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Breathing under Water


Disembodied Voice

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When I was a little kid I would swim all summer every summer and it was weird cause it felt like I could breath under water for a little bit. It was like an air bubble that I kept breathing in and out in with short breaths...that's what it felt like at least...it's an odd memory but I remember it very well. Anyone experienced this? Could this be some kind of divers technique that I learned on my own? I haven't gone swimming in years so I don't know if I can still do it...I don't know if it was my imagination or not but I could stay under water for a long time back then..holding my breath or breathing under water (lol) :P but seriously what do you think? Please don't mock me. I know someone out there has experienced the same thing..

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When I was a little kid I would swim all summer every summer and it was weird cause it felt like I could breath under water for a little bit. It was like an air bubble that I kept breathing in and out in with short breaths...that's what it felt like at least...it's an odd memory but I remember it very well. Anyone experienced this? Could this be some kind of divers technique that I learned on my own? I haven't gone swimming in years so I don't know if I can still do it...I don't know if it was my imagination or not but I could stay under water for a long time back then..holding my breath or breathing under water (lol) :P but seriously what do you think? Please don't mock me. I know someone out there has experienced the same thing..

how "little" are we talking

my guess confabulation. I remember being able to fly down the stairs but know it must be either a badly remembered dream (possibly a lucid dream) or a completely false memory

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how "little" are we talking

my guess confabulation. I remember being able to fly down the stairs but know it must be either a badly remembered dream (possibly a lucid dream) or a completely false memory

I would say it was around the ages from 7 to 10 but that's roughly estimating I'm 21 years old now that was a long time ago.

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I agree, most likely just a product of your imagination. I too at times "remember" doing some crazy things as a child. For instance, I recall my cousin and I going to the park and getting on the swings, proceeding to go very fast and high, and then "launching" ourselves off at the highest point, flying far off into the ground in front of us. While in my mind it seemed like I was as high as the crossbar, and I flew 10-15 feet off the front of the swing, in reality I was probably 2 feet off the ground and landed a foot or so in front of the swing set. If we really did what I was thinking, we could have killed ourselves, or probably at least broken some bones. I think things just seem bigger when you are a child, and the imagination helps you to make things that much more exciting. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm sure at times we all wish we could be back in that place. As for your experience, it is also very possible that you simply have very good lung capacity, and as a child you interpreted this as "breathing" underwater while you were holding your breath.

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Well..the only way I can do what you just described was to exhale a small bubble just enough so that it does not leave my mouth then I suck it back in..sort of like blowing a small bubble with gum but not so much that it pops then sucking it back in without making a mess.

Humans are air-breathers and even a tiny amount of fluid creates a reaction.

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My theory is that it's a misremembered memory mixed with a dream. When I was a wee child I swam as much as I could, and would often have dreams very similar to what you are describing. That is, being underwater and being able to breathe in and out slightly for a few minutes. These were nothing but dreams, however. Could you be misinterpreting your memory?

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Although it does sound strange that has happened to me aswell.

I was swimming a few summers ago and found myself taking a breath underwater and not choking on it. A few breathes underwater, and I'm real sure it wasn't my imagination.

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I remember as a kid I used to be able to time my ascent when swimming so I could keep track with my bubbles, and inhale a particularly large bubble.

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No, havent experienced it, I have a fear of drowning :unsure2:

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When I was a little kid I would swim all summer every summer and it was weird cause it felt like I could breath under water for a little bit. It was like an air bubble that I kept breathing in and out in with short breaths...that's what it felt like at least...it's an odd memory but I remember it very well. Anyone experienced this? Could this be some kind of divers technique that I learned on my own? I haven't gone swimming in years so I don't know if I can still do it...I don't know if it was my imagination or not but I could stay under water for a long time back then..holding my breath or breathing under water (lol) :P but seriously what do you think? Please don't mock me. I know someone out there has experienced the same thing..

Interesting. The thing is, it's very easy to misremember things as a child. There are all kinds of things that I could have sworn happened one way but in actuality were completely different.

-A fun fact that might interest you... Supposedly, sea turtles are capable of taking a mouthful of water and gradually extracting oxygen from it. I'm not 100% sure this is true, I heard it somewhere and I am too lazy to go verify it, but it's pretty cool if it is.

Edited by Thesantanafan
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Ahhh, what a wondrous thing childhood is. ^_^ I used to think I could see through walls if I was looking close enough at the edge of it. :unsure2: Of course I can't. I've since learned about an eye thing that can give that impression.

I challenge YOU, my dear, to try that now. Run a nice hot bath with some pretty scented oils and let me know what happens. :lol: Granted, there are quite a few things children can experience that adults can't, but this one's new to me. If you've found a way to breathe underwater, good for you! Seriously. :D

Do try it though, and see what happens. Not being facetious, I'm merely curious. And no, I sure don't want you to drown. Don't push it. If you never post here again Ima be p***ed cuz I just know you freakin drowned. I'll have to live with that guilt. I can't take that! <_<

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-A fun fact that might interest you... Supposedly, sea turtles are capable of taking a mouthful of water and gradually extracting oxygen from it. I'm not 100% sure this is true, I heard it somewhere and I am too lazy to go verify it, but it's pretty cool if it is.

Some (at least) freshwater turtles can take oxygen out of the water by "breathing" through their anus.

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Ahhh, what a wondrous thing childhood is. ^_^ I used to think I could see through walls if I was looking close enough at the edge of it. :unsure2: Of course I can't. I've since learned about an eye thing that can give that impression.

I challenge YOU, my dear, to try that now. Run a nice hot bath with some pretty scented oils and let me know what happens. :lol: Granted, there are quite a few things children can experience that adults can't, but this one's new to me. If you've found a way to breathe underwater, good for you! Seriously. :D

Do try it though, and see what happens. Not being facetious, I'm merely curious. And no, I sure don't want you to drown. Don't push it. If you never post here again Ima be p***ed cuz I just know you freakin drowned. I'll have to live with that guilt. I can't take that! <_<

LOL I seriously doubt I can do it again. It just happened during my childhood and it's good to hear all your replies. Thank you all. But I know I wasn't dreaming when I did it at least that is how I remember it but like others have said it could have just been my imagination. It's just strange. Maybe i just thought I could breathe under water cause I could be underwater for a long time. That was back when I had really good lungs before my asthma kicked in. I don't believe it was a paranormal experience, just something strange I remember from childhood and It's cool to hear that people have had the same or similar experiences. Now I know it's just not me. :)

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Although it does sound strange that has happened to me aswell.

I was swimming a few summers ago and found myself taking a breath underwater and not choking on it. A few breathes underwater, and I'm real sure it wasn't my imagination.

I know it feels so real right? but who knows with me, I did have an imagination as a child. But I do know what you're saying it does feel like it really happened...

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My theory is that it's a misremembered memory mixed with a dream. When I was a wee child I swam as much as I could, and would often have dreams very similar to what you are describing. That is, being underwater and being able to breathe in and out slightly for a few minutes. These were nothing but dreams, however. Could you be misinterpreting your memory?

I don't know all I know is that it felt like it really happened and wasn't a dream. But that's just how I remember/feel it happening. But you could be right. I it just seemed like it really happened to me in real life. I have remembered this forever ever since I was/thought I could breathe underwater. I don't think it was a memory I made up. But like people were saying I was a kid and my imagination could have gotten the best of me. It just seemed so real.

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That happens every time I swim, and like you, it's happened since childhood. My swim instructor used to say I swim like a fish. Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you. I don't think it's really breathing underwater, it's not like you can inhale a liter of water and be fine. Like you said, it's like little gasps. My best guess is what Ryu said. I've never told anyone about it before because it sounds ridiculous out loud, but it's there. And yes, it still happens. I don't know man, it's just there. I try not to think about it lol.

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Some (at least) freshwater turtles can take oxygen out of the water by "breathing" through their anus.

.... :huh:

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I was actually just telling a friend of mine about this the other day. Until I was around ten years old, I was convinced that I could breathe under the water given that I did it right. I remember having only been able to do it for very short periods of time, only a few seconds, but it's very distinctly there. I'd have to wait until right before my lungs started burning for oxygen, and take short, smooth, and shallow breaths under the water. It felt strange, but not painful or even uncomfortable. Like I said, though, I couldn't do it for long, so I didn't consider it to be really breathing under water, but more like.. it seemed to me as though my body could take a very, very small amount of oxygen from the water in order to give me a few more seconds before I needed to surface for proper air. After getting to about ten-ish, though, any time I tried to do it, I'd just end up swallowing the water or choking, so I'd stopped trying.

It had actually started, I know for a fact, because I'd had a dream that I could breathe under the water, and, having been pretty little, I'd thought it was a great idea to give it a shot. It'd failed miserably the first few times, but panned out after that to around an 80% success rate. Or at least that's what my memory tells me.

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Well see, this is making me curious. Unless all you guys are just full of it. :lol: I don't think you are, though. I'd more think it's what other posters have said about things as a child seeming bigger than they really are.

But what if...

The interesting part is, the what if. CAN some children really do this? Is it something to do with your body having a lingering knowledge of how to live inside a womb? Strange.

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Well see, this is making me curious. Unless all you guys are just full of it. :lol: I don't think you are, though. I'd more think it's what other posters have said about things as a child seeming bigger than they really are.

But what if...

The interesting part is, the what if. CAN some children really do this? Is it something to do with your body having a lingering knowledge of how to live inside a womb? Strange.

Thinking about it in more recent years, I figured it was quite possibly merely pulling a trick on one's body. Seems to me like, if you do it the right way and manage not to choke and whatnot, the action of inhaling under water could make your body feel, for a moment, that you're breathing properly, buying you some time before it realizes that, no, you aren't getting oxygen. Additionally, the mind can be an absurdly powerful thing. I know some of the insane things one's body can do in response to what one thinks, because I've got some pretty epic hypochondria. If you've your mind set to believing you can breathe under water, I should think it's perfectly possible for your body to ignore the need for air if it's only for a short period.

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If you've ever watched the movie " The Abyss ", the military had some deep water diving suits where oxygen infused water would circulate through the diver's mask. Interesting concept.

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I worked as a lifeguard in highschool. One of our test questions was about something similar, called Mammalian Diving Reflex (sp?). It's something that allows some mammals to breathe underwater. It can sometimes happen to humans, but only kids I think. I'm sure something will come up if you google it.

(If someone has already posted about this, sorry, I didn't see it.)

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The mammalian diving reflex optimizes respiration which allows mammals to stay underwater for a long time. It is exhibited strongly in aquatic mammals (seals,[1] otters, dolphins, etc.), but exists in a weaker version in other mammals, including humans. Diving birds, such as penguins, have a similar diving reflex. Every animal's diving reflex is triggered specifically by cold water contacting the face[2] – water that is warmer than 21 °C (70 °F) does not cause the reflex, and neither does submersion of body parts other than the face. Also, the reflex is always exhibited more dramatically, and thus can grant longer survival, in young individuals.

Wiki def

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I worked as a lifeguard in highschool. One of our test questions was about something similar, called Mammalian Diving Reflex (sp?). It's something that allows some mammals to breathe underwater. It can sometimes happen to humans, but only kids I think. I'm sure something will come up if you google it.

(If someone has already posted about this, sorry, I didn't see it.)

That has nothing to do with breathing underwater. Its a relex that helps conserve oxygen in the body by pulling blood out of the extremities and concentrating it in the brain and the heart. Being submerged triggers it. The effect is more dramatic in kids.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

edit: you were quicker enid

Edited by vitruvian12
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