How To Hold Your Breath For Longer Print
Thursday, 13 March 2008 11:09

Tom Sietas holding his breathAlthough you can't yet physically increase your lung capacity you can do exercises that help you to hold your breath longer. It is not recommended to practice this more than once or twice a day as it could damage your lungs and body. Try once in the morning and once at night. Keep practicing and your body will soon adjust and you will be able to hold your breath for minutes at a time.
 

Start out with some simple breathing exercises. Breathe in through your nose then out through your mouth. Do this slowly for about 30 seconds, then breathe a little heavier for a further 30 seconds. Take in large gulps of air relatively quickly for ten to twenty seconds. This has the same affect as hyperventilation, which initially flushes carbon dioxide out of the system. In experiments people who hyperventilate before going underwater can last 53 more seconds without drowning than someone who doesn't. Take a huge breath of air and hold it for as long as possible. The less you move the less oxygen you'll burn.

Time it to see how long you can hold, and from there you can get a reference to beat next time. If ever you feel dizzy or get any sort of discomfort breathe out slowly and slowly start to breath normally again. Always make sure someone is watching you especially if you're doing this under water. If you over do it you're brain might take over by making you reflex gasp which is not good if you're under water. Obviously never hold your breath to the point of loosing consciousness as this can cause brain injury.
 

World Record Breath Holding


August 2007 - German engineering student Tom Sietas set a world record by holding his breath for 15 minutes and two seconds. He beat his previous time by 37 seconds. His secret is to fast for five hours before the attempt to get his metabolism down. He then breathed bottled oxygen for 20 minutes before plunging into a tank in New York City. He also holds the record for holding his breath without bottled oxygen at nine minutes and eight seconds. Thirty-year-old Sietas apparently has lungs 20 percent larger than the norm for someone his size. 

Peter Colat of Switzerland then got 16 minutes, 32 seconds

April 30, 2008 - David Blaine broke the record again for holding one's breath. It was taped at The Oprah Winfrey Show and aired live that night. Blaine held his breath for 17 minutes 4.4 seconds to set the Guinness World Record, Blaine prepared by breathing pure oxygen for twenty-three minutes. The show also reported on his training regimen, which included sleeping in a hypoxic tent. During the attempt, his heart rate dropped to about 50 bpm.

 

Comments (1)Add Comment
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written by taylor evans , April 19, 2008
smilies/cheesy.gif this gave me the answer i needed so thank you smilies/grin.gif
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 02:49 )