Profession?

Actually if you have someone coach you through it, most normal adults can be trained to hold their breath for 3-4 minutes in a few sessions. After that its just like anything, practice makes perfect. The thing you have to learn, realize, and internalize is that even when your diaphragm really starts to contract attempting to force you to breath, you still have another 4-5 minutes of O2 in your lungs. Once you get over the fear of the diaphragm contractions, you can hold your breath a long long time.
 
The impulse to breathe comes from CO2 building up in your lungs, not a lack of oxygen (we breathe in roughly 21% oxygen, and breathe out 17%). However, hyperventilating before holding your breath (especially if swimming/diving on said breath) can cause you to pass out from lack of oxygen before your body tells you it needs a breath.
 
The impulse to breathe comes from CO2 building up in your lungs, not a lack of oxygen (we breathe in roughly 21% oxygen, and breathe out 17%). However, hyperventilating before holding your breath (especially if swimming/diving on said breath) can cause you to pass out from lack of oxygen before your body tells you it needs a breath.

Very correct, a problem worsened when surfacing after a free-dive. And just as a point of reference, the world record for a breath hold on air only if memory serves is near 8.5 minutes.

Now if you really want to have fun, breathe pure O2 for a couple hours and then hold your breath. One of the professors around here always starts his pulmonary lecture out this way. He pre-breathes O2 for 2 hours, then holds his breath, puts on a nose plug, duct tapes his mouth shut, and walks into class. He starts a tape recorder of him doing the lecture explaining to the class that he's holding his breath... Then proceeds to walk through the lecture on the tape recorder for 15 minutes writing on the blackboard as the tape plays. After 15 minutes he takes the tape/plug off and starts breathing and teaching normally. Scares the heck out of his students who don't know he pre-breathed O2 :lol:
 
andy you are such a hater..


the record time for holding your breath is 8 min?? thats crazy


isn't the trick to not move at all while in the water so oxygen does not have to be supplied to the muscles?
 
i think he aid world record, not his. I didnt know you had that much time to hold your breath adn its only fear. thats crazy ski. Im already spear fishing at our local lake. lol, i took a hotdog cooker and sharpened the two points, and i put goggles on, and dive under the dock. its a blast, but its rare for me to actually get a catch. it took nearly 45 minutes to get a single fish. Im going to google how to hold my breath longer, it thought that talent was god given.
 
isnt it dangerous to breath pure oxygen for very long?
 
isnt it dangerous to breath pure oxygen for very long?

I think those people who climb Mt. Everest breath oxygen when they get up high. And I watched Final Destination on Sunday, and when the plain started to explode the masks came down, I think they are oxygen masks. I guess if you breath it in for a month or something, it's bad. Maybe. IDK.


AND ---

This would explain why they are so good at firing upon their allies.

It's amazing how brave you are behind your computer screen. :grr: :/ -_-
 
I dont know, i guess they do though.. I found loads on the internet. lol.
 
Breathing pure oxygen can lead to Oxygen toxicity. The time to reach O2 toxicity from breathing it pure depends largely on the pressure the person is at. At sea level, O2 toxicity doesnt occur till somewhere between 24-48 hours depending on the individual, mostly around 36 hours. And this is of course pure O2 with no leaks. At depth (diving on SCUBA) the time to reaching O2 toxicity decreases drastically with increased depth. There comes a depth where pure O2 breathing is impossible without getting O2 toxicity. I dont know exactly what depth that is without my books though :)

Since someone mentioned Everest, O2 is almoast required at 29,000 ft of altitude to maintain consciousness. There is MUCH less O2 in the air up there and climbers of Everest on air will typically have pulse oxygen saturations of 70% or less. Unconsciousness usually occurs at ~50% for in-shape individuals. With the significant work of climbing, cold weather, and low pressure storms, many Everest climbers have been killed from hypoxia (lack of O2) while trying to reach the summit of Everest on air... Always bring O2 ;)

And Hobbit, world-record breath holding is truly the result of genetic abnormalities. Men with lung volumes of 10L or more (most men are in the 5-7L range) and amazingly adjustable metabolisms combined with appropriate physiologic diving responses. However most males with large enough lungs can be trained to do 5mins relatively easily. The trick is to overcome the involuntary contractions of your diaphragm.
 
It's amazing how brave you are behind your computer screen. :grr: :/ -_-

Yourself as well ;)

However, having to read time after time of how Americans have shot British troops can get a bit old over here. You do know that America was responsible for 17% of its own troops' deaths, and around 10% of British deaths in the first Gulf war?

The above includes a daring raid by tankbusters on a convoy of a British convoy (though they were cleverly disguised by having flourescant panels to try and prevent the trigger happy American pilots from using them as target practice).

I suggest a read of this article to see how much the Pentagon values the British troops helping out in the Middle East.

The Americans have changed little since they opened fire on my Grandad's ship on DDay+1. the American boat mistook a cable laying boat (with a huge drum of wire on the back to lay the telephone cable from Britain to France) with a Canadaian escort for a U-Boat.

There is an all too well documented history of American servicemen shooting first, and thinking second.


To add to Ski's point:

Oxygen toxicity while breathing 100% O2 at depth is going to occur in comparatively shallow water. From my quick calculations (based on the diving partial pressure learnings I have just started) you are going to be looking at 5 metres or so. The NOAA guideline is 45 minutes at 1.6 bar absolute of oxygen. In a 100% oxygen mix you would get 45 minutes of dive at around 6 metres. As a result 100% oxygen is rarely used on an open circuit, except for when aiding decompression from long, deep dives (usually with almost hypoxic mixes including large parts of helium).

The above will have some safety factor in it, but I doubt you can safely breach 10 minutes for any reasonable amount of time without risking oxygen toxicity.
 
Yeah and I'm sure SH could edumacate us all on the medical uses for hyperbaric Oxygen :D
 
However, having to read time after time of how Americans have shot British troops can get a bit old over here. You do know that America was responsible for 17% of its own troops' deaths, and around 10% of British deaths in the first Gulf war?

The above includes a daring raid by tankbusters on a convoy of a British convoy (though they were cleverly disguised by having flourescant panels to try and prevent the trigger happy American pilots from using them as target practice).

I suggest a read of this article to see how much the Pentagon values the British troops helping out in the Middle East.

The Americans have changed little since they opened fire on my Grandad's ship on DDay+1. the American boat mistook a cable laying boat (with a huge drum of wire on the back to lay the telephone cable from Britain to France) with a Canadaian escort for a U-Boat.

There is an all too well documented history of American servicemen shooting first, and thinking second.


But what does all that have to do with ocean related jobs???
 

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