And what about people like David Blaine or Tom Sietas? Sietas held his breath underwater for over 22 minutes (world record). I know they train for it like months and even years, but doesn’t holding your breath = no oxygen to brain?
Permanent brain damage apparently occurs just after 4 minutes of lack of oxygen to the brain, so why are freedivers left generally unscathed after 8 or 10 minutes without air?
In: Biology
They breathe funny before diving to oxygenate their blood to an extreme level.
In other words they take some extra oxygen with them, bound to red blood cells, and have trained to use it sparingly.
Also 4-6 minutes is like most of those sort of specs, just an average, not a rule.
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