Air Consumption

[Dan Bower]

Try to find a copy of TDI's "A Guide to Advanced Nitrox". Pages 19-21 cover this pretty well. You breathe a bit differently on open circuit vs. closed circuit, but you always continue to clear your entire lung volume of carbon dioxide.

thanks

 

[Skeptic14]

This attitude brought to you by Western medicine driven by pharmaceutical therapy.

I prefer medical/scientific evidence based upon repeatable experimentation vs unsubstantiated claims, but to each their own.

The Buteyko method, along with other diaphragmatic breathing techniques, are well known as effective in reducing anxiety and inducing relaxation. It's also well known that a relaxed diver consumes less gas than a tense diver. A very relaxed diver would consume even less! Whether or not it helps asthma patients is largely irrelevant.

Yeah... a relaxed diver will have a better SAC which I pointed out in my first post in this thread; "become comfortable in the water".

If anyone can point to a legitimate source with proper experimentation regarding "breathing techniques and divers" I'd love to read it. So far only a video on the buteyko method for which there is no medical or experimental evidence to back up claims has been posted.

A proper test to confirm there might be something to breathing technique requires proper experimentation; controls, mitigation of variables outside the single variable being tested and sufficient sample size.

All divers as they progress from new, to somewhat experienced, to very experienced improve their SAC without studying these breathing techniques; I cut mine in half in 20 dives without thinking about my breathing; you have to account for this in a real test in order to be able to draw any real conclusions.

Or again, to each their own, whatever you think works for you... although when you say something super specific like "30% improvements" might want to have something to back it up if you expect to be taken seriously.

 

[gfaith]

@Dan Bower read what TSandM wrote here:

Ways to make tank air last longer...or why can't I stay down as long as my son?

 

[REVAN]

... although when you say something super specific like "30% improvements" might want to have something to back it up if you expect to be taken seriously.

It comes from my own experience and I'm certainly not going to do a documented study for your benefit. This is an on-line forum not a medical journal and I don't really care if you take me or your own diving seriously.

I was just trying to provide some useful advice for @Dan Bower who was looking for things to try to improve his diving gas economy. If you want to try some of the advice for yourself, that's fine. If you want to ignore it, that's fine too. But, don't try to throw it back in my face because I'm not citing an independent medical study. It's advice!

 

[Dan Bower]

I prefer medical/scientific evidence based upon repeatable experimentation vs unsubstantiated claims, but to each their own.



Yeah... a relaxed diver will have a better SAC which I pointed out in my first post in this thread; "become comfortable in the water".

If anyone can point to a legitimate source with proper experimentation regarding "breathing techniques and divers" I'd love to read it. So far only a video on the buteyko method for which there is no medical or experimental evidence to back up claims has been posted.

A proper test to confirm there might be something to breathing technique requires proper experimentation; controls, mitigation of variables outside the single variable being tested and sufficient sample size.

All divers as they progress from new, to somewhat experienced, to very experienced improve their SAC without studying these breathing techniques; I cut mine in half in 20 dives without thinking about my breathing; you have to account for this in a real test in order to be able to draw any real conclusions.

Or again, to each their own, whatever you think works for you... although when you say something super specific like "30% improvements" might want to have something to back it up if you expect to be taken seriously.

well if im honest i don't know what works for me at the moment im just trying to stop burning tanks so any small improvement as i learn is great but all advice is taken on board as im always grateful from tips from the higher certified divers with there years of experiants.

 

[Dan Bower]

@Dan Bower read what TSandM wrote here:

Ways to make tank air last longer...or why can't I stay down as long as my son?

i will thanks @gfaith

 

[Skeptic14]

Dan, how many dives do you have?

I would be surprised if you didn't drastically improve your SAC by dive 25 IF you are comfortable, dropped a little lead from OW class and aren't laser focused on it, skip breathing, etc etc.

 

[Dan Bower]

Dan, how many dives do you have?

I would be surprised if you didn't drastically improve your SAC by dive 25 IF you are comfortable, dropped a little lead from OW class and aren't laser focused on it, skip breathing, etc etc.

just hit 20 on Friday and i have been up and down from 2k to 4k depending on suite i was at 4k last dive but just to see im gonna drop to 2k next dive see how that works

 

[gfaith]

I have just been reading the below and now im confused i was always told to breath from the top 3rd of your lungs yet this is telling you different unless im understanding it wrong lol

.

This is why I posted the TSandM link. So that you can understand there are areas in Scuba breathing that are different than breathing on the surface.

There is a time for breathing from the top 3rd of you lungs like when you are slightly heavy on your Safety Stop and want to hold you depth, or you want to go up in the water column to miss a reef head. It is more fun to exhale deeply after going over that reef head and quickly descend on the other side.

 

[Skeptic14]

just hit 20 on Friday and i have been up and down from 2k to 4k depending on suite i was at 4k last dive but just to see im gonna drop to 2k next dive see how that works

Have you noticed any improvement? How much are you concentrating on your breathing during your dive? Are you using your inflator a lot to maintain buoyancy? Are your arms really active?

I think a lot of us ask this question initially (I was an air hog too) sooner you stop thinking about it and just become a comfortable diver the better IMO.