Most people can hold their breath for somewhere between 30 seconds and up to 2 minutes. Why try holding your breath longer? There's not necessarily an immediate, everyday benefit (other than a conversational icebreaker). But holding your breath can save your life in certain situations, like if you fall off a boat.
People also hold their breath when they're stressed, anxious, excited, upset, frustrated… there are a lot of times when we inadvertently hold our breath without even realizing it. So, why does holding your breath matter? When we're relaxed, our muscles are working while we inhale, but are relaxed as we exhale.
"Holding the breath on the exhale is instinctive to help people focus or concentrate harder on what they're doing. Temporarily inhibiting a subconscious brain activity such as breathing allows the brain to divert its resources to carrying out a difficult task.
Some anxious people hold or quiet their breathing when they are anxious or stressed. Holding or quieting your breath can cause the shortness of breath and feeling out of breath symptoms.
For most people, it's safe to hold your breath for a minute or two. Doing so for too much longer can decrease oxygen flow to the brain, causing fainting, seizures and brain damage. In the heart, a lack of oxygen can cause abnormalities of rhythm and affect the pumping action of the heart.
However, most people can only safely hold their breath for 1 to 2 minutes. The amount of time you can comfortably and safely hold your breath depends on your specific body and genetics. Do not attempt to hold it for longer than 2 minutes if you are not experienced, especially underwater.
In short, the average healthy person can hold their breath for 3-5 minutes. A person's ability to hold their breath can be increased if the person exercises regularly, is a diver or professional athlete. Holding your breath can cause high blood pressure, brain damage, or even fainting.
Chronic breath holding and effortful breathing are not healthy because the muscular effort, coupled with the effects of stress on the nervous, hormonal, and immune systems, can impair both physical and psychological function.
Just like it's better-known bedtime counterpart, sleep apnea, the term describes prolonged periods where you go without breathing—you hold your breath without realizing it—while at your desk or at work. And just as sleep apnea is under-diagnosed, email apnea may be a lot more prevalent than you think.
Available evidence indicates that deep breath-hold dives can be very dangerous and can cause serious acute health problems such a collapse of the lungs, barotrauma at descent and ascent, pulmonary oedema and alveolar haemorrhage, cardiac arrest, blackouts, nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness and death.
Somatic OCD symptoms
Someone may find that they simply can't stop noticing their own breath. Breathing used to happen naturally, but it's become the only thought this person's mind can focus on. Their breath now seems excessively loud, and it drowns out all their other thoughts.
People who are anxious tend to breathe in their upper lungs (upper chest) with shallow, rapid breaths, instead of breathing into their lower lungs (lower chest). This is one contribution to hyperventilation: shallow, upper lung breathing.
It can come about when you feel nervous, anxious, or stressed. If you hyperventilate often, your doctor may tell you that you have hyperventilation syndrome.
Navy SEALs can hold their breath underwater for two to three minutes or more. Breath-holding drills are typically used to condition a swimmer or diver and to build confidence when going through high-surf conditions at night, said Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL and best-selling author of the book “Among Heroes.”
Aerobic activities like walking, running or jumping rope give your heart and lungs the kind of workout they need to function efficiently. Muscle-strengthening activities like weight-lifting or Pilates build core strength, improving your posture, and toning your breathing muscles.
What are the benefits of breath holding for performance? Holding the breath until you feel a strong air hunger gives the diaphragm a workout and exposes the body to higher levels of carbon dioxide. It improves tolerance to hypoxia and hypercapnia.
Hyperawareness or sensorimotor obsessions are characterized by an excessive concern that your attention to some otherwise forgettable or involuntary bodily process will become totally and permanently conscious. In other words, we do a lot without thinking about it, so thinking about it feels uncomfortable.
Common Compulsions of Somatic OCD
Focusing on how one is breathing. Measuring and monitoring one's heartbeat. Intensively focusing on how one is blinking. Constantly looking up symptoms or seeking reassurance from others that their body is performing normally.
When our bodies are deprived of oxygen, the heart can't pump fresh, oxygenated blood out to the body. Studies show that about 30 seconds of breath-holding can lead to a lowered heart rate and lower cardiac output.
According to the available data, breath-holding does not result in chronic lung injury. However, studies of large populations of breath-hold divers are necessary to firmly exclude long-term lung damage.
A spirometry test measures how healthy your lungs are and can be used to help diagnose and monitor lung conditions. During the test, you will breathe out as much air as you can, as hard as you can, into a device called a spirometer.
Central sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which you briefly stop breathing during sleep. Moments of apnea can occur repeatedly throughout the night as you sleep. The interruption of your breathing may indicate a problem with your brain's signaling. Your brain momentarily “forgets” to tell your muscles to breathe.