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Asked by meg53 to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 23 Jun 2011.
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Stuart Mourton answered on 21 Jun 2011:
I lived with a free diver for a little while. They compete to see how deep they can swim while holding their breath. He used to train by just lying on his bed, taking very deep breaths in and out and then holding his breath for 4 or 5 minutes!! I guess you have to train your body to slow your heart rate right down. I’m not too sure though as lung capacity is fixed by the size of your lungs.
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Helen O'Connor answered on 23 Jun 2011:
It is also important to develop the right psychological state and you can practice on land first. Breath holding trains the body to ignore signals from the brain that the body needs air.
I know a few surfers, and they say that lung capacity and cardiovascular fitness are really important when holding their breath when they are caught in big waves. They also say that it is crucial to be in a strong mental state: keeping calm, learning to relax and not panicking.
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Mark Burnley answered on 23 Jun 2011:
The urge to breathe is determined by physiological factors (primarily the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide – PCO2). You can extend breath hold time by relaxation, and by pre-dive hyperventilation – this will reduce PCO2 and therefore it will take longer to reach the critical point where you cannot overcome the urge to breathe (which kicks in at about 50 mmHg – resting PCO2 is about 40 mmHg). Some people may be less sensitive to changes in arterial PCO2, and these people may make good free divers (or middle distance runners, as they may tolerate bigger changes in PCO2 when running). If you put your head in cold water, you can also take advantage of the “dive reflex”, where receptors in your face respond to the cold water by slowing heart rate and shifting blood to your core. All of those things should help!
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