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SEEKING factual statistics on % of normal population who can hold breath for longer than 2 & 3 mins

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Daniel Trotter

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May 16, 2018
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Hi GURU's, Dive Scientists and Dive Doctors,

This is my 1st post, so please excuse me if this has been answered elsewhere, I have searched the forums but couldn't find the answers I am looking for.

I am SEEKING factual statistics on % of the normal population who woul be capable of breath hold longer than 2 & 3 mins (respectively) after a day of professional training.

We are researching statistics for a film we are producing about fear.

If anyone has any insight on where these stats may be available, we'd really appreciate it.

Has the data from AIDA or APNEA training been collated anywhere?

Cheers

Dan
 
Many of my beginning students have some dive experience (ie recreational spearfishing) so they might count as 'normal population' but the majority of students with zero dive background hold their breath for more than two minutes and a lot of them can do more than 3, all in the first day.

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Many of my beginning students have some dive experience (ie recreational spearfishing) so they might count as 'normal population' but the majority of students with zero dive background hold their breath for more than two minutes and a lot of them can do more than 3, all in the first day.

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Thanks for your insight, I've spoken to a number of Free Dive Instructors in Australia,, and the same answer comes back;

Physically almost 100% of the normal healthy population will be able to achieve a 2 minute breath-hold after a day of training. Reality is that 90 - 95% can and do, with the other 5 - 10% blocked by mental restrictions.

At 3 minutes this falls back to somewhere between 80-90% of the normal population can physically achieve - but the reality is 60% can only mentally achieve this.

Guess what I am hoping for is some hard facts or research to back up these statements. We need to be able to publish referenced fiugures.

Keen to share the finished film once it is complete,

Cheers
 
That sounds about right but while I agree that maybe only 60% can mentally achieve 3 mins, I think physically that number among healthy adults is above 90%, with the physical limit being BO or samba.

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Not statistics as such but this is a seminar slide from Erika Schagatay's seminar where she had done estimates on breathhold capabilities of untrained vs trained divers.

Normal average person was calculated to be at max 3:30 static before BO.
 

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I’d say 11,5min before BO is pretty much even for the experienced diver.
 
I’d say 11,5min before BO is pretty much even for the experienced diver.

That's maybe a bit misleading headline - it was more about calculating the limit of what is possible within human limitations, it's surprisingly close to actual WR.

It shows quite nicely how it's built up - you need to pack 2x as much air into lungs (10-12l), have higher hemoglobin and blood volume (higher O2 content), adapt the spleen (more RBC storage), lower your O2 consumption (stronger dive reflex) and have better hypoxia tolerance (BO at 30% SAO2 vs 50% for untrained)
 
Yes it is possible, but considering there is only 2 people on the planet that have made it past 11 min I'd say it takes hell of a lot more than the average "trained diver" to go there! I'd say even half that takes more than the average "trained diver". :)
 
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I've tested 91 medicine students (19-20 years old, both males and females). They did dry breathold in a sitting position, no warm up or hyperventilation, moderate inhale. They had no experience in diving or breath holding. Most of them were quite stressed, so the conditions were pretty hard. You can see the results below.
 

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I've tested 91 medicine students (19-20 years old, both males and females). They did dry breathold in a sitting position, no warm up or hyperventilation, moderate inhale. They had no experience in diving or breath holding. Most of them were quite stressed, so the conditions were pretty hard. You can see the results below.

Those results looks like what I would expect, the average looks to be about 60-100secs. But that's the average joe.

I just don't think it's linear when you continue up the scale. I don't think the average "trained diver", or even the average "world class expert diver" could hold 11.5min before BO. No way. There are a few that are up there, but they are extremes.
 
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