effects of cold on blackout

[anarkhos]

hi,
i heard from a doctor that, cold made the blood stream to the brain slow down. to what degree this holds true, and how could this contribute to a blackout or lmb?

 

[naiad]

I find that the cold makes a huge difference to whether I am susceptible to blackouts. When I am at a comfortable temperature, eg when I am doing dry statics, it is very unlikely that I will have any problems, even if I am going for a PB. When I am cold it is a different story. I had a major blackout + LMC, well within my limits, on a day when everything was going perfectly well up to that point, and the only thing that I think caused it was the cold. I was a normal colour when rescued, not seriously blue, so I couldn't have been too low on O2, and it was a time I had done literally hundreds of times in dry training without any trouble, about 1:00 less than my PB at the time.

I haven't heard much about this problem, but for me, the cold/blackout connection is ruining my freediving. It is something I am working on, and I will post updates on anything I discover.

Lucia

 

[Chavez]

1. Cold makes you uncomfortable, so you can't relax very well.
2. You body needs to "burn" more energy to keep his temperature. For burning energy you need o2.
3. Sometimes you are shivering and your teeth begin to rattle so there's work and burning o2 as well I guess

These might seem like minor aspects but as far as I know and I' ve heard these little factors have a not negligible impact on your performance.
Cheers,
Chavez