BRADFORD has become home to the only bar of its type in Yorkshire.

Today saw the opening of The Oxygen Bar, in the Broadway shopping centre, which offers customers 20-minute treatments of 95 per cent pure oxygen. Customers can also receive massage treatments while on the oxygen.

It also comes in a range of infused flavours, including citrus, lavender and coconut, each designed to relax and refresh.

To mark its opening, I was invited along to see what the treatment was all about, and to see if I could feel the oxygen effect.

While I waited for other customers to finish, Damon Selby, who runs the bar with his brother John, told me the treatment can help improve people’s concentration, alertness, and memory.

He said: “Around 90 per cent of our energy comes from oxygen, and it’s vital for our organs and immune system.

“The treatment promotes healing, and can slow the ageing process.

“It is also good for people who have just been exercising, it increases bloodflow which helps muscles recover faster.

“One of the things it is best for is curing headaches, migraines and hangovers.

“I had to test the products before we opened up and I had had a headache for about a week, and after ten minutes on this it was gone.”

Members of the public who were receiving treatment for headaches both said they felt a difference after less than ten minutes on the machine.

Once they had oxygenated themselves back to full strength, it was my turn to have a go.

After hooking up to the machine using a nasal hose, the flow of oxygen quickly came through the breathing tubes with a slight burn at first.

The experience is comfortable and feels no different to everyday breathing. The range of flavours can be enjoyed on their own or as a mix and match of different smells, each with their own strength and flavour combinations.

The effect of the oxygen is subtle, and for the first few minutes I didn’t feel any particular difference, but as the treatment went on I could feel myself de-stressing and relaxing.

The oxygen also has the peculiar feeling of making you relaxed but at the same time wide awake and full of energy.

John Selby said he first got the idea of opening an oxygen bar in Bradford after visiting one while on holiday in Las Vegas, and that the bars are increasingly popular in the United States, so he was keen to bring the idea over to the UK.

The bar will operate from the Ace of Vapes e-cigarette stall in the Broadway, close to Marks & Spencer and JD Sports at £4 for a 20 minute session.