Extraordinary breath-holding

How it works

The urge to breathe comes mainly from rising carbon dioxide, which sensors in the brainstem detect. Lack of oxygen plays a smaller part⁵. Untrained people usually cannot hold on for more than one or two minutes, because the urge becomes unbearable⁵. The body still has plenty of oxygen at that point.

Freedivers train three things. They learn to tolerate carbon dioxide, so the urge arrives later and hurts less. They overfill their lungs by “packing”, gulping extra air after a full breath². And they use the diving reflex. Cold water on the face slows the heart and shifts blood away from the limbs, which cuts oxygen use⁴. Face down in water, lying still, the best divers can go past 10 minutes¹.

The AIDA record for static apnea, breath-holding at rest in water, is 11 minutes 35 seconds on ordinary air, set by Stéphane Mifsud in 2009¹. Breathing pure oxygen first replaces the nitrogen in the lungs with oxygen, so the lungs hold far more oxygen⁵. In that category Vitomir Maričić of Croatia held for 29 minutes 3 seconds in 2025¹. Both were done with safety divers watching.

How common it is

This is not really a prevalence. Nobody has counted how many people could hold their breath far past the ordinary limit⁵. What exists is a set of supervised records¹ and small studies of particular groups, such as the Bajau divers³. Longer holds take training, so the ability tracks training rather than a fixed share of the population. A survey of tested times in ordinary people would give a real number.

Is it a problem?

Holding your breath briefly is not harmful. The risk is doing it for a long time alone in water. Blood oxygen can fall low enough to cause a blackout before the urge to breathe feels strong, and a blackout underwater can drown a person before anyone notices². This is why freediving organisations tell divers to dive only with a buddy watching². Practise short holds on land if you are curious. See a doctor before serious breath-hold training if you have a heart or lung condition.

History and culture

The Bajau of Southeast Asia, often called sea nomads, have dived for food for centuries. They spend hours a day underwater³ and dive tens of metres on one breath⁶. A 2018 study found their spleens are about 50% larger than those of a neighbouring farming group³. The spleen stores oxygen-rich red blood cells and squeezes them out during a dive. The difference is linked to a gene variant, PDE10A³. It shows even in Bajau who do not dive⁶.