic enzyme activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 45(11):2166-2174. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31829734ae
Molecular muscle adaptations for oxygen use, without an extra rise in VO₂max. (Endurance training in hypoxia, 6 weeks)
Vogt M, Puntschart A, Geiser J, Zuleger C, Billeter R, Hoppeler H (2001). Molecular adaptations in human skeletal muscle to endurance training under simulated hypoxic conditions. J Appl Physiol 91(1):173-182. doi:10.1152/jappl.2001.91.1.173
Training in hypoxia increased mitochondrial and capillary density in muscle. (Review)
Hoppeler H, Vogt M (2001). Muscle tissue adaptations to hypoxia. J Exp Biol 204(Pt 18):3133-3139. doi:10.1242/jeb.204.18.3133
Metabolic health
Less body fat and better metabolic markers at a lower training load. (Training in hypoxia, 4 weeks)
Haufe S, Wiesner S, Engeli S, Luft FC, Jordan J (2008). Influences of normobaric hypoxia training on metabolic risk markers in human subjects. Med Sci Sports Exerc 40(11):1939-1944. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e31817f1988
Greater fat loss than the same training in normal air, in overweight women. (Interval training in hypoxia, 12 weeks)
Camacho-Cardenosa A et al. (2018). High-intensity interval training in normobaric hypoxia leads to greater body fat loss in overweight/obese women than high-intensity interval training in normoxia. Front Physiol 9:60. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00060
What you get depends on where you live
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
€125 per week, plus a one-off €90 for delivery and installation
Delivered and installed at home by an Altitude Specialist; after your programme we collect the system.
Elsewhere in Europe
Available in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Austria, Finland, Spain, Sweden, and Portugal.
€150 per week, plus a one-off €90 to €140 for shipping, depending on the country
By courier with track & trace; you set up the system yourself and send it back at your own cost after your programme.
All prices include VAT. You see your exact total for your period and country in your request, before you send anything.
Do you live in another country? We are happy to look at what is possible personally. Get in touch
Delivery, return and payment by country, in detailReady to sleep at altitude?
Rent your altitude tent from 125 euro per week. We guide your programme; in the Benelux we also deliver and install at home.