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This work describes the utilization of an injected ^{23}Na^{1+} ion beam as a diagnostics of the helium plasma of a charge breeder electron cyclotron resonance ion source. The obtained data allows estimating the upper limit for the ion-ion collision mean-free path of the incident sodium ions, the lower limit of ion-ion collision frequencies for all charge states of the sodium ions and the lower limit of the helium plasma density. The ion-ion collision frequencies of high charge state ions are shown to be at least on the order of 1–10 MHz and the plasma density is estimated to be on the order of 10^{11}  cm^{-3} or higher. The experimental results are compared to simulations of the ^{23}Na^{1+} capture into the helium plasma. The results indicate that the lower breeding efficiency of light ions in comparison to heavier elements is probably due to different capture efficiencies in which the in-flight ionization of the incident 1+ ions plays a vital role.