Yes, you are getting a form of hyperventilation as the holding of the breath like that is resulting in exactly what you're referring to. Often times in SCUBA di

Yes, you are getting a form of hyperventilation as the holding of the breath like that is resulting in exactly what you're referring to. Often times in SCUBA diving and firefighting with SCBA's we refer to this method as "skip breathing". Some people teach to do it in emergency situations when low on air to try and conserve air, but I don't believe there is any backing that it will aid in that, it may even make it worse. However, the skip breathing can be helpful as it can be a decent way to relax. Most people say to do it to conserve air, but I think the real benefit is that you relax and therefore conserve air.