Medically Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD on April 08, 2021 There are many reasons why you may hold your breath. You may hold your breath while swimming, before playing a wind instrument, or just to see how long you can hold it. It's hard to hold your
breath for long periods of time because your body needs oxygen, and it gets it by breathing. You don't have to think about breathing. Your body breathes automatically. Holding your breath goes against what your body is designed to do. The first thing that happens when you hold your breath is oxygen levels decrease. Then, carbon dioxide levels increase because your body gets rid of that
gas by breathing out. This state is called hypoxia. After just a minute or two, your cells start to behave differently than they normally would. This can affect all of your organs. If you hold your breath for too long it can cause your heart to start beating irregularly. It can damage your kidneys and
liver. Holding your breath also causes the amount of carbon dioxide building up in your body to cross the blood-brain barrier. Your brain notices this change and increases your body's desire to inhale and exhale. If you still don't breathe at this point, you can have a seizure,
faint, or even injure your brain. If you hold your breath for too long you may pass out. The risks of passing out include hitting your head or injuring yourself while falling. If someone you are with passes out from holding their breath and they don't wake up in a few seconds, they may
need emergency medical attention immediately. If they are not breathing, start CPR and call 911. If they are breathing and are not injured, lay them on their back and hold their legs up at least 1 foot in the air. If they do not wake up after 1 minute of this, call 911. Holding your breath for too long underwater, especially while alone, can lead to fainting or blacking out while you are still underwater. This can happen even if you are in shallow water. This phenomenon is called a
shallow water blackout or hypoxic blackout. At that point, your body's drive to breathe will take over, and you can inhale water, potentially leading to drowning. That's why you should always go swimming with someone else, make sure you know how to swim properly, and swim in areas where there are lifeguards if possible. Certain people, especially those native to
mountainous areas, may be able to hold their breath for longer due to genetics and their environment. One study showed that Himalayan highlanders reacted differently to hypoxia than people from lower altitudes. These differences showed they were better adapted to live at higher altitudes where the air is thinner and there is less oxygen. Some people from the Bajau culture in Southeast Asia spend up to five hours of their day diving down as deep as 230 feet with no wetsuit or oxygen
tank. A study found they have spleens 50% larger than usual. Their large spleens store more oxygen-rich blood cells than the average person, allowing them to hold their breath longer underwater to collect fish, shellfish, and other objects. A Spanish free diver, Aleix Segura Vendrell, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest time holding one's breath voluntarily. On February 28, 2016, he held his breath for 24 minutes and 3.45 seconds. In order to
achieve such a result, divers and extreme breath holders inhale pure oxygen for several minutes before their attempt. The longest instance of someone holding their breath without inhaling pure oxygen beforehand is 11 minutes and 34 seconds. However, most people can only safely hold their breath for 1 to 2 minutes. The amount of time you can comfortably and safely hold your breath depends on your specific body and genetics. Do not attempt to hold it for longer than 2 minutes if you are not experienced, especially underwater. Are There Any Benefits to Holding Your Breath?Some preliminary animal studies show that holding your breath may help to regenerate damaged brain tissue. Using certain breathing techniques, some of which include holding your breath, may lower inflammation. Some breathing exercises that involve holding your breath for several seconds can be part of regular relaxation practice. It may also help you to improve the health of your cardiovascular system.  If you watched illusionist David Blaine sail via balloons into the lofty heights of commercial air space in early September, you might recall that he once held his breath for more than 17 minutes. Does that seem safe in any way? (Or even possible?) In general, what happens to our bodies when we try to hold our breath? That depends on our own bodies and, obviously, the length of time we try to do it. When we hold our breath for short durations, our bodies are equipped to make short-term compensations to keep all the organs working and all the functions continuing. In a simplified sense, our bodies are made of millions of microscopic cells that are like batteries with salt solutions separated by films, or barriers. The movement of these salts across the barriers generates charge. That energy is the essence of life that allows the cells to talk to each other and maintain all the bodily functions. When we hold out breath for long durations, oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide accumulates in the body. That changes the concentration of free hydrogen ions, which makes these cells more excitable, leading to abnormal functions. For most people, it’s safe to hold your breath for a minute or two. Doing so for too much longer can decrease oxygen flow to the brain, causing fainting, seizures and brain damage. In the heart, a lack of oxygen can cause abnormalities of rhythm and affect the pumping action of the heart. It can damage your kidneys and liver as well. Let’s discuss what this action does to our brain. The brain has a trillion neurons—specialized collections of nerve cells—and is an extremely energy-dependent organ. When we hold our breath, the carbon dioxide that accumulates is soluble and crosses the blood-brain barrier. There are certain parts of the brain that control respiration, or breathing, which are exquisitely sensitive to pH, the concentration of free hydrogen ions in blood. When the brain senses the change in pH due to increased carbon dioxide, it increases our respiratory drive instinctively to get more oxygen and blow out more carbon dioxide in an attempt to restore the normal balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide. When this protective mechanism is absent or disrupted, people can faint, have seizures or suffer brain injury. That’s why our bodies naturally resist our desire to hold our breath. We’re all given strong drives to breathe, and the brain is constantly monitoring and makes quick adjustments to prevent catastrophes. Certain native populations living high up in the mountains, such as people living in the Himalayas, Andes and Rocky mountains, have over the years developed a higher tolerance, as the air is thin and oxygen is at lower concentration at these altitudes. You also see professionals such as deep-sea divers who practice breathing techniques to help them perform jobs in which they’ll encounter a lack of oxygen. These techniques shouldn’t be practiced by inexperienced people, especially children who might be fascinated by the thought of holding their breath. Why bother? Just breathe in the fresh air. It’s one of nature’s blessings. Kiran Rajneesh is director of the Neurological Pain Division in the Department of Neurology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He’s also part of the Comprehensive Spine and Pain Centers in the Neurological Institute at The Ohio State University. Visit Ohio State Health & Discovery for more stories on health, wellness, innovation, research and science news from the experts at Ohio State.Check out health.osu.edu |
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