Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: How to Exercise Properly
• Method 2 of 3: How to Optimize Your Lung Capacity
• Method 3 of 3: How to Adhere to Safety Precautions
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

The ability to hold your breath for long periods of time is a highly coveted skill. Perhaps you want to stay underwater for longer while diving or surfing, or simply trying to impress your friends. In any case, you will be surprised how easy it is to develop this ability if you use the right methods and follow the proper safety precautions. All this can be learned from this article.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: How to Exercise Properly

1. 1 Practice breathing deeply. Before you hold your breath slowly inhale and exhale using the diaphragm. This will free up poor quality air from your lungs. Inhale for five seconds, hold your breath for one second, then exhale for another ten seconds. This exercise should be repeated for two minutes. During exhalation, try to squeeze out all the air from your lungs to the last "drop".
   • As you exhale, press your tongue against your teeth to create a kind of valve that will allow you to control the release of air. In this case, exhalation will occur with a hissing sound.
   • With deep breathing, the body is saturated with excess oxygen, which is stored in the blood cells. When you hold your breath, the body uses the stored oxygen to maintain normal functioning as the oxygen supply stops.
2. 2 Purge carbon dioxide from your lungs. When you hold your breath, the feeling of pressure in your lungs is not associated with the need to inhale. This feeling is caused by the accumulation of carbon dioxide in them, which seeks to leave the body. Over time, the pain from carbon dioxide build-up increases. To minimize this process, it is necessary to squeeze all the carbon dioxide present from the lungs before holding your breath. Follow these steps:
   • Exhale forcefully to force as much air out of your lungs as possible. While doing this, puff out your cheeks and imagine that you are trying to give movement to a toy boat on the water.
   • After exhaling completely, take a quick breath and repeat the process. At the same time, try not to move so as not to waste the stored oxygen, which was mentioned earlier.
3. 3 Inhale and hold your breath for a minute and a half. This is a test breath that will allow the body to adapt to the cessation of air flow. Use the timer to count down 90 seconds, and don't try to hold the air for a longer time just yet.
   • Don't breathe in too much air so you don't feel like you're about to burst. This creates tension in the body, which increases energy expenditure. It is necessary to fill the lung capacity to about 80–85% in order to remain able to relax.
   • After 90 seconds, breathe out briefly to release the used air, and then take three full breaths in and out. This is called semi-lung cleansing.
4. 4 Repeat the deep breathing and purging process, then hold your breath for two and a half minutes. After the first test breath for 90 seconds, repeat the deep breathing and lung clearing exercise. Each exercise should be one and a half minutes long.
   • After that, inhale and hold your breath for two and a half minutes using the stopwatch. Do not try to hold your breath for a longer time yet.
   • After the time has elapsed, exhale the used air and take three inhales and exhales to semi-clear the lungs. Then breathe deeply for two minutes and take another minute for the semi-cleansing. You are now ready to try holding your breath for as long as possible.
5. 5 Sprinkle cold water on your face. At this stage, it is helpful to wet your face with cold water before trying to hold your breath. It has been observed that when the face comes into contact with cold water, bradycardia or slow heart rate occurs, which is the first stage of the mammalian diving reflex. This step is not necessary at all.
   • It is not necessary to completely put the head under the running water. Simply sprinkle cold water on your face or apply a cold, damp washcloth before holding your breath.
   • Do not use an ice pack. The same study showed that shock from excessive cold stimulates other reflexes. The water temperature should be about 21 ° C and the rest of the body is relaxed.
6. 6 Inhale and hold your breath for as long as possible. Get into a comfortable sitting position and fill your lungs to about 80–85% of their full capacity. Hold your breath for as long as possible and do not move so as not to waste extra energy and oxygen. Better to ask the other person to time the time: if you don't constantly look at your watch, time will go faster and you will be able to hold your breath longer.
   • Holding your breath can be painful, so distraction is usually recommended if you want to successfully achieve your goal. You can alternately name the letters of the alphabet and remember the name of a friend, celebrity or historical figure for each letter. World record holder Aleish Segura Vendrell, who was able to hold his breath underwater for 24 minutes and 3 seconds, recommends this method.
   • Don't hold the air in your cheeks. This method is designed to reserve air. It requires “letting” air out of the lungs and replacing it with air from the cheeks. It is very difficult to apply "circular breathing", and usually it all ends with the person being deprived of all reserves of air. Therefore, it is best not to try this method at first.
7. 7 Relax every muscle in your body. When you need to hold your breath, it is very important to completely relax and get rid of any tension in the body. Close your eyes and focus on relaxing each part of your body one at a time. Start with your feet and gradually work your way up to the neck and head. This exercise can significantly slow down your heart rate and increase the time you hold your breath.
   • Focus on relaxing thoughts. When you can no longer stay relaxed, try distracting yourself with some activity using your hands (for example, you can count to 99 on your fingers).
   • Try not to move when holding your breath.When you move, you consume oxygen and shorten the time you hold your breath. Stay still.
8. 8 Exhale slowly. When it becomes impossible to hold your breath anymore, try not to exhale all the air at once. First exhale about 20% of the air, then inhale to get oxygen to critical points in the body. After that, breathe in and out fully.
9. 9 Repeat the above steps 3-4 times per session. If you increase the number of repetitions, then you risk causing damage to the lungs and the body. If desired, you can perform one session in the morning and another in the evening. Exercise to learn to hold your breath for a few minutes in a short time.

Method 2 of 3: How to Optimize Your Lung Capacity

1. 1 Exercise to increase lung capacity. It is impossible to increase the size of the lungs, but there are many ways to increase the volume of inhaled air and the efficiency of oxygen absorption. In particular, a rigorous exercise plan can help you strengthen your lungs and increase the amount of air you breathe.
   • Exercise regularly... Intense cardiovascular exercise during your usual physical activity is incredibly effective in strengthening your lungs. Running, jumping, aerobics or swimming will be excellent exercises for the heart and blood vessels, which will improve blood circulation and put stress on the lungs so that they actively saturate the body with the necessary oxygen. Exercise at intense peaks for 30 minutes to keep your body working at full capacity. This will achieve the best results.
   • Train in the water... Water workouts (swimming, water aerobics, underwater weight training) are also cardio workouts, but water increases resistance, making each task more challenging. The lungs have to work harder to supply oxygen to the body, as a result of which the lung capacity gradually increases.
   • Train on high ground... The higher you are above sea level, the less oxygen there will be in the air. Therefore, the lungs need to work harder to supply the body with oxygen. This is a great way to strengthen your lungs, but don't overdo it or you risk falling victim to altitude sickness.
2. 2 Lose weight. Excess weight impairs the efficiency of oxygen utilization by the body as blood has to oxygenate the increased body weight. As a result, competitors in breath-holding competitions often seek to lose weight a few weeks before the competition.
   • Only a healthy way of losing weight through exercise and proper nutrition is allowed, since the weakening of the body with radical diets negatively affects the ability to hold your breath.
   • World record holder Aleish Segura Vendrell began losing weight 4 months before trying to break the world record for holding his breath underwater to improve his body volume to lung ratio.
3. 3 Quit smoking. It has long been known that smoking has a negative effect on lung health. If you quit smoking, your lungs' ability to release carbon dioxide and absorb oxygen will increase significantly in just a few weeks. If you want to strengthen your lungs and increase their capacity, then quitting should be the first item on your agenda.
   • Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke, which also negatively affects the lungs.
4. 4 Play a brass or brass instrument. You will need significant lung strength to play such instruments. This is a great way to strengthen your lungs and improve your ability to control your breathing. Among other things, playing a musical instrument is a wonderful skill that brings an incredible sense of personal satisfaction.
   • A flute, clarinet, oboe or saxophone will be a good option for a wind instrument, while among the popular brass instruments are trumpet, trombone and tuba.
   • If you have a good voice, try singing to develop lung strength. To sing, you need to learn how to clearly control your breathing. This is a great complementary exercise if you want to hold your breath for a long time.

Method 3 of 3: How to Adhere to Safety Precautions

1. 1 Always train with a partner. It is highly recommended not to practice holding your breath alone. The main reason is that your partner can help you if you pass out (which often happens during training with attempts to hold your breath for as long as possible), prevent you from hurting yourself and help you recover. Also, the partner can time the time and notify you about the expiration of each interval of 30 seconds.
2. 2 Train while sitting, not lying down. The best position to practice holding your breath is sitting in a comfortable upright position on a couch or chair. This way you can waste less energy. It is not recommended to train while lying down, as there is a risk of swallowing your tongue in case of loss of consciousness.
3. 3 Only practice holding your breath underwater under the supervision of a professional. Usually, people practice holding their breath in order to dive under water, but never do the exercises on their own without observers. As mentioned above, during these types of training, people often pass out and pass out. If you lose consciousness under water, then you risk drowning.
   • Even training with a partner is very dangerous, since only a trained eye can distinguish a person who is holding his breath from an unconscious person.
   • If you are training with a partner, discuss hand signals that you will use to show your partner that everything is okay from time to time.

Tips

• Avoid unnecessary movements to avoid wasting oxygen and reducing the amount of time you can hold your breath.
• Don't think about holding your breath. Think of pleasant things so that you can forget about the urge to breathe.
• Take a few deep breaths before holding your breath for a long time.
• Try to relax, close your eyes, and release any tension in your body. If you are underwater, always leave a little energy to get to the surface.
• Do not train underwater, even with a professional nearby! There are many known fatalities. Don't become another victim of carelessness!
• Remain calm when holding your breath above or under water, as excitement speeds up your heart rate, which increases oxygen and energy consumption.
• Breathe out as much air as possible from your lungs (carbon dioxide and nitrogen), but do not overdo it, then breathe deeply for a minute (beware of a state of euphoria), and then inhale air to almost full lung capacity (no need to protrude your chest) and after ten seconds jerks for 2 minutes, try 15, and then 30 seconds.
• Try not to exhale. You only need to exhale once, when the time has come to an end. You can also try meditating. Meditation helps you breathe calmly.

Warnings

• Never hold your breath underwater while lifting if you are using compressed air (such as scuba diving). Expansion of compressed air during lifting can rupture the lungs.
• Be careful with hyperventilation! Oxygen saturation of the lungs has many undesirable consequences, including unexpected loss of consciousness, as the body begins to overestimate the supply of oxygen. If you are alone under water, the situation is almost certainly fatal.
• If chest pain occurs, exhale and continue to breathe normally (if you are underwater, exhale and begin lifting as recommended for depth).

What do you need

• Stopwatch
• Pencil
• Recording paper
• Partner (optional, but highly recommended)
• A chair (or other items to keep your back straight)