Quote:
Originally posted by melarvie
Judging from your intelligent post it is apparent that prolonged apnea is indeed not harmful, and probably, beneficial
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Win Wenger, an accelerated learning guru and author of many books on maximizing human intellectual performance (including "The Einstein Factor", "Beyond Teaching and Learning", and "How to Increase your Intelligence") maintains that dynamic AND static apnea are the most effective methods of improving the physical condition of the brain.
Forgive my non-scientific explanation, but Dr. Wenger states that the Carotid arteries (which feed blood to the brain) expand in response to increased levels of CO2. The long-term effect of CO2 enrichment of the blood (brought on by apnea) is a permanent increase in the diameter of the Carotid arteries. This, he claims, has the effect of permanently improving the brain's circulation.
Dr. Wenger also relates a major shift in his intellectual ability to the time when he began dynamic apnea training (for fun) during the summer of 1959, when he had to take summer classes to make up for failing grades in highschool.
Without sounding like a boastful idiot (I hope), I'd also like to relate my "long-term" experience with apnea training. I started apnea training (after reading Dr. Wenger's book) when I nearly failed out of highschool. I'm definitely not an apnea superstar. After training off and on for a few years, I can handle about 1:30 dynamic and 3:30 static (pool training), but I did it to improve my mental faculties, not to compete with the super freediver studs who frequent this forum.
What was remarkable (forgive my loose cause-and-effect) was the change in my academic and intellectual performance thereafter. I went from a below average student in highschool to a top 5 graduate at my University, and actually qualified for a MENSA membership last year. It sounds crazy, but I am certain that apnea training contributed to this. In short, I think you are 100% correct in your statement.
