Here’s What Holding Your Breath Does To Your Body

It's common to see how long you can hold your breath for, but how does your body know when you’re at your breaking point? In this episode of Human, Patrick explains why it comes down to what's in your blood.
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The whole point of breathing is so that our tissues can consume oxygen and glucose and turn them into energy, leaving water and carbon dioxide as waste products. This process called cellular respiration is essential to anything that breathes oxygen. And if our tissues don’t get enough oxygen, or experience hypoxia, they can start to die off or see other problems.
There are a bunch of reasons that a tissue might not get enough oxygen - like an iron deficiency might cause anemia, which means that less oxygen will be able to ride on each red blood cell and oxygenate your tissues. Hypoxia can also happen if there’s not enough blood flow to a tissue, like when an artery is too narrow and doesn’t deliver as much blood to its target tissue. Then there’s high altitude where oxygen isn’t as easily available.
High CO2 levels in our blood, or hypercapnia, can cause symptoms like headaches and dizziness, but also more severe symptoms like paranoia, irregular heartbeats, and seizures. Hypercapnia can happen without breath holding too, like if you’re in a submarine or just a stuffy room with the windows closed. Since neither hypoxia or hypercapnia are ideal, our bodies are constantly measuring and reacting to oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. That’s where the carotid bodies come in, receptors embedded in the carotid artery in your neck that are triggered by certain chemicals.
#breathing #co2 #human #physiology #seeker #humanseries
Read More:
Pushing the Limits of Extreme Breath-Holding
www.newyorker.com/tech/annals...
“Scientists have long speculated that what feel like physical limits are often merely warning signals generated by the brain’s protective circuitry. In the case of breath-holding, a spate of recent studies offers a glimpse of what it takes to tap into the hidden reserves beyond these boundaries-and what price you might pay for access.”
What’s the secret to holding your breath?
www.theguardian.com/science/2...
“While our ability to breath-hold may not be all that special, when we compare ourselves with other animals, it’s now proving very useful in one particular area of medicine.”
The Limits of Breath Holding
www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
“It's logical to think that the brain's need for oxygen is what limits how long people can hold their breath. Logical, but not the whole story.”
____________________
This Seeker health series will dive deep into the cellular structures, human systems, and overall anatomy that work together to keep our bodies going. Using the visual structure and quick pacing of Seeker’s Sick series, these human bio-focused episodes will give a new audience an inside look on what’s happening inside all of us.
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[@Corporis]

Host and writer here, bonus fun fact I learned during research: losing consciousness disqualifies you from winning breath holding events.

[@sheggle]

Well there goes my plan to set the breath holding record a few days before I would've died anyways

[@Lebro]

Breath taking, isn't it

[@RogerThings]

@@Lebro 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@derpferp4747]

You should do a follow up video on Wim Hof

[@cp37373]

This is false.

[@Master_Therion]

Average person: I can go almost a whole minute between breaths. Competitive freediver: Hold my breath.

[@haroldinho9930]

I believe free divers can breathe out CO2 into the water

[@Biociety]

Also some people have bigger air lung capacity, make it easier to hold their breath

[@caribbeanman3379]

I have done 5 minutes.

[@curiousadda5994]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIa8gX2wptmArJo

[@hamzasaud01]

I have done 4 minutes while not in water

[@yorusuyasoul69420]

I'm addicted to breathing please help

[@DeAthWaGer]

Just go cold turkey. You'll never have to worry about breathing again.

[@oisinau5402]

@@DeAthWaGer your life will change forever

[@Cat_in_Spacetime]

Addiction: A habit or practice that damages, jeopardizes or shortens one's life but when ceased causes trauma.

[@caz8135]

@@Cat_in_Spacetime yes. Oxygen is the source of aging. And yes. Not breathing to an extreme.extent causes trauma, for example drowning lol xD

[@marcusstuff5256]

Ok ok I'll help DONT BREATH

[@danceteras2884]

Imagine how many of our ancestors died from holding their breath voluntarily for evolution to develop a mechanism to stop that.

[@2KOOLURATOOLGaming]

XD

[@andreyrumming6842]

I hate that that is a completely valid point XD

[@dopplesoddner2899]

No people whose muscles were more efficient reproduced more therefore it was more preferred by natural selection

[@kissmyavacados]

I'm pretty sure evolution had air breathing down by the time humans crashed the party

[@VoiceChattin]

@@kissmyavacados that's still our ancestors

[@xywing123]

It helps a lot during nightmares and sleep paralysis (Or whatever you call being awake and seeing but being unable to move), happened a lot to me which pushed me to remember holding my breath in these scenarios. Increase the heart rate temporarily and wake up. Not a healthy solution but it's a solid one.

[@a-k9161]

You are lucky to have sleep paralysis.

[@yiyiyito]

Believe me if i fart next to you you wont wanna breath for about 5 minutes

[@accurategamer7085]

Make that an hour

[@anotherfoodvlogger2511]

Lmfao😆

[@Cat_in_Spacetime]

"Hypoxia" Hypo meaning Low Oxia meaning Oxygen

[@Corporis]

Presenting to the emergency room 👆

[@krejziks3398]

Holding my breath in sets while running improved my vo2 max drastically in short amount of time, also breathing only through nose no matter how difficult it is

[@calvinchandra6816]

Even during competition pace "running, cycling, boxing" you will still breath through nose or only nose during training

[@mrsleakyshit]

Mine keeps other people away from me, that’s for sure

[@suryanshumishra3484]

"I want to do something in youtube" "I have no job and money" "KZbin not giving views" "Ya I am worst than others" Help me 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@suryanshumishra3484]

"I want to do something in youtube" "I have no job and money" "KZbin not giving views" "Ya I am worst than others" Help me 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@jailsunny4952]

@@suryanshumishra3484 you have no "money" , as i can see you're commenting with something called money

[@zachcrawford5]

I was just thinking about this yesterday, since your blood gets rid of CO2 by dumping it into your lungs through diffusion, why does it stay in your blood when you are not breathing? Shouldn't it continue to diffuse into your lungs whether you are breathing or not, until the pressure from CO2 build up is high enough that you are forced to exhale? I thought maybe it was because blood can only diffuse C02 at lower pressures so I tried holding my breath with my lungs mostly empty, thinking that it would allow room for CO2 to exit to blood and build up in the lungs but I still got the same symptoms as a normal breath hold (a slight but steadily increasing burning sensation and an overpowering urge to start breathing again) and my lungs don't expand with new CO2 gas from my bloodstream while I was holding my breath (at least no noticeably. This makes me think there is a lot more going on than simple diffusion when it come to gas exchange in the lungs.

[@bernardvantonder7291]

I hoped there was more info about the effects of lower oxygen and higher CO2.

[@shrinivas105]

True video really sucked

[@sarakhalil5334]

Holding your breath for a few seconds can really help with shortness of breath when you are having an anxiety attack

[@vitorfernandes6747]

How? Can you explain how to

[@anandaditya479]

I would love if you can discuss about hypoxia induced stem cell production which is used in anti-aging research using oxygen therapy through hyperbolic chamber. I would like to know if we can achieve similar results with voluntary breath holding and doing aerobics.

[@Another_youtube_animator]

Got bored in my test today and held my breath for 1 minute and 37 seconds and I’m really proud of myself XD

[@ryanmcintyre3616]

Fun fact, when I was in elementary school, I learned I could make my face turn different colors. I did it using this simple hack doctors DON'T want you to know, I held my breath. When I showed off my talent to my friends, I pushed myself farther than I ever had before and...I woke up a minute or two later, I'm not exactly sure how much time passed because I didn't even remember passing out. So that's a few minutes of my life I'm not getting back

[@SethMacLeod95]

I did that a few times as a kid. Took 9-10 big deep breaths and stood up and held my breath as hard as I could and would pass out and go into Lala land lol

[@matyourin]

With some training I managed to hold my breath for about 2 min, then I start exhaling, holding breath, exhaling and so on - and was able to stretch it to 3:09 minutes before I had to breath in again. This is after being absolutely relaxed in bed. And I do 2-3 tries in advance (usually starting with 1 minute, then 1:30 minutes, then maybe 2 minutes)... so it gets a bit better after each try. But I never got beyond those 3:09 minutes....

[@vaughnordakowski8774]

Damn do you do a lot of cardio, the best I ever got was 2:20 seconds. I never tried the warm ups though

[@xcodychaosx]

Doing that wim huff :b

[@theonly9]

I was able to get to 4:00 out of water and 4:20 in water with about 6 months of training. It used to freak my mom out when I would get over 2 minutes in the pool. But she's a nurse/paramedic and scuba diver so I felt safe doing it with her around in the pool. I once swam 100 meters under water in a public lap pool, that was probably my most proud swimming accomplishment.

[@lightbeingpontifex]

What is the point of holding breath,,,? Besides having more carbon dioxide in your lungs,,,

[@vaughnordakowski8774]

@@lightbeingpontifex i think its just a cool measurement of where you are at in lung capacity. Wim hof uses it in part of his breathing techniques

[@the-umbrella-corporation]

At high attitude, the issue is with the pressure of the air as it relates to binding and releasing oxygen molecules, not percentage of oxygen in the air. The high altitude air is not low in oxygen, it is the partial pressure of the air which makes it harder to bind oxygen, deliver it to the tissues, and then release it.

[@ag135i]

Thanks gentle giant for the informative video I used to hold my breath for two minutes whenever I would get a chance or opportunity for time pass but I will stop doing it after watching your video how long can you hold your breath my gentle giant?.

[@cryptocurrency7062]

Thank you!

[@vitaminb4869]

Please make a related video about how long can a person survive in a concealed space? For example, people buried in an avalanche with a small air pocket (say, 200L air pocket). There are real world stats available, but most of them likely don't have any air pocket so they reflect the worst possible scenarios.

[@marcinwozniak6901]

"intentional breath holding, not choking..." XD Someone is not kinky at all :D

[@pyronymph-868]

Now all I can think of is the narrator choking😈

[@marcinwozniak6901]

@@pyronymph-868 Well that happens to me from time to time :D

[@ZMAN_420]

Great video!

[@aagamjain793]

Such a convinient machine

[@seafarr]

I am trying to find benefit with breath holds...I have starting doing 20 + minutes..32+ being my best...10 + most days. I feel fine but my wife is concerned I might be over doing it. I enjoy the meditative and deep peace it gives. I do not feel close to passing out but it gets the body although lucid into a space of not wanting or needing to breath . It's very strange and extremely relaxing. I love it and have developed it from the whm Hoff breathing practice. It's truely unbelievable what is possible if you decide to put your mind to it.

[@SethMacLeod95]

I love doing it especially after eating a large meal. I’m so full and I take the largest breath and hold it up to 120-130 . Then feel euphoric and relieved

[@umwha]

How does this work regarding the win hof method?

[@chair6180]

@4:07 So, does cardio exercises cause the body yo make more red blood cells then?

[@Amitdas-gk2it]

TY 😊

[@eamonshields2754]

The Human Body Is Amazing

[@rajendrakhanvilkar9362]

Great video

[@masterofpureawesome]

Was holding my breathe when I was looking through my recommended and found this

[@jakel8627]

Me: *holds breath* *loses consciousness* Me: *surprised pikachu face*

[@stefanklass6763]

I can hold my breath till I pass out. It’s very uncomfortable untill it isn’t.

[@Son_of_aesthetics]

Why? Any advantages or disadvantages?

[@SethMacLeod95]

😂😂😂 crazy crazy

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nice video.

[@RAVE_ZERO]

Distracting background music, suggestion: turn the volume down by half or remove it completely when you talk.

[@sythex92]

I forget to breathe when I'm super into a movie or game and all the sudden start gasping for air.. also.. you look like Stephen Amell -.-

[@Sketch1ish]

*Holding your breath during underwater scenes to see if you'd survive

[@MotherNaturesEdge]

I do this too! I'm really bad when I'm doing a painting, I hold my breath to keep from moving the canvas. Then when I'm done I'll gas for air like I've been held underwater. It's a flaw.

[@kaloric]

SAMEE i hold my breath when i play games, bc i feel like it makes me perform better idk

[@anthonydiaz5834]

@@Sketch1ish facts

[@adarkgothicforest8508]

What if you hold your breath over and over again, like hold your breath for a minute, then breath a little but exhale without breathing in shortly after and holding your breath again for 30 seconds just exhaling though, Can that cause brain damage? and or also taking deep breaths then holding your breath shortly after for 30 seconds? can that cause brain damage as well if you do that several times as well in a short period of time? i did this because i was reading breathing exercises but i almost fainted several times and felt dizzy and lightheaded and now im scared i have brain damage.

[@williamhenry3337]

I wanted to what actually happens to us when we hold our breath for a long time. I have been doing Wim Hof for several years and can now hold my breath for 9 minutes. My oxygen saturation drops to 79 and my pulse normally stays 52 to 60. Am I officially brain dead?

[@Scientastica]

Interesting, holding your breath will definitely make your body go into acidosis.

[@shovonreza1424]

Interesting they published the exact same video 4 years ago

[@suryanshumishra3484]

"I want to do something in youtube" "I have no job and money" "KZbin not giving views" "Ya I am worst than others" Help me 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@erikpoephoofd]

Is acidosis bad?

[@Scientastica]

@@erikpoephoofd yes :)

[@erikpoephoofd]

How about hyperventilation and alkalosis? Like in the Wim hof method?

[@Suburp212]

So, how do those glial cells work?

[@erikreyes729]

Go Denver!!!

[@MrAirbleed]

What i think was how can we breath in auto mode when we forget it. But suddenly go to manual mode if we think or remember about it.

[@joshuaphillips755]

There is no way these episodes are long enough. Thanks tho!

[@AditiNath1234]

Nice👍👍

[@trujitsu896]

Intelligent design.

[@0riginal_panda_child249]

Who else passed out when holding their breath

[@Max__apex]

2.40 mins I held my breath. Was underwater while my mate timed it

[@redman2751]

He says use common sense, as if anyone has that anymore.

[@Nouvellecosse]

Anyone notice how seeker has another video with almost the exact same title released 4 years ago? "Here’s What Holding Your Breath Does To Your Body" vs "What Holding Your Breath Does To Your Body"

[@mritunjaypandey3487]

👍

[@Proud_Troll]

Those irregular heart beats, are they only around when you are holding your breath?

[@patrickadams4598]

Very peaceful when you don't have to breathe...

[@amalirfan]

I have spotted something wierd, I can do more pushups if i breath less freaquently while doing it.

[@ikichullo]

They upload this video on the day the Perseverance rover is landing on Mars. i see what you did there

[@InfansDeAter]

Hypoxia hypO- meaning low and -oxia meaning oxygen presence in blood

[@_BlackSpectrum]

How human body knows when to stop growth of body and body parts like hands legs fingers,etc?

[@doomjunyu_]

Held my breath watching this video Only lasted 22 seconds

[@medphilomath4436]

👍👍👍👍 Fun fact: "role of O2 is far less imp in breathing as compared to co2" Physiology is indeed 👑#medphilomath

[@poporikishin4922]

when i saw and click this while i see the video a person holding their breath. i immediately hold my breath while listening then pause the video when im out of breath. my limit is 1:27, why i did that idont know i just did it for no reason.

[@morkovija]

I always thought we dont have a mechanism to detect oxygen level in our blood, but only co2, can someone confirm?

[@robertfoertsch]

Excellent Analysis, Deployed Worldwide Through My Artificial Intelligence Research Library...

[@robertfoertsch]

kzbin.info/aero/PLG7EoBMUD1JwbD5-MQpFRGvadGWtf-4yD

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

4:35 - What if you go diving on a mountain, like in that highest lake in South America? 🤔

[@arseniolopeznavarro8868]

It's called Titicaca, in the border between Bolivia and Peru. What would happen is that you wouldn't be able to hold your breath for long, unless you are acclimatised to that altitude. Being a freediver from Mexico City, I can tell you I feel a ton of difference when I go to sea level to dive

[@philsophkenny]

💯

[@ZMAN_420]

👍🏻

[@Someoneonyoutube]

Hey, just curious if anybody here can explain something to me. I recently was holding my breaths to get rid of hiccups and realized a minute and a half went by yet i felt no discomfort. I then tried to hold it for as long as i can and cam very close to 2 minutes and felt no discomfort (i felt like i was about to pass out however). Is this something bad?

[@chair4x2]

I don't know but it happened to me too

[@KJSvitko]

Do a future video on what different foods, exercise, smoking and sauna do to constrict or dialate our blood vessels. The death rate from heart attacks goes up 60 minutes after eating a large meat meal or after being in the cold shoveling snow. For people with heart disease (which is most people eating a standard American diet) this would be enlightening information.

[@julianmele2369]

*Laughs in Wim Hof*

[@TrickinNinja]

Wim Hof FTW.

[@lizslilcorneroftheinstitut7144]

Damn! I think he may have caused injury to his brain when practicing this video! That’s the only reason I can use that explains the concept of people and common sense! We need someone to check this man’s pulse!

[@sanjuansteve]

If you hold your breath until you reach your personal limits, your vision starts to become tunnel, going dark at the moment of unconsciousness.

[@anotherfoodvlogger2511]

My head starts to ring at 2min

[@MrBrelindm]

I'm 54 now so I can't go as long as when I was younger but back when I was in high school, I was into meditation and biorhythms. In 10th grade my first class of the day was swim class so I didn't have to go to a "home room" for first period. I would go early and get into our Olympic sized pool and standing on the ledge in the deep end with a diving brick, slow my metabolism, heartbeat, and breathing before taking a last breath and sinking to the bottom of the pool with the diving brick in hand. I could sit on the bottom cross legged and watch the alumni swimming laps above for 5½ minutes before needing to resurface for air! And lest you think I am exaggerating, I now know that my lungs are abnormally large to begin with. The average human lung is about 11 inches in length. Mine are 14 inches in length - I have seen them on several full sized x-rays.

[@xploration1437]

I’ve made it 6:23 underwater.

[@SethMacLeod95]

That’s awesome!!

[@kav5906]

Ah! How so little I know of this human body!

[@Un3nown99]

I have anxiety of holding my breathe to long and might seizure up or something bad

[@danicasoap4995]

dam

[@Meghnaaad]

I holded my breath till the entirety of this video.

[@emilyharkness9685]

But what about competitive swimmers? We're holding out breath underwater but because it's exercise, our hearts will still be beating quickly.

[@winning246]

Don't think their athletes? You do it.

[@Wobbban]

I held my breath the entire video

[@wungchipeimarchang7392]

1min30secs and my head started feeling numb

[@johnlloyddao4325]

Have a nice day people✌

[@andy_o6133]

Funny how he says the word “athlete held loosely” when Wim Hof is a beat of a athlete

[@Joetheshow445]

Does he ever actually answer the question? Or does he give a three hour lecture about the history of breathing?

[@MARS-mp5sn]

I can hold my breath for 2 minutes

[@xxd5doo5xx89]

I can hold my breath for almost 3 mins does this damage my brain or cells?

[@ritikgupta9268]

21 oct 22, 2min 30sec

[@markhansolo8636]

I have a question. I'm practicing holding my breath as I'm wanting to scuba dive with my friend who does it and has advised that I should do what he did which was practice holding my breath for periods of time and go longer each time. He says this is in case the oxygen tanks fail or we do it without the oxygen tanks. I did this yesterday and was aiming for my 15 second goal. I could feel towards the end of was getting tense and was struggling but I kept going and managed to get to 15 seconds. Since then I've found it harder to actually breath and have a chest pain. Can holding your breath too long cause lung damage? And will this be permanent?

[@m4rdoo]

I don't believe it will cause lung damage lol im not a professional so idk but keep practicing long and longer. But under no circumstances try it longer than you can physically feel that u can handle it.

[@symanowrin1941]

Does it damage lung..? I wanna know.. I literally try to do THIS for 4 days.. Repeating many times and can hold breath for 45 sec..

[@celestialmedia2280]

Breathing happens automatically But the moment you hear about breathing it switchs to mannual

[@kingarthurthe5th]

Squidward: “No Patrick. Mayonnaise is not a common cause for hypoxia”

[@alial_hassanal_khashashneh3728]

Just how amazing are our bodies created, Chemoreceptors!. and later comes an ignorant guy saying: our bodies are randomly built and functions unproperly!

[@mhukvevo117]

I am holding my breath 2 minutes and half everyone share how much time you can hold your breath 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@bazooka9096]

Try to hold hold your breath after exhaling for 2 minutes and you will find yourself in some other dimension!😂

[@mhukvevo117]

@@bazooka9096 wom wof

[@technofreak39]

I kinda expected something different from this video.. something about "holding your breath for X amount of time can cause this, holding it longer can cause this permanent solution". Getting unconcious and having less oxygen in your body is kinda too obvious

[@Biociety]

This make me remember of people who dive deep as 20 m or more to catching fishes for living

[@dilo7373]

Go look at some freedivers who go more than 100m

[@muayboran6111]

This sounds like something mr beast would do

[@maemilev]

*If you are obese and can't run a mile, you definitely can't hold your breath for a minute!*

[@poundforpound199]

My best time is 6:30

[@sushmitdhongade]

I watched half of the video holding my breath.

[@desiboys3461]

2. 05 mint I hold

[@YouTubestolemylife]

I don’t breathe for an average 15 minutes per time in my sleep most nights when it happens

[@segagenesis1989]

Watching this video made me forget how to breathe!

[@Think_Inc]

Don’t give anyone any ideas.

[@kenrutherford1109]

If you held your breath too long, you'd probably pass out

[@gregmasseyify]

Not athletic!? How dare you sir! Holding my breath for 4.5 minutes was one of the hardest things I've done, including thai boxing shin kicks! Hmmf

[@dilo7373]

Preach!!