Quote:
Originally Posted by efattah
- Packing your lungs? ...
...
- Hyperventilating changes your comfort level while breath-holding. It has only a small effect on the time at which you will black out. ...
|
Besides what Eric wrote, I 'd also insist on reading the links I posted and reading also about security and health risks of these techniques.
And there is another important effect of both techniques that is being often ignored - they both negatively influence Diving Reflex (again read the mentioned links for more info on it). So at someone who is trying to learn freediving it may prevent the body from learning quick and strong DR. Although DR is more or less present almost at everybody, the time to kick in and its strength depend on training and the experience of the body with it - they are simply more pronounced at regular freedivers. If you learn using wrong techniques, your DR may never get strong enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by efattah
Caffeine has generally a negative effect, but this negative effect can be manipulated by an expert, sometimes to his advantage (way too complicated at your level).
|
That's quite an interesting claim and I would like to hear more about it. Do you mean, Eric, reversing the effect by properly timing the drug application, using the consequent abstinence effect? Or do you mean using the high blood pressure caused by caffeine, while suppressing other negative effects (diuretic, heart rate, vasopressin suppression) somehow (with other drugs)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by efattah
Alcohol can have a positive effect if taken right before (just minutes before), otherwise the dehydration has generally a negative effect. Hydration is extremely important. Alcohol should never ever be taken before a deep dive in the ocean because it worsens the narcosis.
|
Yes, there are some positive effects, but again alcohol, just like caffeine suppresses vasopressin secretion, hence hindering Diving Reflex and therefore increasing O2 consumption. It also has dehydration effects. I am not quite sure what the combined result of those effects would be, and it also may very much differ under various conditions and also at each individual, but I am not at all sure that the final effect would be necessarily positive.
I understand that we speak here about extreme situations and possibly life-threatening ones (if it is in real combat), so one has to consider even dangerous techniques and possibly even drugs, but I would probably rather suggest focusing on good psychological preparation, relaxation, training for maximizing the Diving Reflex and classical freediving training methods. The effect of drugs, and especially the extent of the effect is not always well predictable, and can mess up with natural reflexes and processes, or with the psychics quite negatively even if the physiological effect were positive.
