Buoyancy in water in respect to breathing

[cascas]

.but then I read that a good diver tries to make the breathing process last as long as possible...so I started taking consciously really long deep breaths in and out, but it totally messes with my bouyancy. Thanks for clearing that up for me a bit.

Throw away that book... that fact that it messes with your buouyancy proves its wrong.... You have been doing it correctly before you read it...

 

[SnorkelLA]

This is a little trick I like to do just before I go into the water on all of my dives-

Take a good mental note of your relaxed, natural breathing rate while on the surface. Then while just swimming along, try to keep that rythm. Unless you need to do something to your buoyancy that you'd have to breathe more deeply or more shallowly, like descending or hovering.

All in all, just breathe

 

[vapourinthesea]

Alright, thanks everyone.

 

[boulderjohn]

Thanks for your help guys. I'll work on not inhaling or exhaling quite as long.

It isn't just how long you breathe in and out, it is how much air you exchange during that time. It is possible to inhale for 5 seconds and bring in very little air at all. It is possible to inhale for 2 seconds and fill your lungs.

If you ever have surgery that requires you to use what is called an incentive spirometer, you will see that it forces you to inhale a large volume slowly enough to keep a little marker from rising too much. I have the fortune/misfortune of owning several of these, and I have sometimes used them in a scuba class. If you can inhale a reasonable lungful without raising the marker past the "best" area through the force of your breathing, you are doing it about right.

If you can get your hands on one, give it a try. If not, think about taking in a pretty normal breath in terms of volume--not so much that you change your buoyancy--but doing it slowly.

 

[Quero]

I use a lot of mental imagery when I teach diving, and one of the places I like to encourage this is in developing breath control. I ask students to imagine someone in a sound sleep; how relaxed is this person? what is their breathing like? what does the inflation of the chest and stomach look like? Then I tell them that as they dive, their goal is to achieve a similar relaxed, deep, slow breathing pattern. It's a surprisingly helpful exercise for most people.

 

[boulderjohn]

I use a lot of mental imagery when I teach diving, and one of the places I like to encourage this is in developing breath control. I ask students to imaging someone in a sound sleep; how relaxed is this person? what is their breathing like? what does the inflation of the chest and stomach look like? Then I tell them that as they dive, their goal is to achieve a similar relaxed, deep, slow breathing pattern. It's a surprisingly helpful exercise for most people.

I do exactly the same thing.

 

[vapourinthesea]

that's a good tip, I'll have to try it out next weekend.

 

[Quero]

that's a good tip, I'll have to try it out next weekend.

And let us know how it goes! You may have to concentrate on it at first, but after a little while, it will be possible to breathe like this without thinking explicitly about it.

 

[farsidefan1]

It isn't just how long you breathe in and out, it is how much air you exchange during that time. It is possible to inhale for 5 seconds and bring in very little air at all. It is possible to inhale for 2 seconds and fill your lungs.

If you ever have surgery that requires you to use what is called an incentive spirometer, you will see that it forces you to inhale a large volume slowly enough to keep a little marker from rising too much. I have the fortune/misfortune of owning several of these, and I have sometimes used them in a scuba class. If you can inhale a reasonable lungful without raising the marker past the "best" area through the force of your breathing, you are doing it about right.

If you can get your hands on one, give it a try. If not, think about taking in a pretty normal breath in terms of volume--not so much that you change your buoyancy--but doing it slowly.

Thanks for the reminder Boulderjohn, I have been remiss. Got one of the little suckers right by my side and I have not touched it for a couple days. Docs gonna be pissed.

To the OP, The less I think about it the better I do.

 

[spectrum]

A key thing is that your change in buoyancy does not result in an immediate vertical movement. You can inhale for X seconds before you will move at all. With that said you want to start your inhale just as you are about to drop and begin exhaling just as you are about to rise. With that balance your own physiology will arrive at a breathing pattern. From there you can push the envelop. In some circumstances letting your body porpoise as you swim along may not be a big deal, that can let you really slow your breathing. With a little practice you can modify your posture and/or kick just a little to counteract some of the swing.

If you have a slow deep breathing style and need pinpoint buoyancy control in a tight place there may be times where you are breathing more to manage buoyancy than for life support.

It's a game of details, just keep paying attention as you are and you will learn the techniques.

Pete