Freediving is not bad for your brain although it does place great pressure on the whole body and more research is needed. The body’s inbuilt protection systems defend the brain from the low oxygen levels which can cause damage. Freedivers can protect themselves even more by training well and following safety guidance in order to avoid the kinds of accidents and injuries which could lead to brain damage.
Freediving supports general physical and mental health and is not bad for your brain when correct training and good safety procedures are followed. More research is needed to understand freediving science. With proper guidance and technique, apnea (breath-holding) can be a healthy practice and does not appear to cause brain damage. In blackouts due to breath-holding, automatic physiological mechanisms restart breathing before brain damage occurs.
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The fact that freediving involves such extensive breath-holding might lead you to wonder whether it could cause oxygen deprivation and brain damage. Our article tells you all about the effects of freediving on the brain, the health of freedivers, and the risks and benefits of apnea training.
Can freediving cause brain damage?
When training is undertaken and safety guidance is observed, freediving can be a very safe sport. Only one person has died during a freediving competition. Although a higher number die each year during recreational freediving, this is often a result of lack of preparation or experience, or failure to observe key safety measures.
Freediving places massive pressures on the body, including the cardiovascular system which supplies oxygen to the brain through the bloodstream. Blackouts are possible when oxygen levels in the blood get too low. Trained and experienced freedivers may have higher lung capacity and use oxygen more efficiently, enabling them to safely undertake longer, deeper dives without blacking out. Beginners should be far more cautious.
Oxygen deprivation, brain damage and death by drowning would all be possible if you freedived to a depth from which you were unable to ascend quickly enough and lost consciousness in deep water. You could be similarly affected if you blacked out at the surface without a diving buddy to make sure your face was out of the water.
Brain injury might also arise if practicing dry static or dynamic apnea exercises in an unsafe way where you could fall and hit your head.
The risk of cumulative brain damage from freediving in the longer term cannot be ruled out but more research is needed.
To avoid brain damage and other risks, always freedive (or practice dynamic apnea) with a buddy, complete a thorough course of freediving training, and choose dive depths and timings commensurate with your experience and ability.
For further details on the effect diving has on your body, check out our article; what happens to your body when you freedive (opens new tab).
Can you lose brain cells from holding your breath?
Loss of brain cells from holding your breath seems unlikely. While brain cells are very sensitive to hypoxia (low oxygen levels) the body has its own internal guard mechanisms which act to protect the brain and restart breathing long before brain cells might be lost.
Some research found that freedivers had transient minor elevation of a protein associated with brain damage immediately after a breath-hold. However, this did not reach levels high enough to indicate actual damage and resolved itself within hours. We do not know how repeated elevations of this sort might affect the brain in the longer term and more research is needed.
Is free diving unhealthy?
Freediving can be a very healthy sport when practiced in line with safety guidance and mastery of physical techniques including apnea and ear pressure equalization. It involves both aerobic and anaerobic activity, challenging the body in multiple ways and developing high levels of both physical and mental fitness and flexibility.
Some medical conditions can make freediving dangerous. Those with lung, heart and other relevant conditions should consult their doctor before attempting this sport. You should also never freedive with a cold.
Are free divers healthy?
Freediving is demanding exercise and freedivers are generally healthy and fit. At competitive freediving level, participants are extremely fit. Taking part in freediving can enhance fitness even in those who are already in good physical form. Elite athletes undertaking freediving breath training were reportedly able to boost lung function by 10%.
With its profile of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, freediving burns a high number of calories and overweight beginner divers may lose excess weight quickly.
How long can you hold your breath until brain damage?
While we know that brain damage can occur within a minute after someone stops breathing, with serious levels of damage likely after five to ten minutes, this information is not necessarily relevant to freedive breath-holding. The record for the longest breath-hold is actually 24 minutes and 37 seconds, set by freediver Budimir Šobat in March 2021!
Trained and experienced freedivers can often safely hold their breath longer than average human beings. While we can’t yet entirely explain the exceptional abilities of someone like Budimir Šobat, there are a range of factors governing how long someone can hold their breath without experiencing brain damage. These factors include:
- Being underwater. The ‘Mammalian dive reflex’ (MDR) allows humans and other mammals to hold our breath longer underwater than when on land.
- Personal physical characteristics. Weight, height, age lung volume etc.. can all influence breath-holding capability.
- Environmental factors: water temperature and quality may play a role.
- Training: apnea training enables your body to adapt to low oxygen conditions and to use oxygen more efficiently.
- Breathing technique: breath-up preparation before a dive is important for breath-holding, as is learning segmented breathing which allows you to completely fill your lungs before holding your breath.
- Relaxation: remaining calm and resisting the urge to struggle or panic while breath-holding will reduce the amount of oxygen your body and brain need to use and allow a longer breath-hold.
Is apnea training bad for you?
Apnea training is not bad for you when practiced safely and in line with proper guidance. Breath-holding may actually boost health in both freedivers and non-freedivers.
Holding your breath doesn’t cause brain damage because the human body has a number of natural defense mechanisms which protect the brain in apnea conditions. For example:
- Bradycardia and peripheral vasoconstriction. During apnea, the heart rate slows and blood flow increases to the brain and other vital organs at the expense of extremities such as hands and feet, which will experience decreased blood flow.
- Inhalation reflex. While breath-holding, carbon dioxide levels rise in the bloodstream, and this can automatically trigger breathing, causing people to inhale and take in more oxygen. This reflex will be triggered by carbon dioxide long before brain damage from lack of oxygen occurs.
- Unconsciousness reset. If your oxygen levels fall below a certain level, you may black out and lose consciousness. This allows the automatic breathing reflex to kick in.
Is holding your breath bad for you freediving?
Holding your breath is not bad for you while freediving – it is essential. Preparing your breathing, taking a deep breath and holding it throughout descent and ascent are key elements of freediving.
References
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804071410.htm
https://www.livescience.com/divers-brain-oxygen-level-lower-seals.html
https://williams.eeb.ucsc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1-s2.0-S1095643304001515-main.pdf