I'm curious about something:
If I inhale only half-way while sitting here at my desk near sea level, my body gets the impression that I need to breathe deeper. If I don't, I feel uncomfortable until I take a full breath.
Let's assume I do the same thing at a depth of 66 feet while breathing air. Even though I am only taking half of a breath, I am most likely fulfilling my body's oxygen requirements because of the higher partial pressures involved. However, my brain still sends sort of a discomfort signal indicating that I haven't taken a good enough breath.
Is this the result of simple muscle memory of the lungs and diaphram (that is, lungs expanded to capacity equals good to my brain), or is there a more complex respiratory/circulatory reason for this?
Anyone care to hazard a guess? My guess is that it's the former; a full breath is better for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and reduces the risk of hypoxia. Therefore, it's a survival instinct unrelated to a direct chemical trigger (like CO2 buildup triggering breathing response).
This seems supported by rebreather accidents in which damaged equipment has resulted in black outs as a result of CO2 buildup in the loop. The diver felt that they were breathing normally as a result of full breaths, and it was only until hypoxia occurred that the system became overtly aware of the gas problem. I've never tried it, but I would imagine my body would still signal a problem with a half breath even if I were breathing 100% O2....
Just curious. Thanks!
If I inhale only half-way while sitting here at my desk near sea level, my body gets the impression that I need to breathe deeper. If I don't, I feel uncomfortable until I take a full breath.
Let's assume I do the same thing at a depth of 66 feet while breathing air. Even though I am only taking half of a breath, I am most likely fulfilling my body's oxygen requirements because of the higher partial pressures involved. However, my brain still sends sort of a discomfort signal indicating that I haven't taken a good enough breath.
Is this the result of simple muscle memory of the lungs and diaphram (that is, lungs expanded to capacity equals good to my brain), or is there a more complex respiratory/circulatory reason for this?
Anyone care to hazard a guess? My guess is that it's the former; a full breath is better for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and reduces the risk of hypoxia. Therefore, it's a survival instinct unrelated to a direct chemical trigger (like CO2 buildup triggering breathing response).
This seems supported by rebreather accidents in which damaged equipment has resulted in black outs as a result of CO2 buildup in the loop. The diver felt that they were breathing normally as a result of full breaths, and it was only until hypoxia occurred that the system became overtly aware of the gas problem. I've never tried it, but I would imagine my body would still signal a problem with a half breath even if I were breathing 100% O2....
Just curious. Thanks!