How can I learn to hold my breath longer underwater?
354461
General exercise such as running and aerobics increase lung volume.\nPractice will also dramatically improve how long you can hold your breath.
236844
try drinking water upside down.  You can also hold your breath and chug water at the same time.
435081
The only way to float is to just relax yourself completely. If you are tense or afraid, you will not float well. Lay back and close your eyes and just relax. you will float naturally. Oh... holding onto a wall will not really help. If you live in Florida near me, I would be happy to help ya! If I can get my son to relax as afraid of the water as he was.... I can get you to!
155146
hold your breath for 17 seconds,drink a cup of warm water really fast and hold your breath,or have someone scare the hell outa ya allways works
294330
Take a deep breath, without blowing drink a big cup of water holding yet your breath.\n\nThat always does the trick at home.
460762
Start in the shallow end, then slowsly move to areas of the pool that are increasing deep, you'll learn to keep yourself afloat when you go under, if u go under u simply just push off the buttem of the pool... be carefull though, have a friend or life gaurd around, and dont try it in the deep part first, you can die... even with a friends help
275567
breath in deep and hold as long as you can.\nit works.
645144
you could breathe through a tube down as deep as perhaps one atmosphere.  beyond that the surrounding water pressure on your chest would prohibit you from taking a breath from surface air.
417041
Hi Steve, I had the same idea when I was about 8 years old and I can tell you from experience - it doesn't work!!  The increased pressure from the water pushing on your body makes it impossible to inhale from the hose.  Your lungs are designed to work at 1 atmosphere of pressure and they just are not efficient enough to suck in air like that while underwater.  It could also be very dangerous for someone who is not properly trained to breath off any air supply while submerged, if you were to hold your breath and ascend, your lungs would burst from the increased volume of air which would cause an injury called an Embolism - not a good thing!
889968
First of all, breathing every third or more strokes is only good for SPRINT swimming. This means short or a few lengths, say 25, 50 or 100m. \n\nIf you have to swim middle or long distance, your body needs more oxygen. That's why you are tired after so many lengths.\n\nMy suggestions to get the most out of your every breath:\n\n(1) Exhale when your face is submerged under water. Use your mouth to blow all the air out of lungs. This way you will breathe in more oxygen when you inhale.\n\n(2) Do bi-lateral breathing. Alternate your breathing side every third stroke. For example, breathe on your right side, then on your left side, then back on your right side, and so on. \n\nIn the beginning, practice bi-lateral breathing on one length of the pool, when you push off. Do normal breaths on the return trip. When you can do bi-lateral breathing on both lengths of the pool many times, that's the time you can TRY to inhale every four, or six strokes.\n\n(3) Increase the efficiency of your lungs by doing diaphragmatic breathing. This is deep breathing by flexing your diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly through your rib cage.\n\nDo this exercise while sitting or lying. Put your hand on you stomach. Inhale, and feel your stomach expand with your hand. Exhale through your mouth.\n\n(4) The legs are composed of big and long muscles that tire easily, hence they need more O2. Try to decrease your kick rate, and to improve your hand stroke to increase your speed.\n\n(5) Practice using hypoxic training. See the link (source) for  more info.
94566
Hold your breath for as long as you can, drink water upside down or rightside up, or suck on a sugar cube. Just drinking water or holding my breath usually works for me.
688795
don't panic and thrash around.\ncalm down.\ndon't scream while you swim.\nyou should first practice floating for a while.\nthen pracitce strokes.\nemail me.
462306
like all natural things there is a resource of oxygen stored in our boby in form of water... if the body is short of oxygen the body tries to convert water into oxygen thus stop from dieing... \n\nwhen you hold your breath initially there is a shortage of air in the body you get unconscious during this period the body starts to convert some amount of water into oxygen... and waits for our body to get external air... \n\nthis is a slow process and if your body is not strong enough to resist... then you can even die immediately...
522290
Easest way to learn to swim is underwater. Tell them to hold their breath....go under and kick their legs as fast as they can....show them the movements to make with the hands.\n\nI was pushed in the "Deep End" when I was 6...I had to swim or drown...I chose to swim.
1064470
The question is how deeply do you want to breath the next stroke.. that should be determining how much you exhale\n\nIf you are recovering or starting a very long race.. you should breath and exhale deeply\n\nIf you are sprinting or getting ready for the end.. you should breath less and so you have to hold your breath\n\nCollege sprinters dont breath for a whole 50 yrds, but distance swimmers breath every 2 strokes... it varies\n\nOne thing for sure you dont want to be doing, is exhaling when your mouth is outside of the water.. cause that means you are taking time out of when you can breath.. and so you slow down to breath
194659
My mother told me to drink water but i prefer holding breath. Hiccup appeared because of lack of oxygen, i think, so holding ur breath will be good. Hold for 10 seconds and do it for3 to 5 times and it will be cured!!!
19709
"the longest that humans can hold their breath for is about 2 1/2 minutes, and this is for pearl divers who make a living by holding their breath underwater. Most of us can only hold our breath for 1 minute."  (see Source)\n\nI think that there are extremes (world record holders) that are nowhere near the average.\n\nI read somewhere that there's a trick to holding your breath for a long time, and it is to eliminate the nitrogen from your body.  I forget how you do it (sorry), but the point was that it's the presence of nitrogen, not the absence of oxygen, that causes the FIRST problem for humans.