Recovery Breaths

Take 3 recovery breaths after every freedive.

The purpose of recovery breaths is to get fresh oxygen to your brain as quickly as possible.

Even after easy dives, take these breaths to build the habit and muscle memory for if you ever need them.

Each recovery breath consists of:
  • Quick exhale
    Allow air to passively escape your lungs. Don't spend any time forcing extra air out, move on to the inhale.
  • Quick inhale
    Inhale quickly and fully. Don't spend any time trying to get a little bit of extra air into your lungs, just take as much as you can with a quick breath and move on to the hold.
  • Quick hold
    Pause with your lungs full for a second or less. When your lungs are at full pressure, oxygen diffuses into your blood most quickly, and the surface area of your alveoli is maximal, allowing them to absorb the most oxygen.

    This hold supercharges your brain with fresh oxygen. Don't skip it!

You can read more about recovery breaths in Chapter 3.4 of the

AIDA Level 2 manual