YOUR AMAZING BODY

MOST people can hold their breath for between 30 and 60 seconds, but with training that can be extended to an unbelievable 20 minutes.

It isn’t lack of oxygen that stops us holding our breath for long periods but a buildup of carbon dioxide, which turns the blood acidic.

Free divers, who plunge to huge depths without scuba gear, prepare themselves by hyperventilating – breathing very fast – which reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood. In 2012, Stig Severinsen of Denmark earned the Guinness World Record for the longest free dive, holding his breath for 22 minutes.