Why do people freedive

Well, freediving is not at all like this! It is not about your body screaming for air and not about suffering for lack of oxygen. Why are they smiling? That is hard to explain to people who have never tried it! The feeling of gliding in the blue water, the feeling of being at peace submerged in this big vast liquid world, the feeling of becoming a sea creature, the feeling of belonging that makes us almost remember our real aquatic origins; all of this condensed in a 1 or 2 minutes experience, makes it very hard not to smile!

That is another popular question. Well, that is simply wrong! There is nothing superhuman about freediving; this sport is for everyone who is comfortable in the water, without the need to be a particularly good swimmer. The reason for this is that freediving is not at all an unnatural activity for mammals, as hundreds of millions years ago, when conditions on land were not that favorable to life, we were all living in the water. Our bodies still remember that long gone time, and when we submerge a click switches somewhere and it turns on a thing called Mammalian Dive Reflex.

This makes it possible for us to adapt, very fast, to the underwater environment by preserving our body against increasing pressure and lack of oxygen. Even with a few differences, scuba diving and freediving have more in common than one might think. In fact, if you are a scuba diver, you may find yourself surprisingly well-prepared for freediving and vice versa.

There are some skills and techniques that both freedivers and scuba divers need to master. First and foremost, they need to be comfortable and confident in the water. The ability to be relaxed and move calmly is also crucial. Another good example is pressure equalization. Just like scuba divers, freedivers need to compensate for the pressure increase in their ears, sinuses and mask during descent to avoid barotraumas.

Moreover, because their descents are more rapid, freedivers often learn to use different, more efficient equalization methods. Finally, various respiration techniques that freedivers use to extend their dives can come in handy in scuba diving as well. Whether you are looking for a new way to explore the underwater world, want to challenge yourself or improve your scuba diving skills, freediving can be a great way to achieve this.

Although the sport is pretty complex and requires a lot of knowledge and practice to make the steady progress, it is also very rewarding for many different reasons. Here are a few of them:. All in all, freediving is a very interesting and unique activity, that is definitely worth exploring.

Go ahead, try it, and see for yourself! Although almost anybody can try freediving, remember, the most effective and safe way to do it is with a professional instructor.

Scuba vs. Freediving on a reef you learn about the different creatures and their behaviour patterns. And as you learn about them, you gain a greater appreciation, understanding and awareness of the ocean and its inhabitants. This helps make better environmental decisions to help protect out planet. Freediving teaches you better body awareness which has impacts in all areas of your life.

Imagine then trying to feel what your body is doing when it is upside down as you descend, in a medium water we are not used to. On top of that you are wearing a pair of fins which has increased the length of your body by a third to a half.

This forces us to become acutely aware of what our body is doing so that we can learn to freedive effectively and not bash our body or fins into another diver or anything under the water.

On a freedive, you are focussed on minimising output whilst maximising efficiency. You only have one tank of air the air in your lungs , and so have to learn to move as efficiently as possible to save all of your precious oxygen.

On a dive, the freediver is taught to constantly monitor what they are doing. Checking that equalisation is done properly and in time. Checking that the body is aligned and streamlined. Checking that the finning is correct.

These body awareness skills are then carried with the diver out of the water as a greater understanding of the body and how it moves is achieved. It is a bit of a cliche, but the stereotype at least in the UK for Scuba divers is someone a little overweight who enjoys fast food and beer, whilst freedivers are viewed as ascetic vegetarian hippies.

Whilst neither stereotype is accurate, when you get into freediving, you become much more aware of the food you eat and how it impacts not only your freediving but your general health. If you freedive after a heavy, greasy meal, the meal usually comes back to haunt you with nasty indigestion. Due to the anaerobic respiration that freedivers do, which releases free radicals into the body, freedivers also learn to load their diet with anti-oxidants. These substances, found in fresh fruit and vegetables, and in certain supplements, help the body recover quickly and work optimally.

If freedivers are overweight when they start freediving, then they usually begin to lose weight, as they change their diet for the better to make their freediving more effective and enjoyable.

Learning to freedive will improve your confidence in the water, meaning that Scuba diving is more relaxed. Learning better body awareness and hydrodynamics enables you to move more efficiently through the water. And the specialist equalisation techniques you learn will help you equalise quickly and effectively. Learning to freedive improves your safety as a Scuba Diver and your enjoyment of the sport.

All extraneous thoughts have to be put aside for the duration of the dive. This often makes a freedive feel much longer than it actually is. A dive may only be a minute long, but the experience is of a dive of maybe twice that length. Everything matters on a freedive.

What the body is doing at each moment, how the equalisation is working, if there are diaphragm contractions. Freediving improves the mind by training it to focus exclusively on the present moment. There is no past, no future, just the present moment of the dive. Freediving training, whether in open water, the pool, or on dry land, also helps hone focus. Freediving training, particularly if you want to compete, is hard work. It can put a huge strain on the body and it takes a determined person with intense concentration to put the work in to achieve the results that they want.

Check out the following Webinar where Emma discusses all the benefits and more, in detail with Chantelle Newman:. Emma Farrell — How can Freediving benefit your health? There are many benefits of learning to freedive.