The ability to hold one's breath for a long time is something that many people desire. Maybe you need it to surf or dive longer, or you need a trick that will surprise and amaze others. Whatever the reason, increasing the duration of holding your breath is actually easy, provided you must follow the correct exercise technique and follow the safety instructions. Read this guide to find out.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Exercise Techniques to Hold Your Breath
Step 1. Practice deep breathing
Before holding your breath, inhale and exhale slowly from inside your diaphragm. By doing this, you are expelling poor quality air from your lungs. Inhale for five seconds, hold for one second, exhale for ten seconds. Do this for two minutes, and make sure that as you exhale, you are exhaling all the air from your lungs.
- As you exhale, press your tongue against your upper front teeth. This will form a pipe to control the escape of air. Your breath will make a hissing sound as you exhale.
- Deep breathing makes your body store more oxygen in the red blood cells. This will help you hold your breath because your body can use the stored oxygen to continue working, even if you're not breathing.
Step 2. Clear CO2 from your lungs
When you hold your breath, the pressure you feel in your lungs is not the result of wanting to breathe, but of increasing the CO2 you are trying to expel. This increase in CO2 can be painful over time. To minimize the pain, you need to clear any residual CO2 from your lungs before holding your breath. Here's how:
- Exhale as hard as you can, exhaling as much air from your lungs as possible. Puff your cheeks out as you do this, and imagine you're blowing a toy sailboat into motion.
- When you have fully exhaled, inhale quickly and repeat. Try not to move an inch while doing this to avoid using up the spare oxygen stored from the previous step.
Step 3. Inhale and hold for one minute and thirty seconds
This is a warm-up for your body to adjust to the absence of air. Use the timer to count down 90 seconds, and don't hold your breath any longer than that first.
- As you inhale, don't inhale too much; this will create tension in your body and cause you to spend more energy. Instead, fill your lungs to about 80-85% so that your body still has room to relax.
- When the 90 seconds are up, exhale to remove the used air from your lungs, then inhale three times, inhaling and exhaling thoroughly. This is known as semi-cleaning.
Step 4. Repeat the deep breathing and cleansing steps, then hold your breath for two minutes and thirty seconds
When the 90 second exercise is complete, repeat deep breathing and CO2 clearance for one minute and thirty seconds each.
- When you have done the above, breathe and hold for two minutes and thirty seconds, counting the time with a stopwatch. Don't hold your breath any longer than this.
- When the time is up, exhale and do three semi-cleans. Then do two minutes of deep breathing and one and a half minutes of CO2 clearance. Now you are ready to hold your breath as long as possible.
Step 5. Rinse your face with cold water
At this point, rinse your face with cold water before starting to hold your breath. Research shows that this causes bradycardia, or slowing of the heart rate, which is the first phase of the mammalian diving reflex. However, this step is purely optional.
- You don't have to completely submerge your head. Simply rinse your face with cold water before holding your breath, or wipe with a cold towel.
- Don't use ice cubes; the same study showed that being too cold could trigger another reflex. Just make sure the water is at about 21°C and that your body is in a relaxed position.
Step 6. Inhale and hold as long as possible
Sit comfortably and take deep breaths, filling your lungs to 80-85%. Hold your breath as long as possible, trying to stay still to avoid wasting energy and oxygen reserves. It's better to have someone record the time for you, as time will run faster and you can hold your breath longer when your focus is not diverted to the stopwatch.
- Holding your breath for long periods of time can be painful, and you usually need a distraction to reach your goals. A popular diversion is to think of a friend, celebrity, or historical figure whose names go from A to Z. David Blaine, the famous magician who set a world record for holding his breath underwater for 17 minutes and 4.4 seconds, uses this diversion technique.
- Don't keep air in your cheeks. This method is aimed at saving air reserves, which involves exhaling the air in your lungs and exchanging it for air in your cheeks. This is known as circular breathing and is very difficult to master, usually causing a loss of air reserves in the lungs and cheeks. Therefore, it is best to avoid this method for now.
Step 7. Rest every muscle in your body
It is very important that you relax completely and release the tension from your body as you hold your breath. Close your eyes and focus on releasing tension from every part of your body, starting with your feet, and working your way slowly up your torso, all the way up to your neck and neck. This can slow your heart rate and increase the length of time you hold your breath.
- Concentrate on something that relaxes you. When you can't concentrate anymore, distract yourself by doing something with your hands, like counting to 99.
- Try not to move while holding your breath. When you move, you're wasting oxygen and that will cut the length of time you hold your breath. Shut up.
Step 8. Exhale slowly
When you can't hold your breath any longer, try not to rush the air out of your lungs. First, exhale about 20%, then inhale again so that oxygen can get to the critical area more quickly. Then you can exhale and inhale normally again.
Step 9. Repeat these steps 3-4 times per session
It is not recommended to do this more than 4 times, as it can damage your lungs and body. Try one session in the morning and one session in the evening. Keep practicing and before you know it, you will be able to hold your breath for a few minutes.
Method 2 of 3: Optimizing Your Lung Capacity
Step 1. Do exercises to increase your lung capacity
There is no way to increase the size of your lungs, but there are many ways to increase the amount of air your lungs can breathe in, and the efficiency with which they trap oxygen. In other words, regular exercise can help strengthen your lungs and maximize their air-holding capacity.
- Do lots of breathing exercises. Incorporating some breathing activities or exercises into your exercise routine can optimize your lungs. Running, jumping rope, aerobics, and swimming are good breathing exercises to get your blood pumping and make your lungs work hard to provide oxygen to your body. Try to do this exercise in earnest for 30 minutes, and push your body to the limit for the best results.
- Exercise in the water. Practicing in water (swimming, water gymnastics, weight lifting in water) is a form of breathing exercise, but the water here provides a challenge that makes your body work harder to complete each task. As a result, your lungs need to work harder to deliver oxygen to the body, which causes the air capacity in the lungs to increase over time.
- Practice at height. At higher altitudes, there is less oxygen in the air, which means your lungs have to work harder to provide your body with oxygen. This is a good way to strengthen your lungs, but you have to be careful not to train too hard, or you could fall victim to altitude sickness.
Step 2. Lose weight
Excess weight reduces the efficiency with which your body uses oxygen, because there is body mass that your blood must pump with oxygen. Many athletes try to lose weight a few weeks before competing.
- This weight loss should be achieved in a healthy way - with exercise and a balanced diet - because making you weak from not eating at all will negatively affect your ability to hold your breath.
- Magician David Blaine is reported to have lost more than 13 kilograms before attempting to break the world record for holding his breath underwater, in an attempt to increase the ratio of body volume to lung volume.
Step 3. Quit smoking
We all know that smoking has a negative impact on lung strength and capacity. Quitting smoking can improve the ability of your lungs to release carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen within a few weeks. So when you want to strengthen your lungs and increase their capacity, quitting smoking is undoubtedly the first thing to do.
You should also avoid second-hand smoke as much as possible, as inhaling someone else's secondhand smoke can have negative effects in your lungs
Step 4. Play a wind instrument
This type of instrument requires a lot of lung power, making it a good way to increase lung strength and improve your ability to control your breathing. Plus, being able to play a musical instrument is a great skill, one that can give you a lot of satisfaction.
- The flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone are all good choices, while the trumpet, trombone, and tuba are popular instruments.
- If you have a sweet voice, singing is a musical way to increase lung strength. Singing requires good control of breathing, making this activity a breath-holding delight.
Method 3 of 3: Taking Security Hint Steps
Step 1. Always practice with a partner
It is highly recommended that you practice holding your breath with a partner. The main reason is because they can guarantee your safety in case you faint (which is a common thing in training), prevent you from hurting yourself and care for you until you wake up. What's more, a partner can help you time your breath holding session, giving the cue every 30 seconds.
Step 2. Practice sitting, not lying down
The best position to practice is sitting up straight in the most comfortable position possible on a couch or chair. This allows you to expend as little energy as possible while holding your breath. Lying down is not recommended as there is a risk of choking on your tongue if you faint.
Step 3. Do not do this in water, unless supervised by an expert
While the goal of practicing breath holding is to use it underwater, you shouldn't practice underwater alone without supervision. As mentioned earlier, fainting or unconsciousness is common after holding your breath for too long, and if this happens underwater it will result in drowning.
- Even practicing with a partner still doesn't eliminate this dangerous risk completely, as one usually has a hard time distinguishing someone who is holding their breath and someone who is unconscious.
- If you want to train with a partner, make sure you give a signal every few seconds that you're okay.
Tips
- Don't make unnecessary moves. This will use up your spare oxygen and reduce the time you hold your breath.
- Don't think about holding your breath. If you think about pleasant things, you will forget your desire to breathe.
- Take a few deep breaths before you hold them for a long time.
- Try to relax, close your eyes, and relax. However, if you are underwater, always save some energy in case you need to come to the surface.
- Even if supervised by an expert, don't practice in the water!!! Many people have died because of this.
Warning
- Be careful when you hyperventilate! This has negative effects, one of which is dangerous in tricking your body into thinking you have more air stored, causing you to pass out without warning. If this happens while in the water and unattended, you are likely to die.
- Never hold your breath underwater when coming to the surface if using air in a canister (e.g. diving tank). The air pressure that expands as it rises to the surface can injure your lungs.
- If you feel pain in your chest, exhale, and breathe normally. (If in water, exhale and start to rise to the surface at any given depth).
