PUSHING THE LIMITS OF EXTREME BREATH-HOLDING: “Humans test their limits in an endless variety of ways, but none is simpler or more elemental than breath-holding. There’s no pacing, no tactics, no bonus points; you simply deprive your body of its most urgent need until you can’t anymore. As a result, it offers a convenient laboratory for exploring the nature of human limits, for parsing the gradations of meaning between ‘won’t’ and ‘can’t.’ Scientists have long speculated that what feel like physical limits are often merely warning signals generated by the brain’s protective circuitry. In the case of breath-holding, a spate of recent studies offers a glimpse of what it takes to tap into the hidden reserves beyond these boundaries—and what price you might pay for access.”

Your body starts trying to breathe long before you absolutely need to. You can hold out a lot longer with training and determination. Just knowing that you don’t really need to breathe when you think you do can help.