Underwater Breath Hold for 10 Minutes

10 MINUTES UNDERWATER I was asked to participate in a visual art project. The aim of the project was to stay underwater for 10 minutes, without the use of any goggles, nose clip or wetsuit (and without breathing off course). I can hold my breath for quite some time, but 10 minutes seemed impossible. Even more so because the current AIDA world record for the longest static breath hold is only 1 minute and 35 seconds more (http://www.aidainternational.org/competitive/worlds-records). Also, regular breath hold attempts are executed lying flat and face down on the surface of the water, in order to relax as much as possible. The only option to make this project a succes was using pure oxygen during my preparation. This video shows the first attempt using pure O2, so we could see how I would response to inhaling only two single breaths of pure O2. I expected to do a five minute dive, but to my surprise I managed to do 10 minutes. And that on only two breaths of pure oxygen. 8 MINUTES The first official attempt failed because of the cold water. This caused contractions I couldn't cope with, so I had to abort the attempt. During this dive, my heart rate and oxygenation were monitored: https://youtu.be/hDCbatuIiQY 11 MINUTES The second attempt was done in warmer water, but unfortunately, the camera settings were way off so the footage wasn't usable. It was the most relaxed attempt of all, and I managed to do the 10 minutes. After that I turned around and swam away from the camera. The total dive time during this attempt was around 11 minutes. https://youtu.be/sIZJqaPBskw The link to the final project as broadcasted on AT5 (Amsterdam Television): https://youtu.be/WSj7PgdNLnM "Borrowed Time" is a film by Semâ Bekirovic (semabekirovic.nl), and is an empathy test by means of dyspnoea, the distressing awareness of the process of (not) breathing. BREATH HOLDING WORD RECORD The current AIDA world record for static apnea (STA) is still 11 min 35 sec. There are some people who have held their breath longer, but for these attempts pure oxygen was used or they were not performed under AIDA regulations. Goran Čolak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA7Q3I9lde4 Stig Severinsen:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqERqQj-ozc

Comments

1. Phénoménal d'endurance, de courage, d'acceptation de l'extrême souffrance...fascinant pour tout dire.
2. Impressive. I also did a breathold 5 years ago when I pre-breathed oxygen for 2 minutes. I reached 10m25s and it was surreal! I get felt no need to breathe at all from 2mins to 7mins and felt I could stay under forever! A buddy who was practising with me reach over 12mins. Keep it up - and keep pushing the envelope.