Real-Life Aquaman Who Can Hold His Breath Underwater For 22 Minutes
In 2010, Danish freediver, Stig
Severinsen, jumped into a pool filled with sharks and held his breath for
20 minutes and 10 seconds, breaking the previous Guinness World Record for the
‘longest time breath held
voluntarily’. Two years later, the fearless Stig did
it again, somehow breaking his own remarkable record by holding his breath for
a staggering 22 minutes. If there’s such a thing as a real-life Aquaman, it’s
this guy.
Severinsen – who has a PhD. in
medicine and a master’s degree in biology, is known for participating in the
most extreme challenges, including swimming in freezing water. Before setting
his first breath holding world record, he swam 236 feet – about 72 meters (14.5
more meters than Wim Hof, the previous record holder), in the below-zero waters
of the North Sea. After taking a few breaths of air, he dived feet first
through a hole carved in the ice. As soon as he was in the water, he started
swimming to the next hole wearing only his signature blue Speedos. The
triangle-shaped hole was 72 meters away and there wasn’t another escape route
mid-way, which made the challenge extremely dangerous. After reaching his
destination in just 96 seconds, the 40-year-old daredevil lingered in the
freezing hole a little longer, as if to prove the cold didn’t affect him very
much. You’d think that after swimming that distance in heart-stopping water he
immediately jumped out to find some warm clothes, but our hero just stood there
with his elbows on the ice, smiling and thanking everyone as if he was in a hot
tub or somewhere in the Bahamas.
After such an experience, the fact
that he can hold his breath for dozens of minutes doesn’t even seem that
extreme anymore. Nonetheless, nobody in the world can do it, except him. When
trying to beat his own record for holding his breath under water, back in
2012 , Stig was accompanied only by his brother, a medic, who constantly
monitored his vitals. Before starting the stopwatch, he did his signature
routine called pre-oxygenated static apnea, which involves inhaling pure
oxygen. By eliminating the nitrogen and carbon dioxide ,which make up over 78%
of the air we naturally breathe, he was able to saturate his lungs with oxygen,
which helped him undertake this extreme exercise. But in order to conserve the
precious oxygen, Severinsen also arranged for the water in the pool to be around
30 degrees Celsius so he could lower his heart rate down to an impressive 30
beats per minute. After 20 minute and 10 seconds, this incredible human had
already beaten his own record, but he decided to stay an additional one minute
and 50 seconds just for fun. In the end, he managed to hold his breath for
exactly 22 minutes.
Apparently, Stig is some kind of
super-human or human-fish hybrid with a lung capacity of 14 liters, twice that
of the average person. In addition to his incredibly strong lungs, the
40-year-old has also always had a thing for water, especially ice-cold water.
When he was young, he liked to go “Viking Swimming” – diving in ice
holes. He also played underwater rugby and underwater hockey. He is the author
of a book called “Breatheology”, in which he describes the breathing routine
that he goes through before any death-defying challenge. In short, meditation
and control are key as panicking would require him to burn more oxygen. Using
his technique, Danish Microsoft project manager Troels Hviid, a student of
Severinsen’s, managed to deep dive in the Red Sea. He explained that he took a
big breath and immersed himself in the water. “But the panic quickly grabs you,
and I had to work on the mental side to stay calm. You have to generate a lot
of positive thoughts to preserve oxygen,” he explains. Stig also teaches at
the Breatheology Academy, where he trains other athletes, including
cyclist Alberto Contador, the science of breathing. His lessons are not cheap
as he charges as much as $10,000 per week to teach extreme breath holding to
every adventurer who can afford it.
No comments:
Post a Comment