Is my breathing pattern proper?

[Nitrox_DiverNY]

Hello all, I wanted to ask about my breathing pattern to see if I need to make any improvement to make my diving safer and more enjoyable. I have about 15 dives logged, and my typical breathing while on Scuba looks like this. (Long slow-medium inhale, 1-2 second pause, long slow-medium exhale, 1-2 second pause.)

Is that 2 second pause in breathing considered breath hold or skip breathing ? I find that without that pause I start to hyperventilate and that leads to some very mild anxiety. When making your ascent does that brief pause in breathing pose any risk to over expansion injuries?

I have not had any headaches after most of the dives so I assume that with my current breathing pattern I assume that I am not retaining co2.

Any tips on how to improve on my breathing and to eliminate any hyperventilation anxiety would be awesome, thanks all!

 

[Lorenzoid]

I would advise to inhale and exhale fully and steadily but nothing special beyond that. Don't try to exaggerate how deeply or slowly you breathe. Do not pause after the inhalation. Rather, try to keep the same cadence as you breathe on the surface when you are relaxed.

 

[GreggS]

^^I agreed with this^^. Pausing for a second or 2 in the exhale won't cause a problem. I do it myself, not intentionally, it's just part of my regular breathing pattern. But to pause on the inhale with full lungs, may cause damage, especially when ascending. Even the slight ascent that is normal on an inhale has the potential to cause lung damage when you have lungs full of air. Breathe normally. As you gain more experience, your breathing pattern will naturally slow down as you get more relaxed to breathing underwater. You may think you are relaxed now, but the fact you are asking this question indicates to me otherwise. Be patient, you'll get there.

 

[M-Cameron]

breath fully, but normally.

pausing, holding your breath, or skip breathing can all cause issues...mainly it exacerbates CO2 buildup, which can cause rapid breathing, and a feeling like you are unable to catch your breath....

when you hear people claim "i am out breathing my reg" or "my reg doesnt give me enough air".....thats likely due to CO2 buildup, which is caused by working too hard, or by not inhaling/ exhaling fully.

these effects are compounded by depth.

 

[Nitrox_DiverNY]

I would advise to inhale and exhale fully and steadily but nothing special beyond that. Don't try to exaggerate how deeply or slowly you breathe. Do not pause after the inhalation. Rather, try to keep the same cadence as you breathe on the surface when you are relaxed.

thanks for the reply , Ill keep this mind and try it out on the next dive! Safe diving!

 

[Nitrox_DiverNY]

^^I agreed with this^^. Pausing for a second or 2 in the exhale won't cause a problem. I do it myself, not intentionally, it's just part of my regular breathing pattern. But to pause on the inhale with full lungs, may cause damage, especially when ascending. Even the slight ascent that is normal on an inhale has the potential to cause lung damage when you have lungs full of air. Breathe normally. As you gain more experience, your breathing pattern will naturally slow down as you get more relaxed to breathing underwater. You may think you are relaxed now, but the fact you are asking this question indicates to me otherwise. Be patient, you'll get there.

hey thanks for the reply, on the next dive im going to try and get rid of that pause after the inhale, definitely don't want to do any lung damage! Does that mean if you are in a controlled ascent, say following a computer while holding on a mooring line, you can get a over expansion injury by taking a breath in (not holding it) and ascending?

 

[Nitrox_DiverNY]

breath fully, but normally.

pausing, holding your breath, or skip breathing can all cause issues...mainly it exacerbates CO2 buildup, which can cause rapid breathing, and a feeling like you are unable to catch your breath....

when you hear people claim "i am out breathing my reg" or "my reg doesnt give me enough air".....thats likely due to CO2 buildup, which is caused by working too hard, or by not inhaling/ exhaling fully.

these effects are compounded by depth.

100% good to know, thanks for your input!

 

[M-Cameron]

Does that mean if you are in a controlled ascent, say following a computer while holding on a mooring line, you can get a over expansion injury by taking a breath in and ascending? or does keeping the airway open while breathing in or out eliminate the high risk of over expansion?

if you are in a controlled ascent, you should not experience any lung expansion injuries by breathing normally....you should be ascending too slowly to cause an injury in the normal amount of time it takes you to inhale and begin your exhale.

however, if you are breathing in (open airway), and shooting to the surface uncontrollably, i am not sure if your lungs will vent while inhaling...i dont quite know the mechanism of the lungs well enough....but im going to go out on a limb and not recommend anyone try.

 

[Nitrox_DiverNY]

ok cool, thanks

 

[GreggS]

hey thanks for the reply, on the next dive im going to try and get rid of that pause after the inhale, definitely don't want to do any lung damage! Does that mean if you are in a controlled ascent, say following a computer while holding on a mooring line, you can get a over expansion injury by taking a breath in (not holding it) and ascending?

I see @M-Cameron has already replied to your question which is just the way I would have answered. So I'll leave it at that.