holding breath too long bad for you?

OK so my son Nathan embraces new things with a gusto.  I am not bragging here, just telling it like it is.  He is a gymnast, has zero body fat, is in awesome shape.  He started spearing a year ago but has been practicing holding his breath at night before he sleeps.  Started at a minute and has worked his way up to 3 minutes 45 seconds, with a goal of 4 minutes.  Unfortunately for him, he can only dive to my limits to save him, so that means pool depths 

My wife is concerned he is killing brain cells and may as well be sniffing glue.  So is this a bad idea?

I think sniffing glue may be much worse.

Lets test it out tomarow... I think im gonna dive!

Hi Yaker:

    My Sons' Baby Sitter died from "Shallow Water Blackout" in a Pool.
I feel your Son shouldn't practice holding his Breath by himself. It's
a good idea in the pool to hold his Hand and squeeze every 30 Sec.
Have your Son reply in the same manner to siginal Hes' O.K..
                                                           


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_water_blackout

Him practicing breathhold in his bed is fine.  Holding his breath will not damage or destroy brain cells.  Brain damage starts about four minutes AFTER blackout.  Since he's holding his breath and is conscious, he should be fine. 

It's a good idea that he dives within the limits of his dive buddy (that's what I'd want my kids to do), but he should seek out more experienced divers to mentor him.  For that, I nominate Fuzz. 

I did the same thing but stop pushing at 3.5 minutes.  You can't die on land due to black-out since your breathing is automatic.  I never sttay pass 2 minutes while skin dive (my comfort zone).

My wife is concerned he is killing brain cells and may as well be sniffing glue.  So is this a bad idea?

 
 

Are you asking about holding your breath or sniffing Glue?

Practicing holding your breath =  should be fine on dry ground (best to have a spotter)

Sniffing Glue = some consider a great past time but not good for the brain 

Have him hold his breath and walk down the street ,it will be more realistic to real dive conditions and much safer. If he gets good at it have him try jogging or running and see how long he holds his breath.Don't practice in the water unless fully supervised with trained divers in a controlled inviornment. Be safe !!!

but he should seek out more experienced divers to mentor him.  For that, I nominate Fuzz.

Agreed Fuzz taught me a simple breathing exercise during our drive to Stillwater last time we went under....unfortunately manatees have short term memories 

Have him hold his breath and walk down the street ,it will be more realistic to real dive conditions and much safer. If he gets good at it have him try jogging or running and see how long he holds his breath.Don't practice in the water unless fully supervised with trained divers in a controlled inviornment. Be safe !!!

I would advise against breath hold excercises while walking down the street, let alone jogging or running.  BO can occur and he could injure himself pretty badly if he falls and hits his head or something. 

If he wants to do it dynamically out of the water and wants to do the walking thing, then he could give it a try at a (grass) ball field.  Sit on a bench, breath up and hold till the first contraction.  When he feels the first contraction, get up and start walking in a straight line.  Stop and mark the spot where he finally takes a breath.  The aim is to increase the distance he travels. 

good luck,
Nate

Dern sailfish, 2 minute down time working underwater is outstanding, there are a couple of devices out there to help out with breath hold diving, the one that comes to mind is a device you breath through with some restriction to it, it's like lifting weights for the lungs, can't remember the name of it but they are available on ebay. The other thing I would recommend if he really is getting into it is to do Kirk Krack's freedive course, the folks I know who have taken it have allot of good things to say about the class and it's more than learning how to clear your ears properly. Hope this info helps in some way,

Interesting article on breath holding technique:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/10/30/how-to-hold-your-breath/

there are a couple of devices out there to help out with breath hold diving, the one that comes to mind is a device you breath through with some restriction to it, it's like lifting weights for the lungs, can't remember the name of it but they are available on ebay. The other thing I would recommend if he really is getting into it is to do Kirk Krack's freedive course, the folks I know who have taken it have allot of good things to say about the class and it's more than learning how to clear your ears properly. Hope this info helps in some way,

The two main products you reference on the market are the expand-a-lung & power lung.  There's a lot of debate on the effectiveness of these tools in the freediving arena.  They're designed to develop your lungs to be capable of moving oxygen rapidly and forcefully.  Most agree that these tools may strengthen the diaphram & intercostal muscles; however, in freediving, flexibility is more important than strength.  While it may allow you to move oxygen a bit quicker under duress, much of that does not translate into freediving performance.  You're probably better off doing some stretching and apnea table training.

Freediving courses are great for a number of reasons.  
 - They teach you proper safety, both for yourself and helping others.  
 - They help you understand the physiology that transpires pre-dive, during, & post-dive.  
 - They teach you proper form, techinques, weighting, protocols, etc.

thanks for the input folks.

We did take a free dive class and between the book and course, we felt more confident.  The instructor had us hold our breath for a minute and told us to go as far as we felt comfortable.  Most of us raised our heads at the minute or minute 15 second.  One guy went for 2.5 minutes.  I think that is what juiced Nathans competitive side.

I'd have him just enjoy the diving for now.  He'll get more comfortable in the water and will progress naturally.  A young man who is naturally competitive and focused on increasing his breathhold time... may not be the best way to get started in the sport.