How to use air longer while diving

Diving is a relatively risky sport. During diving, the oxygen tank is a very important piece of equipment. It is related to your life and death. Generally, there is still some oxygen left in the tank. We must return to the ground immediately to ensure absolute safety, otherwise the oxygen will run out and we will face despair. Here is how to extend the oxygen time.

One of the important signs of experienced divers is low air consumption. For novices, air consumption can be effectively reduced by analyzing problems and practicing! Self-test on the problem of consuming air too fast:

1) Is the dive too deep?

The deeper the dive, the faster the air consumption. We commonly use aluminum bottles with a capacity of 12 liters. If inflated to 200 Bar, there will be about 2,400 liters of air for breathing. The gas consumption of adults breathing per minute ranges from 12 liters to 24 liters. Generally, the gas consumption of girls is about one-third less than that of boys. Assuming that all 24 liters of gas are used up, it can take 50 minutes to dive at 10 meters and 25 minutes to dive at 30 meters.

Tips: Why not always stay in a shallower position than your dive guide/buddy, or team up as a buddy with a girl or photographer who consumes less energy.

2) Is the counterweight appropriate?

Too much counterweight is equivalent to carrying a load forward, which naturally consumes a lot of air; too little counterweight will make the final five-meter three-point stop very long. It takes a lot of effort to hold on. And because there are too many counterweights, the BCD often inflates a lot underwater to adjust its buoyancy. The resistance of the water is large, and a lot of air is released when it rises, which invisibly wastes a lot of air.

Tips: Do a new weight test every time you dive or change to new equipment (even if you wear an extra diving hood). The suggestion for proper weighting is that on the water surface, the BCD is completely deflated, take a normal breath and hold it in, and your eyes are just level with the water surface (there is 50 bar of air left in the tank, if it is full, the water will be almost above the forehead). Under water, you can control your floating and sinking by adjusting your breathing instead of relying on constant BCD inflation and deflation.

3) Whether the amount of exercise is too large

Poor neutral buoyancy control, incorrect posture (including paddling with hands), and excessive movements will lead to greater water resistance and consumption. Inflating, or constantly kicking the legs to maintain balance; fighting against strong currents or the fins are too soft will also be very laborious, which will speed up the consumption of air; frequently going up and down, the BCD will continue to inflate and deflate, which not only consumes a lot of gas, but also reduces the energy consumption. Risk of pressure sickness.

Tips: Follow the principle of diving from deep to shallow. You can ask an experienced diver to help you adjust the Trim posture. You can try AQUATEC, Jet

Fin, and Hog. Stiffer neutral buoyancy fins.

4) Is the forward resistance too large?

The density of water is 800 times that of air. When the speed doubles underwater, the propulsion force increases four times, which means that breathing is also difficult. It’s 4 times faster. Think about the gas consumption when you suddenly speed up to chase fish. Of course, the resistance comes from the water flow, but also from the diver himself. If you hang yourself like a Christmas tree, the compass, jingle stick, elephant pulley, underwater record board, rope or other things are hung outside. If so, the resistance will be greater.

Tips: Keep all diving equipment worn compactly with your body to reduce the area subject to resistance, use BCD pockets for storage, or purchase diving pants with pockets. After entering the water, all equipment should be put away in a streamlined manner. It is recommended that various pipelines should not exceed 20cm beyond the body, and do not drag them forward in the sand. It is not good to be cut off or get into the sand, and it will also disturb marine animals.

5) Whether the diving equipment is in good condition

Second stage: both the main and backup stage should be checked for air leaks and whether the mouthpiece is loose or damaged. Otherwise, water leaks and often needs to be drained. It will also consume a lot of gas

Gas cylinder: Oring will leak as it ages. Be sure to check the residual pressure before entering the water. Open the gas cylinder to the bottom and return it a small half turn. If it is not fully opened, it will be difficult to inhale. Excessive exertion and exhaustion.

BCD: Before entering the water, test the inflation/exhaust valve of the low-pressure inflatable tube to see if it is leaking or stuck

Mask: A mask that does not fit the cheek will leak, and will As a result, many air masks are drained

Tips: Check especially where the high-pressure and low-pressure connections are (first stage, second stage, low-pressure inflation valve, etc.) for air leakage. This means that there will be air leakage at 20 meters. Can you accept the air leaking at 3 times the speed? Clean it carefully after every dive. Do regular maintenance on your own equipment (the regulator is recommended to be maintained once a year/about 100 dives), and check the rental equipment before entering the water; it is recommended to buy the mask and fins that best suit you;

6) Whether More afraid of the cold

The human body loses heat 20 times faster in water than in the air! When diving in an environment with lower water temperature, when you feel cold, your spirit will become more tense and your body will need more energy. At this time, you will generate heat to stay warm by taking close, short breaths or constantly kicking or shivering. Energy consumption = gas consumption.

Tips: Prepare suitable heating equipment according to the temperature. You should also keep warm between dives. Wet clothes and the sea breeze will accelerate the loss of body temperature. You can change into dry clothes or wear a poncho over your wet suit. Drink more hot water.

7) Are you often not calm?

When you are excited or anxious, your breathing becomes faster. As you relax, your breathing becomes deep and calm.

Diving accidents are mostly caused by divers panicking. The reaction in the mind will affect the heartbeat and breathing. For example, if you encounter a rare large item while diving, you will definitely be very excited; if you suddenly encounter a problem that you cannot handle (the second stage cannot be found, the flipper falls off, etc.), the physiological reaction will be The heartbeat speeds up and the gas consumption increases.

Tips: Observe your thoughts and breathing at any time, and your mind will calm down. When you encounter a problem, calm down first to deal with it better.

8) Is there a problem with the breathing method?

Do you usually have chest tightness, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing? There may be weak muscle strength and strong water pressure after entering the water. You always feel out of breath and need to inhale frequently (you can try it. Inhaling with your chest raised is larger than inhaling with your shoulders shrugged). Therefore, exercises for the intercostal muscles and respiratory-related muscles (such as Uddha Bandha is good for exercising the diaphragm). Tips: Provide two methods, one fast and one slow, for reference:

A: Fast: The immediately effective method is to remember the "slow and deep breathing" in the OW textbook and take small sips to inhale and exhale. . You can try biting the second stage while inhaling and gently pressing your tongue against the upper palate to count 1, 2, 3 silently. When exhaling, also gently pressing your tongue against the upper palate to count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Inhale and exhale 1:2, your breathing times and air consumption will be significantly reduced within one minute.

B: Slow: Continue to practice and change your breathing habits (in a sense, it will reduce the body’s consumption of oxygen.) It is recommended to have a good yoga teacher to guide the practice and practice regularly every day When you practice breath control, you will learn that there are many breath control techniques, such as throat breathing, purifying pulse breath control, cooling breath control, Skull Clear Pose, and Bellows Pose. Note that you must proceed step by step. These exercises will Strengthen interrelated muscles. What is more important than "letting the breath reach a certain length" is "giving us different possibilities to breathe smoothly" and being able to be aware of our breathing status and our mental state at any time.

The final tip: After checking the above problems, practice, practice and practice again

The improvement of any skill is inseparable from practice. With each practice, you will become better able to deal with your own equipment, status, neutral buoyancy, and problem solving. Your diving experience will become more and more abundant, and you will become more comfortable underwater. You can enjoy the underwater world better and help other divers better.

PS: A little tip, discuss the diving plan with Buddy. If the water rises at 70bar, then one person can inhale until there is only 100bar left (see how to do the diving plan). You can inhale the other person first, which can extend the two The length of a person's dive depends on how long a person's dive lasts. Maybe your buddy is very talkative, or he or she is willing to carry you and swim to save your breath.

Diving requires serious study step by step. You cannot be opportunistic or careless, otherwise you will be the one who gets hurt. The above is shared with everyone, I hope it will be helpful to everyone.