Skip Breathing

[dnew1973]

I heard a guy say he was a skip breather.He wasn't talking directly to me so i didnt get into the conversation.
Can anyone tell me how you do this and is it dangerous?
Maybe i thought i heard him say it .I do know he can stay down for sometime and he was useing nitrox.

 

[jamespitt]

You skip-breathe by not fully inhaling or exhaling and taking shorter shallower breaths. You can also skip breathe by inhaling a little, holding your breath, then inhaling a little more, and hold, and inhale...
Some divers believe that skip-breathing or trying to deliberately breathe slower and shallower will result in more bottom time. But you will merely add to your load of carbon dioxide, get a terrible Carbon Dioxide headache, use even more air trying to stabilize your blood level, and place yourself in a dangerous predicament.
there are better ways of conserving air like improving your fitness, getting a bigger tank, staying shallower, keeping warm etc.
breathe deeply, slowly and exhale deeply and slowly - the air in your tank is probably cleaner than the air upstairs...

James

 

[dnew1973]

Thanks for the reply.
I kinda had the idea thats what he was doin because I was watching him under water and it seemed like he would never exhale or if he did it would be a very small amount. This guy has been diving for years.Was a millitary diver and now is a VERY good P.A.D.I instructor. I didnt know if this was a skill that came with experience or if it should be done at all .

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[AliKat]

I was complaining about the headache I always get after diving when an instructor I had dove with a lot mentioned that I skip breathed. I had no idea!!

He went on to say that what he saw me do was take a deep breath, hold for a couple seconds, exhale completely, and hesitate another second or so before inhaling again. I wasn't doing it on purpose thinking I was saving air or anything.

I have paid more attention to not do that, and I don't get the headaches! I don't recommend skip breathing.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

My understanding is that skip breathing significantly increases the chance of blacking out from excessive CO2 buildup.

 

[art.chick]

Hoo, Boy, Dnew,
I have seen some of the instructors I work under do things that they teach students NOT to do. It's like reptile handlers: they have been doing something so long that they think they don;t have to follow the rules anymore, afterall, they have broken them & survived many times. Then one day, the rattlesnake they thought they could kiss on the lips nips 'em when they are out of anti-venom! Diving is like that, too - ignore the tables, ascend too fast, run around like a nut when u r supposed to be off-gassing, and you may well survive for years being reckless. But on the day your luck runs out, you'll wish you had colored inside the lines!

 

[MASS-Diver]

Only strokes skip breath

 

[Ranz]

Skip breathing can cause a build up of CO2, and the bodies driving force behind breathing IS CO2. So if you have more CO2 in the body, then you want to breath more, resulting in more air consumption.
Ranz

 

[Rockhound]

the "risk" reasons stated--even though I used to do it on all my dives.

Plus, it sometimes gave me a headache.

However, I do think it helped on my SAC's, as they were very, very low. I do not recall feeling the "need" to breathe due to CO2 buildup, but my "skipping" was less of an intermittent breath-hold technique than it was a "stutter breath". To do it effectively, you do have to be very relaxed.

My inhalations were very deep, not shallow, but my exhalations were stuttered (putting your tongue in the roof of your mouth and going "tah-tah-tah-tah" for a long time. There were times that I would have a continuous stream of bubbles from my mouth all the way to the surface from as deep as 60' or more. My actual "skip" between breaths was no more than 3 to 5 seconds.

These days I recognize the danger. I still breath very deeply, but often times focus on my breathing as a form of bouyancy control as much as a way of extending air time. I no longer hold between breaths. I still have a low SAC (despite the fact I weigh, ahem, 250lbs), but not as low as it used to be....

Skip breathing is a bad thing. Don't do it. But, I'm not sure that it would really drive up your SAC. I would think it just exposes you to too much risk.

 

[hypermount]

I never take a deep breath. Inhale slowly up to maybe 60-75% of your lungs' capacity, hold for a few seconds then exhale fully and do it fast to reduce the CO2 buildup in your body ... hold a couple of seconds before you start to inhale again.

Of course nothing beats this way if you want to keep your air consumption low, stay fit- go "gymming"!