How can divers or ppl hold their breath underwater for long

Question

Hi,

How can people hold their breath for a super long time? The longest for me was a 1 min and 50 seconds . The world record underwater is 24 mins ? please

In: Biology

Answer 1

Well I’m not an expert but I did actually witness the underwater breath holding record being set. I think it was like 2012 and the guy was under for like 23 minutes I think.

First of all they practice a fuck ton, to get that out of the way. Second of all they use special techniques which allow them to slow down their heart rate which means that their body uses much less O2, in other words the body produces much less CO2.

Also another 2 important factors are: 1- they dont move at all (try holding your breath while being still and then try doing it while walking)

and 2 – as they get ready to go underwater they breathe a different type of O2. I’m not completly sure what it is, I think its some sort of purified O2 but I could be completly wrong, someone correct me pls. Either the thing they breathe in before going under helps them stay there longer.