[SThompson]

This is the kind of post that I love to see on the board. Reasoning behind a proposed theory, and the possible practical application of said theory. Bravo!

One thing I would note: it seems to me that the time to resaturate the body tissues back to their normal "resting state" CO2 levels would be much shorter than the initial breathing required to lower it. The circulation of the blood through the body combined with the atmospheric partial pressures of surrounding CO2 provides a really good diffusion rate to force the CO2 back into the tissues. The 5 minute CO2 tables may be too much. You may need to cut back to 3 minutes to get the optimal. This is only a thought, but I am wary to think that the time to release the CO2 is at a 1:1 ratio with the time to reabsorb it into body tissues.

I think of it this way. The removing of CO2 from the tissues through deep breathing techniques is like doing work to move a rock uphill. You are adding enough energy to the system to not only move the rock, but to overcome gravity. However, moving the rock to the bottom of the hill much less energy/time is required as gravity is adding to the movement.

Ok that is a really bad analogy, but hopefully you get the gist of it.

Maybe a better analogy would be in nitrogen saturation at depth on scuba. It doesn't take long to saturate the tissues, but it takes a looooonnnggggg time even at the surface to release it again.

My 2 cents,