The world record is 24 min 37.36 sec
How can they stay conscious for so long on a single breath? Doesn’t the body need a constant supply of oxygen?
In: 284
My longest is only a bit over 2 mins, so I’m no professional, but here’s what helps: you have to not *consume* oxygen during that time (as well as loading up in advance).
Your bloodstream has a certain amount of oxygen in it, and that capacity is a lot more than a single breath in your lungs. So, over-oxygenating in advance is definitely helpful; but the real key is to be very calm and hold absolutely still without using any muscle movement or tension.
If you’ve never held your breath for more than a minute or more before, I think you can do it like this: lie down on your back, and totally relax. If you know some pwrticular relaxation exercise, going from face to shoulders to stomach, etc., do that. But while you’re getting relaxed, you want to mildly hyperventilate. Just breathe a little extra deeply and a little more often than necessary. Then, when you’re ready to start the clock (without moving at all – maybe you just glance at the clock), take lots of extra breaths until it’s uncomfortable. Don’t use a lot of muscle contraction to do it – just breathe extra. When you’re ready, take a big breath, but just short of your chest being all tense in order to hold it in.
Then, basically try to sleep. Or, try to be as relaxed as possible. As it gets uncomfortable, remember that you absolutely can’t hurt yourself by just holding your breath. Try not to tense up, and stay relaxed. When you get really close to the end, you can buy yourself 5-10 seconds by letting a little bit of breath out at a time.
Using that method, you can go pretty long. The key is to have plenty of relaxation time before you try to start, and stay totally still and chill the whole time.
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