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#4846
 How to Breath Underwater
Eve - 2/26/2013 8:13 AM
Category: Training
Replies: 4
DID YOU KNOW: Most new divers believe that they have problems breathing underwater because their regulators are not working properly. While this can be the case, in most instances. It’s because we are not breathing nice looooong breaths.

EXPLANATION: When we breathe, our exhalations are mixed with carbon-dioxide from our last breath we took in. (we call that dead air) If we take short shallow breaths we build up that CO2 in our lungs making it feel like we are not getting enough air through our regs.

ANSWER: To avoid this, take nice loooooong controlled breaths, in and out. Think of it as meditation underwater. The longer our breaths, the more relaxed we will become.
#51878
Subscribed
Greg - 2/26/2013 10:32 AM
This is very true. I can’t tell you how many of my scuba students complained because their regulator wasn’t working properly. They felt it was not delivering enough air. When in fact, the reg was working just fine and it was their breathing that caused the problem. Once they got their breathing under control, all of sudden their reg worked great :)


I will say this though, certain regs do deliver more air than others. So if you want a reg that blasts air whenever you breathe in, just find one that works for you. Many scuba regulators also have an adjustment knob that controls how much air is delivered. Turn the knob one way to lessen the air flow, and the other way to increase the air flow.
#305
JMorales - 2/26/2013 4:52 PM
Indeed, my regs have a pre-dive and a dive setting that is meant just for that.


I have noticed if you get down to depth and have it set to pre-dive that you can tell you are forcibly sucking, however it is still delivering enough oxygen. Turning it to dive mode eases the effort.
#12608
Eric_R - 2/26/2013 6:03 PM
Can’t stress proper breathing skills enough for new divers. For us
northern divers proper breathing is really important to keep free flows
from occurring in our balmy water conditions.lol
#8064
Rich-D-Fish - 2/27/2013 11:47 AM
Another consideration is your annual service on your regs. My Atomic regs only require a service every 2 years, but I can definitely feel the difference from start to finish before I get it done.