Pressure is measured in units known as Atmospheres of Pressure (ATA). As we freedive and move deeper through the water column, pressure increases fairly rapidly. Salt water is even more dense than fresh water but, for these general purposes, it’s not enough to make a notable difference and we’ll just focus on the salty brine that we all love and enjoy so much. Water is dense… much more dense than the air of our atmosphere. Scientifically there are ways to distinguish between the mechanisms which create those blackouts and in this blog we’ll focus on the two mentioned above. In general, when blackouts are discussed in freediving they get tossed under the veil of ‘shallow water blackout’. The type of blackout is defined by the mechanisms that contribute to the blackout itself. Performance Freediving International (PFI), which is the instructional system that I instruct at Bottom Dwellers Freediving, classifies these blackouts as ‘ascent’ and ‘recovery’ blackouts. There are two main types of blackouts in freediving that we will focus on. The general basics however can be broken down as follows to help you better understand hypoxic events. The purpose of this blog post isn’t to give you a full lesson on the science behind hypoxic events as there is a lot of great instructional material, programs and courses out there that fulfill that need. It is within the scientific relationships guided by these 2 laws that we become more susceptible to hypoxic events as we freedive. Nerding out on the science and having a full understanding of Boyle’s Law and Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressure will help you better understand the relationships between pressure, volume and density. One of the ways it will benefit you is by allowing you to better understand hypoxia and why these types of hypoxic events occur. Having a proper understanding of the physics and physiology of freediving is beneficial on many levels in this sport. Why do these hypoxic events occur and how do we manage the scenario at hand when they do occur? Our hope, through this, is to allow the lessons learned from some of our community members’ experiences to shed light on the reality of this subject. Before diving into the dirty details of these stories with our local community members we need to bring it back to our two previous questions. To help bridge that gap with this disconnect we have asked a few local freedivers to share their first hand experiences with hypoxic events for us. Unfortunately, it often takes this first hand experience before many freedivers acknowledge the reality of the risks associated with the sport. Free divers generally acknowledge the risks of hypoxia but at times there is a lack of respect when it comes to embracing the protocols and management systems that were created and designed to be implemented to help minimize the dangers and risks associated with these events. It can be easy to remove ones’ self from the fact that events like this can occur until a hypoxic event has either been experienced or witnessed. It is apparent that there can, at times, be a disconnect between recreational freedivers and the reality of blackouts and LMCs. It’s very likely that if you stick with this sport long enough you will witness one of these events at some point first hand. Hypoxic events are more commonly described as ‘blackouts’ and ‘near blackouts’ which are also known as Loss of Motor Controls (LMCs) and Sambas. A hypoxic event is a response our body has due to the depletion of oxygen in the cells, tissues and/or body as a whole. Turning a blind eye to the reality of this is one of the more reckless things that one can do in this beautiful sport. There is no ignoring that hypoxia and in turn hypoxic events occur in freediving. Management of these hypoxic events begins with being educated on the subject of hypoxia, understanding why these events occur and learning how best to manage them. Risk management, awareness and preparedness are vital components to competently and safely managing these scenarios when they occur. The topic of blackouts is a common discussion throughout freediving communities.
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