How to Breathe Underwater
The ability to breathe underwater has many advantages. For instance, you will be able to swim faster if you take less breaths in competition. You can also use this skill in emergency situations to save yourself from drowning or save another person from imminent danger. If you’d like to know how to breathe underwater, here are some tips you can follow:
Improve your stamina.
If you’d like to last longer underwater, you need to improve your stamina through proper conditioning. The more time you devote to exercise, the greater your stamina will be. You can hit the road for some running or brisk walking. You can also venture into sports such as basketball or soccer. These activities will improve the functions of your organs and provide the proper blood circulation throughout your body.
Relax and everything else will follow.
The important thing in prolonging your underwater breathing is to relax. Tell yourself that everything is under your control. Before doing your warm-ups, go in and out of the water. This process is more known an “bobbing” and it allows you to concentrate on your breathing. Take small breaths as you go into the water then release all the air underwater. Go back on the surface to get some air and just steadily repeat the process.
Beware of apnea.
underwater breathingYou can lengthen the time you can hold your breath by exhaling extensively about five times more than usual. This type pf breathing technique reduces the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in your blood. When your CO2 level is down, you usually don’t have the desire to breathe or also called “apnea.” Be careful though since you can pass out in the water if you are not too careful. Make sure that you always have a companion with you.
There are many other ways to stay longer underwater such as using underwater breathing equipment for scuba diving. If and when you go scuba diving, you’ll have to use a tank with compressed air paired with a mouthpiece so that air will naturally flow from the tank to your lungs. You can also use a snorkeling gear.
Once you master the art of breathing underwater, you will improve your swimming skills and last in the water longer. So follow these tips now and help build your lungs and muscles.