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The whole "just breathe slow" advice for deep dives is backwards in my experience

I've been doing offshore work out of Aberdeen for 12 years and every time I hear a new guy say they're gonna control their air by breathing slower on a 60-meter dive, I cringe. Your body needs oxygen at depth, and holding your breath or breathing too shallow is how you get a blackout or squeeze injury. Anyone else find that pushing a steady, full breath cycle works better than trying to conserve every bubble?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor_young1mo ago

Yeah exactly. Slow breathing works fine until your body actually needs gas. Full steady cycles keep you safer. That old advice is just asking for trouble.

tessa_clark741mo ago

Read something similar in an old diving physics manual years ago. The author basically said slow breathing at depth is a recipe for CO2 buildup, not oxygen conservation. Made total sense to me after a few close calls. Your brain needs that gas exchange working properly or you'll get tunnel vision fast. Full steady cycles every time, no question about it.