The ability to hold one's breath for a long time is highly desired. It can be useful for staying underwater longer when diving or surfing, or for impressing friends at a party. Whatever the reason, it is actually quite easy to learn to hold your breath longer if you use the right training techniques and follow the proper precautions. Read on to find out how.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Training Techniques for Holding Your Breath
Step 1. Practice deep breathing
Before holding your breath, inhale and exhale slowly from the bottom of the diaphragm. By doing this, you will expel poor quality air from your lungs. Inhale for five seconds, then hold your breath for one second, before exhaling for ten seconds. Continue deep breathing for two minutes, and make sure when you exhale that you are expelling the last "drop" of air.
- As you exhale, push your tongue against your teeth. This will form a valve that will help you control the release of air. The air should hiss when it comes out of your mouth.
- Deep breathing allows you to take in excess oxygen, which will be stored in the blood. This will help you when you are holding your breath, because your body will be able to use stored oxygen to keep functioning, even if you are not breathing.
Step 2. Expel carbon dioxide (CO2) from the lungs
When you hold your breath, the pressure you feel in your lungs is not due to the need to breathe, but rather to the buildup of CO2, which needs to be released. This CO2 buildup becomes more and more painful over time. To minimize this, you need to expel all pre-existing CO2 from your lungs before holding your breath. To do it:
- Breathe out forcefully, pushing as much air out of your lungs as possible. Fill your cheeks when you do this, and imagine you are trying to push a toy sailboat across the water.
- Once fully exhaled, inhale quickly and repeat. Try to keep your body as still as possible when doing this, to avoid wasting the oxygen you accumulated in the previous step.
Step 3. Breathe and hold your breath for one minute and thirty seconds
This will be a test that will allow the body to get used to apnea. Use a timer to count the 90 seconds, and don't try to hold your breath any longer for now.
- When you inhale, don't inhale to the point of bursting; this would create tension in the body and make you waste more energy. Instead, fill your lungs to about 80-85% of their capacity, so you can stay relaxed.
- Once the 90 seconds are over, exhale briefly to clear your lungs of used air, then breathe three times, inhaling and exhaling fully. -
Step 4. Repeat the deep breathing and expulsion operation, then hold the breath for two minutes and thirty seconds
Once the 90-second trial is over, repeat the deep breathing and expulsion exercises. Perform each exercise for one minute and thirty seconds.
- Once this phase is over, hold your breath for two minutes and thirty seconds, timing yourself. Don't try to hold your breath any longer.
- Once the time is up, exhale to release the used air and take three expulsion breaths. Follow with two minutes of deep breathing and one and a half minutes of expulsion. Now you are ready to try to hold your breath for as long as possible.
Step 5. Splash cold water on your face
You can try this method to improve your skills. The contact of cold water with the face has been observed to trigger bradycardia, or the slowing of the heartbeat, which is the first phase of the diving reflex typical of mammals. This step is entirely optional.
- There is no need to put your whole head under water. Just splash cold water on your face before holding your breath, or try using a wet towel with cold water.
- Don't use an ice pack: The same study suggests that shock from an excessive temperature change triggers other types of reflexes. Just make sure it's cool enough (around 20 °) and your body is in a comfortable, relaxed position.
Step 6. Inhale and hold your breath for as long as possible
Get into a comfortable sitting position and take a deep breath, filling your lungs to approximately 80-85% of their capacity. Hold your breath for as long as possible, remaining completely still to avoid wasting energy and oxygen. It is usually best to have another person time your progress, because you will be able to hold your breath longer if you are not always looking at the clock.
- Holding your breath for a long time can be painful, and you usually need to find ways to distract yourself if you want to achieve your goal. A popular distraction technique is to list the alphabet from A to Z and think of a friend, celebrity, or historical figure whose name begins with each letter. David Blaine, the famous magician who set the world record for holding his breath underwater for 17 minutes and 4.4 seconds, is an advocate of this technique.
- Don't hold air in your cheeks. This method would be used to have an extra air reserve, but to use it you have to let the air out of the lungs and, generally, during this step also the air accumulated in the cheeks is eliminated. This technique is called circular breathing and can be very difficult to do. It is best to avoid this method for now, or you will risk losing both air supplies.
Step 7. Relax all the muscles in your body
It is very important to completely relax and release all tension from the body when you hold your breath. Close your eyes and focus on releasing tension from your entire body, starting with your feet and moving up to your head. Doing so can slow your heart rate a lot and increase your ability to hold your breath.
- Focus on something relaxing. When you can no longer concentrate, distract yourself by doing something with your hands, such as counting to 100 with your fingers.
- Try not to move when you hold your breath. Any movement would waste oxygen, reducing the time of apnea. Stay still.
Step 8. Breathe out slowly
When you can no longer hold your breath, avoid immediately throwing the air out of your lungs. First, eliminate about 20% of the accumulated air, then inhale to get oxygen to critical areas faster. At this point you will be able to exhale and inhale completely.
Step 9. Repeat these steps 3-4 times per session
It is not advisable to repeat them too many times, as you can damage both the lungs and the body. Try one training session in the morning and another in the evening. Keep exercising, and sooner than you think you will be able to hold your breath for several minutes.
Method 2 of 3: Improve Lung Capacity
Step 1. Do exercises to increase the capacity of the lungs
While there is no way to increase the size of the lungs, there are several ways to accumulate more air and improve how effectively they capture oxygen. In particular, strictly following an exercise program will strengthen the lungs and maximize their capacity to contain air.
- Do a lot of cardiovascular activity. Incorporating intense cardiovascular workouts into your weekly schedule can do wonders for the lungs. Running, skipping, aerobics, and swimming are all excellent forms of cardiovascular activity, and can improve circulation and lung activity. Try exercising in intense 30-minute bouts, pushing your body to the limit, for best results.
- Train in the water. Water training (swimming, water aerobics, underwater weight training) is a form of cardiovascular training, but water offers an element of resistance that makes the body work harder. As a result, the lungs will have to work harder to supply the body with oxygen, greatly increasing their capacity over time.
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Train at high altitude.
At high altitudes, the air has a lower percentage of oxygen and consequently the lungs will have to work harder to supply oxygen to the body. This is an excellent way to strengthen your lungs, but you will need to be careful not to train too hard, or you could fall victim to altitude sickness.
Step 2. Get slim
Excessive weight reduces the efficiency with which the body uses oxygen, because the blood will have to make it grow to a higher mass. For this reason, many professional freedivers try to lose a few pounds in the weeks leading up to a competition.
- You should lose weight in a healthy way - thanks to physical activity and a balanced diet - because weakening your body with extreme diets will negatively impact your ability to hold your breath.
- Magician David Blaine lost more than 15 pounds before attempting to break the freediving world record in an attempt to improve the ratio of body volume to lung volume.
Step 3. Stop smoking
The negative impact of smoking on lung strength and capacity is a known fact. Quitting smoking greatly increases the lungs' ability to release carbon dioxide and absorb oxygen, even in a few weeks. However, if you are looking to strengthen your lungs and their capacity, quitting smoking is undoubtedly the first thing you should do.
You should also avoid secondhand smoke as much as possible, because inhaling the smoke from other people's cigarettes can have a negative impact on the lungs
Step 4. Start playing a wind instrument
These tools require a lot of lung power, and therefore can help you improve lung strength and your ability to control breathing. In addition to these reasons, playing an instrument is a fantastic skill, which can give you great personal satisfaction.
- The flute, clarinet, oboe, and saxophone are all great options for wind instruments, while the trumpet, trombone, and tuba are good options for brass.
- If you have a good voice, you can sing to improve lung strength. Singing requires perfect breathing control, making it a great complementary activity for aspiring freedivers.
Method 3 of 3: Take Necessary Precautions
Step 1. Always practice with a partner
It is highly recommended that you practice holding your breath with a partner. The main reason is your confidence should you pass out (a common occurrence in training sessions that test your limits). A partner will also be able to help you to time your time during your sessions by communicating every 30-second interval.
Step 2. Practice sitting, not lying down
The best position for practicing is sitting in a comfortable position, such as on an armchair or sofa. This will allow you to waste as little energy as possible while holding your breath. It is not recommended to hold your breath while lying down, as you run the risk of choking on your tongue if you pass out.
Step 3. Do not try to practice underwater unless supervised by a professional
While you are probably training to stay freediving underwater, you should never train underwater alone, unsupervised. As mentioned earlier, it is quite common to pass out after holding your breath for a long time, and if this happens underwater, you could drown.
- Working out with a partner could also be dangerous, because an untrained eye may not notice the difference between someone holding their breath and someone who is passed out.
- If you decide to train with a partner, be sure to establish a signal that you will need to communicate to your partner at regular intervals to indicate that you are okay.
Advice
- Don't make unnecessary movements. You would use oxygen and you won't be able to hold your breath for long.
- Try not to think that you are holding your breath. Shift your attention to pleasant things to be less conscious of your breathing.
Warnings
- Be careful when hyperventilating them! Hyperventilation creates many undesirable effects; for example, it is very dangerous if the body believes it has more air available than it actually has, because you risk fainting without warning. If it happened while diving, without a partner, you would probably die.
- Never hold your breath underwater while ascending if you are using pressurized air (such as a scuba tank). The expansion of pressurized air as you ascend could cause your lungs to burst.
- If you experience chest pain, exhale and breathe normally (unless you are underwater - if so, exhale and begin to ascend following the recommended guidelines). -
