24/12/2024
Never ever hold your breath! REALLY?
What's the deal with telling Scuba students "Never ever hold your breath"?
I like to share some hard facts and a bit of a personal opinion. Also I wonder how other instructors think and talk about this topic and what they say when their student asks: "Do you really never ever hold your breath"?
FACTS:
Our natural breathing has a pause, it's not continuous unless we are running. We breath in, then out and then we pause. Source: https://www.normalbreathing.com/patterns-normal/
Scuba divers also have a natural breathing with a pause. How can you tell? An average inhale takes between 2 and 4 seconds. So, if the bubble stream from the regulator is interrupted by more than 4 seconds then the diver is either holding his breath or breathing in unnaturally slow.
The advantages to holding your breath during scuba diving are:
You use less air
Your buoyancy stabilizes.
Wouldn't it be better to tell our students: JUST BREATH NATURALLY?
By telling them "Never ever hold your breath" We are preaching something that we don't practice. It confuses them because if they do exactly what you say they likely end up breathing like they are running. And then you say "Gosh it's amazing how much air you use"
If we say "JUST BREATH NATURALY" then it's clear that they don't have to breath in any strange way. You could add "Don't try to hold your breath, because if you ascend your lungs would expand and it could injure you.
There is a multitude of reasons a diver can benefit from holding their breath.
1. Better Buoyancy control
2. Better air consumption
3. Getting closer to Marine Life
4. More silent you can hear things around you.
5. Better pictures without bubbles
6.. Exhale holding to not shoot up when not having enough weight.
7. Drinking underwater (IWR)
8. Eating underwater (IWR)
By enforcing the "Never hold yo rule" non of it is open for discussion. By making this a taboo less knowledge will get spread. Your students will slowly discover those different benefits by themselves. With you or without you.
CONTINUED PRACTICE
With more advanced divers I practice economic breathing. I consider this a good exercise. Can you sustain yourself for 5 minutes with 1 breath per 30 seconds? By knowing how little air we need we gain confidence. If we end up in a low air situation, we can switch to economic and make what we have last as long as possible.
Off course those that practice it should understand all the physics involved and they should be aware enough to be conscious about the size of their lungs.
Normal breathing pattern and respiration cycle with clinical norms include inhalation, exhalation and the automatic pause
