What's the point of holding your breath? Exploring the health benefits and risks

September 30, 2025 •

3 min read

The average person can hold their breath for 30 to 90 seconds before the body's involuntary reflex kicks in. This seemingly simple act of voluntary apnea, or holding your breath, serves various physiological and psychological purposes, and understanding its effects can provide valuable insights into our health and wellness.

Quick Summary

Voluntary apnea, or breath-holding, triggers specific physiological adaptations like the mammalian diving reflex to manage stress and conserve oxygen. When practiced safely with controlled techniques, it can offer benefits such as stress reduction, enhanced focus, and improved respiratory muscle strength. However, extreme or unsupervised breath holds carry significant risks, including hypoxic blackout and organ strain.

Key Points

Stress Reduction: Brief, controlled breath holds can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting calm and lowering stress hormones like cortisol.
Enhanced Focus: Breath-holding techniques, such as box breathing, help anchor attention and improve mental clarity by focusing the mind on the present.
Enhanced Performance: Athletes may use breath holding to improve CO2 tolerance, increase red blood cell availability, and strengthen respiratory muscles, boosting endurance.
Dangerous Risks: Pushing breath holding limits can lead to hypoxic blackout, particularly underwater, and is a major cause of accidental drowning.
Physiological Response: The body's urge to breathe is triggered by rising carbon dioxide levels, not a lack of oxygen, and is managed by the mammalian diving reflex when submerged.
Medical Use: Breath-hold tests are a diagnostic tool used to assess cerebral blood flow dynamics and cardiopulmonary reserve in clinical settings.
Practice Safely: Always practice controlled breathwork techniques in a safe, dry environment, and never attempt extreme breath holds without expert supervision.

The Physiological Purpose of Breath Holding

When you stop breathing, oxygen levels decrease while carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels increase in the blood. The primary urge to breathe comes from this rise in CO₂, detected by chemoreceptors that signal the body to resume breathing.

The Mammalian Diving Reflex

The mammalian diving reflex is an automatic response triggered by facial immersion in cold water, though present in humans even without. It helps conserve oxygen through three main changes:

Bradycardia: Slowing of the heart rate.
Peripheral Vasoconstriction: Redirecting blood to vital organs.
Blood Shift: Releasing red blood cells from the spleen to carry more oxygen.

Mental and Physical Benefits of Controlled Apnea

Safe and conscious breath holding in breathwork practices offers several health benefits.

Stress and Anxiety Reduction

Controlled breath holding helps regulate the nervous system by activating the parasympathetic state, counteracting the stress response. This leads to a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, reduced stress hormones, and increased calm. Techniques like Box Breathing and 4-7-8 Breathing incorporate breath holds.

Enhanced Focus and Mental Clarity

Breath control in practices like meditation can improve concentration by focusing awareness on the present moment and bodily sensations. Regular practice can build mental resilience.

Improved Respiratory Muscle Function

Controlled breath holds can strengthen breathing muscles, potentially increasing lung capacity and improving endurance.

Breath Holding in High-Performance Contexts

Breath holding is also used for athletic performance and medical evaluation.

Athletic Performance

Athletes, especially freedivers, use breath-hold training to adapt to low-oxygen and high-CO₂ conditions. This training increases CO₂ tolerance, boosts red blood cell count, and may enhance endurance.

Medical Diagnostics

Breath-holding tests are used in medicine to evaluate cerebral blood flow and cardiopulmonary function, assessing blood vessel reactivity and the body's functional reserve.

Serious Risks and Dangers

Extreme or unsupervised breath holding is highly dangerous.

Hypoxic Blackout

Low oxygen levels in the brain can cause a loss of consciousness, particularly risky underwater and a cause of drowning. Hyperventilating before a breath hold increases this risk by delaying the urge to breathe.

Physical and Neurological Strain

Extended breath holding can strain the body, potentially causing irregular heart rhythms, organ damage, and in extreme cases, brain damage.

Safe vs. Extreme Breath Holding: A Comparison


Feature	Safe, Controlled Breathwork	Extreme/Competitive Breath Holding
Purpose	Relaxation, focus, lung health	Pushing physiological limits, endurance training, competition
Duration	Short, timed holds (e.g., 4-30 seconds)	Prolonged holds (minutes)
Safety	Performed on land, listen to body's signals	Requires supervision, pulse oximetry, specific training protocols
Technique	Box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, diaphragmatic holds	CO₂/O₂ tolerance tables, pre-oxygenation (in advanced contexts)
Risks	Minimal risk of side effects like lightheadedness	High risk of hypoxic blackout, organ strain, brain injury
Environment	Safe, dry, comfortable location	Often aquatic (freediving), requires advanced safety measures

Conclusion: Finding the Right Point

The benefits of holding your breath depend on the context. Short, mindful holds can help manage stress, improve focus, and strengthen breathing muscles. For elite athletes, training can enhance performance. However, these benefits come from safe, controlled practices. Extreme, unsupervised breath holding is dangerous. Always listen to your body and prioritize safety. Consult a healthcare professional before starting breath-hold training, especially with existing health conditions.

Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.

Frequently Asked Questions

For the average person, it is generally safe to hold your breath for up to 90 seconds. However, pushing past the body's natural urge to breathe, driven by rising CO2 levels, can be dangerous and is not recommended.

The primary trigger for the urge to breathe is the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in your bloodstream, not a lack of oxygen. The brain's respiratory center detects this CO₂ buildup and stimulates the involuntary reflex to inhale.

Safe exercises include Box Breathing, where you inhale, hold, exhale, and hold for four seconds each, or the 4-7-8 method, inhaling for four, holding for seven, and exhaling for eight. Always practice in a comfortable, seated position.

Yes, consistent and controlled practice of breath-holding can strengthen the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, which can lead to improved lung capacity over time. This is often done as part of broader breathwork and athletic training.

Hypoxic blackout is a loss of consciousness due to severe oxygen deprivation, which is a major risk of holding your breath for too long. It is especially dangerous underwater and can lead to drowning. Hyperventilating before a breath hold increases this risk.

Hyperventilating (breathing rapidly and deeply) expels excess CO₂ from the body. This delays the natural urge to breathe, which is based on CO₂ levels, making it possible to deplete oxygen to dangerously low levels without feeling distress. This increases the risk of hypoxic blackout, especially underwater.

For trained athletes, targeted breath-hold strategies can potentially improve endurance by increasing CO₂ tolerance and oxygen efficiency. However, the effects are complex and require careful, supervised training. It is not recommended for general fitness purposes.