World Record For Holding Breath Underwater Shattered By Frenchman: 11 Minutes, 35 Seconds (VIDEO)

A 37-year-old Frenchman shattered the world record for holding one's breath under water when he stayed submerged for remarkable 11 minutes and 35 seconds. The previous record was 10 minutes and 12 seconds. Stefan Missoud (spelling may be incorrect) was able to accomplish this feat using the "international discipline" of "static apnea," which means he was not allowed to use oxygen beforehand.

He trained for six months for the event and says it will take him 2 months to recover.

[WATCH]

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Comments

[BlackYowe]

09:30 PM on 06/09/2009

Good way to give yourself brain damage.

[peachykeen]

08:54 PM on 06/09/2009

I wish Sarah Palin would do the same thing, like, for maybe 11 years.

[liberalbug]

08:47 PM on 06/09/2009

Amazing as this is, all I can say is stupid is as stupid does--but then we all choose our own method of destroying our brain cells. Most of ours just happen to be a bit more entertaining than holding our breath.

[karela]

06:28 PM on 06/09/2009

Here is a fascinating thing to think about. This man did this by training and intellectual strength. In India Yogi masters have done similar things with no ill effects at all. There are instances where these men have been buried in sealed containers for days and came out fine. By spiritual practice, they significantly slow their hearts and their needs for oxygen. It's pretty amazing stuff, but it has been witnessed by many. There are also instances of yogi masters being cut without bleeding and also immediately stopping bleeding after being cut. The world and it's possibilities are greater than we can imagine.

[Owlygirl]

06:58 PM on 06/09/2009

Dare we even get into the group of people who claim not to ever eat and rarely drink. What are they called again...oh yeah! "Breatharians." It's fascinating to me. Take a look at their photos online. No disrespect but scaaary.

[freediver]

06:22 PM on 06/09/2009

As for recovery after the dive it's like an all out anerobic athletic event. Just as one would be spent from running as fast as they can over a period of time, so would you be wiped out after a prolonged breath hold.

As far as his record goes, usually these things are broken by a few seconds at a time before the next record is set. To break the record by a full minute is unbelievable!

Stephan has also broken many other records over the years in other disciplines- depth, time, distance. Check out DeeperBlue.com for more information on freediving.

[freediver]

06:35 PM on 06/09/2009

Looks like the first part of my post didn't stick.

First, no brain damage as his blood was flowing the whole time and his heart never stopped- he just stopped breathing.

Second, there's no pneumonia type symptoms because he was at the surface when he held his breath- that only happens on dives below 150' or so as a result from the blood shift. There is also no scarring of the lungs or any other silliness, this is an increase in hematocrit levels as extra red blood cells are released from the spleen as the dive reflex kicks in.

Hyperventilation is EXTREMELY dangerous and no freediver/spearfisherman who's been at it for more than a month would ever think to use such a dangerous tactic. This is a good way to black yourself out.

Records are sanctioned by A.I.D.A. and divers are not allowed to breath anything besides air (21%02) before their attempt. The pure 02 record is more of a stunt and that record has been broken a number of times since David Blaine did his trick in Times Square. Current record is close to 20 minutes, but it could change any day.

[freediver]

06:21 PM on 06/09/2009

Too many stupid, or uniformed, comments not to register and comment- I've been luring for a couple of years.

First, hyperventilation is a good way to kill yourself- it only gives you a slight bump in breath hold time so I'm 100% sure Stephan did not use this. More likely he used some sort of yoga/ meditation as part of his pre-dive breath up.

Second, there would be no "pneumonia" type symptoms as he didn't go to depth- this only happens at depths greater than 150'. Static breath holds are done in a pool, at the surface, with your face in the water.

Third, David Blaine used pure 02, as someone else already mentioned, in his "stunt". His record was short lived and already broken by other divers- actually, it's been broken a few times since he set it. You the record to count within the freediving community it needs to be done on air (21%02) and not with any type of special gases. Such records are sanctioned by A.I.D.A.

Fourth, there is no brain damage because the heart doesn't stop and the blood continues to flow to his brain even though (s)he is holding their breath. This is a common misconception. There is also no scarring of the lungs. What happens is that your spleen releases more red blood cells into your body after a few warm up breath holds to allow your blood to carry more 02. It also raises your hematocrit levels.

[joocee102]

07:36 PM on 06/09/2009

Hold up! The sequence goes, oygen, lugs, ventricular valve, heart, artery, brain. And in that order, no jumping. So what your saying is your heart continues to pump without oxygen and you'll be fine? You willing to put your kid to the test?

[freediver]

08:00 PM on 06/09/2009

There's still 02 in the blood- it just goes down over a period of time. I've put myself to the test many times and my kids will join me when they are old enough.

People get confused with what they hear about heart attacks. Th old rule of thumb was that brain death would occur after 4 minutes, but that's because the heart is no longer pumping- and not just the cessation of breath.

One thing that happens after the dive reflex kicks in is that the spleen will release about 20% more RBC's into the blood stream to hold more 02. Relaxing through Yoga, Qigong, meditation, etc. will help to decrease the amount of 02 used and prolong the breath hold. Drinking a couple of espressos before such an attempt would severely limit your hold.

[ScreenName05]

05:51 PM on 06/09/2009

If this guy thinks he is suffering now (and he is) then wait until he is 50 and needs those scared lungs to breath.

[Wiseronenow]

06:20 PM on 06/09/2009

But, he will always have Paris....

[4real]

05:16 PM on 06/09/2009

It's amazing and all but if he's not going to win a prize what's the point?

[Jon60]

05:28 PM on 06/09/2009

At the risk of stating the obvious, the point is to own the record. Simple as that. There are many accomplishments that don't offer any sort of prize, just the statisfaction of having done it.

[4real]

05:51 PM on 06/09/2009

yippee.

[newyorkid]

06:19 PM on 06/09/2009

Agree. Not only that. It's mankind fate to test it's limits for the sake of mankind. What's the point of climbing the Everest? Well, just that. Find the way to make a great accomplishment. Both individually and as a whole.

[NewYorkStateofMind]

05:38 PM on 06/09/2009

it's all so he can tell chicks in bars that he broke a record

probably carries around a little guinness book with him to prove it

[joocee102]

04:52 PM on 06/09/2009

I thought brain cells were irreplaceable.

[MeltonCartes]

04:51 PM on 06/09/2009

You've got to love "reporting" that raises more questions than it answers. "No oxygen beforehand?" "Recover?" Wha....?

[ScreenName05]

05:48 PM on 06/09/2009

Recover from the pneumonia he is likely suffering from at this point. The lungs tend to collapse and fill with fluid from the process of being deprived of oxygen and going through the changes in pressure used for this process. Usually they hold on to a weight that takes them deeper and deeper until they pass out, as they release the weight they are pulled to the surface. Pretty much kills the lungs and the rest of the body for a long time.

[humuhumunukunukuapuaa]

04:33 PM on 06/09/2009

Hyperventilating for a few minutes (Until you feel a little dizzy and some tingling in your skin) goes a long way to help. Back in my college days I was able to hold my breath underwater for 2 min 37 seconds. Sure, not even close to a record, but I won the bet that day,

[bejugo]

04:11 PM on 06/09/2009

"Why?", as in "why will he need 2 months to recover?" Anybody know?

[poster1122]

04:31 PM on 06/09/2009

I'd guess brain damage, but that would be redundant for anyone who would willingly deprive their body of oxygen for 11+ minutes, and especially knowing/believing beforehand that they'd need months of recovery time...

[GetoffMylawn]

04:38 PM on 06/09/2009

Brain dead?

[planetjeffy]

04:03 PM on 06/09/2009

C'mon folks...
no waterboarding jokes yet?

[batmanindy]

03:54 PM on 06/09/2009

That's nothing. I held my breath for 8 years during the boosh administration (except when I took a fresh breath to yell out "Holy youknowwhat" when he stole re-election in 2004).

[ScreenName05]

05:49 PM on 06/09/2009

The only intelligent response on this blog. Here here.

[WalterNeff]

03:30 PM on 06/09/2009

I you're waiting for someone to break this record, I wouldn't hold your breath

[MeltonCartes]

04:49 PM on 06/09/2009

Teehee

[nowThenzen]

04:53 PM on 06/09/2009

nice!