How do freedivers know when to breathe? 🫁 Freedivers train to understand how long they can hold their breath underwater. 😮‍💨 Nearly every process in our body uses oxygen and creates carbon dioxide as a waste product. We inhale oxygen and we exhale carbon dioxide. 🧠 When we hold our breath, our carbon dioxide levels begin to rise which increases our blood acidity. And this sends a signal to our brain and is primarily what triggers our urge to breathe! 🌊 Freediver’s use CO2 like a friendly warning signal, letting us know how much time we have left in our breath hold. And we practice remaining calm and relaxed as we experience these sensations. 🤿 Breath hold training is like exposure therapy for our nervous system! We expose ourselves to elevated CO2 levels to allow our bodies to adapt and get more used to the sensations while remaining relaxed. NEVER practice breath holding activities in water alone, always with a trained buddy. Respect your limits. Lasting progress takes time. 📌 Comment BREATH for my free Breath Hold Blueprint — a guide that includes my top 4 favorite breath hold exercises Wishing you happy and safe diving! #freediving #snorkeling #learntofreedive #breathhold #breathholdtraining Freediver - Freediving - Snorkeling - Learn to Freedive - Breath Hold - Breath Hold Training - Train Your Breath Hold - @freediver_chiara