Extreme Breath-Holding

This is how people can hold their breath for tens of minutes. Check out our sponsor: to get matched with a professional therapist who will listen and help. ▀▀▀ A huge thanks to Brandon Birchak for all his help with this video. To learn how to hold your breath for 5 minutes, or see one of Brandon’s performances, visit and A special thanks to Juan Valdivia for his expert advice on the science of extreme breath holding. ▀▀▀ References: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). How your body controls breathing. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. - Anatomy, autonomic nervous system - statpearls - NCBI bookshelf. (). - Biochemistry, oxidative phosphorylation - statpearls - NCBI bookshelf. (). - Acidosis. Acidosis - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). - Evaluation of respiratory alkalosis. Evaluation of respiratory alkalosis - Differential diagnosis of symptoms | BMJ Best Practice US. (n.d.). - Wilmshurst, P. (1998, October 10). Diving and Oxygen. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). - López-Barneo, J., Ortega-Sáenz, P., Pardal, R., Pascual, A., & Piruat, J. I. (2008). Carotid body oxygen sensing. European Respiratory Journal, 32(5), 1386-1398. - Jeff, & Huffy. (2022, November 17). The Bolt score test: Measure your breathing volume capacity. Marathon Handbook. - Lindholm, P., & Lundgren, C. E. (2009). The physiology and pathophysiology of human breath-hold diving. Journal of Applied Physiology, 106(1), 284-292. - Physiology, lung capacity - statpearls - NCBI bookshelf. (). - Panneton, W. M., & Gan, Q. (2020). The mammalian diving response: inroads to its neural control. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 524. - Baković, D., Eterović, D., Saratlija‐Novaković, X., Palada, I., Valic, Z., Bilopavlović, N., & Dujić, X. (2005). Effect of human splenic contraction on variation in circulating blood cell counts. Clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology, 32(11), 944-951. Gooden, B. (1971). The diving response in man, rat and echidna (Doctoral dissertation). - Longest duration breath hold - freediving static apnea (male). Guinness World Records. (n.d.). - What’s the longest a human can hold their breath underwater? BBC Science Focus Magazine. (n.d.). - ▀▀▀ Special thanks to our Patreon supporters: Adam Foreman, Amadeo Bee, Anton Ragin, Balkrishna Heroor, Bernard McGee, Bill Linder, Burt Humburg, Dave Kircher, Diffbot, Evgeny Skvortsov, Gnare, Jesse Brandsoy, John H. Austin, Jr., john kiehl, Josh Hibschman, Juan Benet, KeyWestr, Lee Redden, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Mario Bottion, Max Paladino, Meekay, meg noah, Michael Krugman, Orlando Bassotto, Paul Peijzel, Richard Sundvall, Sam Lutfi, Stephen Wilcox, Tj Steyn, TTST, Ubiquity Ventures ▀▀▀ Directed by Derek Muller Written by Felicity Nelson and Derek Muller Edited by Trenton Oliver Animated by Ivy Tello Filmed by Derek Muller Produced by Derek Muller Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Pond5 Music from Epidemic Sound