Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered states of consciousness

Re:Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered sta... by FrustratedMonky on Friday April 18, 2025 @07:42AM (#43727141)

So just curious. You do want to have the CO2 levels, so you get the trigger to breath? But to free dive don't you want to stay down longer? So is the method more about dealing with the urges? Mental ways to understand the urge to breath, but be able to block it?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered sta... by aqme28 on Friday April 18, 2025 @08:05AM (#43727283)

There are two gases that need to be exchanged when you breathe. You need to get rid of CO2 and you need to get O2. When you hyperventilate, you purge CO2, but don't really change your O2 content.

This matters only because CO2 is what triggers your desire to breathe, but O2 is what causes you to actually pass out or not. So what happens is that you might pass out before you realize you need to come up for air.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Decreased CO2 during breathwork: emergence of altered sta... by Azrael3000 on Friday April 18, 2025 @09:03AM (#43727699)

Correct. You can deal with the urge to breathe with your brain. High co2 has additional benefits for your metabolism, you just need to deal with it. If that sounds interesting take a free diving course its a great way to learn more about this fascinating sport.

[ Parent | on HN ]