4 ms·
Nothing inherently dangerous about practicing breath holds at home, as long as it's done sitting in a bed or so in case of dizziness. Unless you hyperventilate
by matsemann 6y ago
Nothing inherently dangerous about practicing breath holds at home, as long as it's done sitting in a bed or so in case of dizziness. Unless you hyperventilate (don't!) the pain will be too great for most people to hold until they black out. And one can always just start breathing before that, never beat your own PR by more than a few seconds at a time.
Of course, when setting records it's done in the water (because of the diving reflex), which should never be attempted alone.
I recommend apps for "co2 tables" when practicing.
- sunstone 6y agoUnderwater hockey, played in most largish cities, is a decent way to practice breath holding without the boredom.
- ficklepickle 6y agoIt's a good day when I learn about something so weird and wonderful. I'm from Canada, where the first world championship was held in 1980, yet I was completely unaware this sport existed. My favourite facts from the Wikipedia page are: it is originally called octopush and was played with an uncoated lead puck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_hockey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_hockey
- andi999 6y agoI played it for a few weeks, and (at least where I played) it looks like when you are at a pond with fish and somebody throws in bread, except with humans instead of fish.
- roland35 6y agoMy sister used to hold her breath and pass out whenever she didn't get her way. She took stubbornness to the next level!
- lqet 6y agoTIL https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex Thanks!
- tacon 6y agoJosh Waitzkin, chess prodigy, learning guru, almost killed himself by accident through breath holding work[0]: "Josh Waitzkin: The 30-second version is that I was doing some Wim Hof-inspired breath hold work. I made the mistake of doing it during lots of reps of underwater swims, 50-meter swims, at a pool in New York City. And on my eighth or 10th rep, I blacked out in a bliss state and I spent four minutes in the bottom of the pool after blacking out from oxygen deprivation. This old guy pulled me out and, which I’m eternally grateful for, and I basically drowned. All the doctors said after 45 to 60 seconds I should have been brain dead or dead, but it was four minutes on the bottom of the pool and that my training saved me. Also, you could say, put me there—but that’s a whole other conversation!" [0] https://tim.blog/2020/03/14/josh-waitzkin-transcript-412/ https://tim.blog/2020/03/14/josh-waitzkin-transcript-412/
- blackbrokkoli 6y agoYes, because he did it while swimming. Parent is talking about sitting on your bed. Obviously, when you combine such exercise with activities that require full attention, like swimming, frying a steak or driving a car you add a dimension of serious danger.
- matsemann 6y agoI've argued against Wim Hof elsewhere here, doing his hyperventilation breathe up in the water is almost begging to black out.
- DennisP 6y agoWim Hof's breathing exercise is not designed for underwater dives, and he always urges people to do it somewhere safe, like in bed or lying on the ground. Maximizing breath hold time isn't really the point of the exercise.
- quickthrowman 6y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow-water_blackout https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow-water_blackout https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout#Shallow_water_blackout https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freediving_blackout#Shallow_... This phenomenon is well-known, probably more so than Wim Hof. You’d think a ‘learning guru’ would learn about the potential risks of holding ones breath underwater while hyperventilating before attempting it!