Comments on: Extreme Breath-Holding: How It’s Possible

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:22:00 +0000

I’m also rather interested in these tricks – could one of them be to keep stored pockets of air or oxygen in your stomach, somehow and burp them up when required?

By: Ghost

Ghost — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:12:08 +0000

Well,,b abies breath in the womb, and after coming out of there under water as well. This system might be reused but not completely the same way. People wont need that much oxygen if they slow down on the inside again to the max .. Those things combined might lead to long periods under water, although that wont be the case for most of us. Those who can will show some different structure right in your face all the time already, a bit aqua perhaps .. I don’t know how to say this different.

I once had a tub experience like that. I breathed under water, using lungs but different. As soon as the mind control (which I did not trigger in the first place while knowing what I was doing)) collapsed, or did I loose interest (it might be that too) I stopped doing that.

By: JoJo

JoJo — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:24:01 +0000

A friend who is in the Navy taught me and some friends a way of circulating air around the lungs whilst holding your breath. You basically hold your breath and use the same muscle reflex when breathing to move the air around your lungs thus buying some more time before you feel the need to breathe.

By: Lady Claire

Lady Claire — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:35:16 +0000

That girl in Derren’s Trick Or Treat episode, showed us that with the right techniques etc, that it’s possible to vastly expand your breathing time underwater, But not to this degree, no. Blimey, 19 minutes? Makes me come over all dizzy just thinking about it!

LC x

By: roz

roz — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:11:57 +0000

“all that breath-holding can be hard to fathom”

aarrrgghhh…

By: Erik R.

Erik R. — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:53:14 +0000

David Blaine's TED talk about this is pretty good.

By: Mikko

Mikko — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:10:56 +0000

If you want to see examples of real freediving, here are some great videos:

Diving to the depth of 88m in the official competition discipline of constant weight without fins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4PN8-2YSk

Diving for the lenght of 250m in the official competition discipline of dynamic apnea with fins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQw7In1Ff10

As I mentioned in my other post, in competitive freediving the use of 100% oxygen and other forms of cheating are forbidden. You just fill your lungs with air, relax and dive as far or deep as you can. Like a dolphin.

By: Mikko

Mikko — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:03:43 +0000

As a competitive freediver myself, I always feel kind of uneasy when this kind of records get big media coverage. The main thing which makes holding your breath for 20 minutes possible is filling your lungs with 100% oxygen before the dive. That makes your oxygen stores 4-5 times bigger than they would be if you were breathing normal air (in normal air there is around 21% oxygen). The problem of these dives is not the lack of oxygen (in theory the oxygen would last at least for 40 minutes) but the accumulation of carbon dioxide and the danger of carbon dioxide poisoning.

In real competitive freediving disciplines breathing 100% oxygen is forbidden. The official breath-hold record with normal air is 11 min 35 s, which I consider much more impressive than these 100% oxygen stunts.

By: marco

marco — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:36:32 +0000

so, how is it possible, ?what are the tricks,?I for one over breath constantly, it makes me anxious holding my breath!

By: LukeVanDerLinden

LukeVanDerLinden — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:34:14 +0000

I have always been interested in mastering this art, and wondered if possible to achieve 22+ minutes. But “It is probably not, however, good for you, and consequences can be deadly.” i’m not gunna hold my breath on this one.