Stig Severinsen has been nicknamed ‘The Man Who Doesn’t Breathe.’
He set a world record for the longest duration underwater without surfacing for air at 22 minutes, surpassing the old record by 3 minutes, which stood at 19 minutes.
His unique gift, which he’s spent decades harnessing, served him well in his career as a world champion free-diver.
But at 51 and now retired, he believes that his method of extreme breath holding – which he calls ‘Breathology’ – could be key for a longer life and treating multiple ailments.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘There are many obvious reasons why breath holding can help increase longevity – and a more healthy life in general.
‘For instance, I have never been hospitalized and the childhood asthma and allergies I endured for years disappeared when I started extreme breath holding.’
While Mr Severinsen’s technique may sound pseudoscientific, doctors tell DailyMail.com there is some evidence to support his claims.
Dr Leonard A. Jason, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, told this website that ‘there is scientific evidence about the benefits of controlled breathing for activating the parasympathetic nervous system (a network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger), improving lung function, and promoting mental clarity.’
However, he notes that direct links to increased lifespan ‘remain speculative’.
Nicknamed The Man Who Doesn’t Breathe, Stig Severinsen has multiple breath-holding world records under his diving belt
He also outlines some of the potential risks prolonged or extreme breath-holding can carry, such as dizziness, fainting, and in extreme cases hypoxia, which can lead to death with dangerously low levels of oxygen in the blood.
In light of the risks, Dr Jason does not advise experimenting with breath holding underwater for those who are starting out.
Another pioneer of breathwork, Wim Hof, inspired millions to take it up, but there have been multiple deaths over the years due to drowning.
The Wim Hof method combines hyperventilating with breath holding, and cold water immersion, which makes it an even deadlier combination if performed incorrectly.
But Mr Severinsen says plain breath holding, if practiced safely over time, can do wonders for your health.
The benefits of breathing techniques like these are due to the body becoming more efficient at utilizing oxygen.
By delaying the urge to breathe and take in more oxygen, the body is forced to adapt.
The better the body is at getting oxygen to the cells in your body, the better it is at repairing damage and clearing out waste.
This has been shown to reduce risk of everything from viruses to depression to muscle tension.
As you get older, your lungs naturally weaken and lose some of their elasticity, which can make it harder for your cells to get the oxygen they need.
Mr Severinsen said: ‘When you keep your ribcage and diaphragm flexible you also can take in more oxygen and better exhale carbon dioxide and other “waste products” of the body.’
‘With breath holding also naturally comes breathwork – so daily training that keeps the cardiovascular system healthy.’
For those looking to experiment with breath holding he doesn’t recommend people to be as extreme as him.
His number one tip is to start out out of the water and to use breathing as a relaxation technique.
In October 2012, Mr Severinsen broke the record for the longest time breath held voluntarily by a male by spending 22 minutes with his head submerged in a pool in London
After decades after fine tuning his breath-holding technique – which he calls Breathology – the 51-year-old Dane believes that it could be the key for a longer life
He recommends a two-to-one breathing pattern, which involves exhaling for twice as long as inhaling.
To aid relaxation, you can close your eyes to focus on only your breathing, with an inhale for a count of four and a slow, gentle exhale to a count of eight.
Once you’ve mastered this, he suggests doing three to four breath holds – where you hold for as long as comfortable – each day.
He says doing this in the morning is ideal, as your body will be refreshed after a good night’s sleep and on an empty stomach.
If you do progress to practicing breath holding in the water, Mr Severinsen says his number one rule is to never hold your breath underwater while you are alone.
‘Losing consciousness and experiencing a black out is deadly – this is the first rule of diving!’ the record breaker cautions.
Along with boosting lung capacity and relieving stress, Mr Severinsen says breath-holding can increase the release of erythropoietin (EPO), which is a naturally-occurring hormone produced by the kidneys, that stimulates the production of red blood cells.
Studies back up his claims and some athletes even practice breath-holding exercises to potentially boost their aerobic capacity and endurance.
For this reason, Mr Severinsen refers to breath holding is a form of ‘natural doping’.
He adds: ‘In other words, it is a safe way of what I call “natural doping” because the red blood cells are the vehicles that carry oxygen to every single cell in the body – this increases both health and performance.
By the end of his first year of practising freediving, he had already broken three records and he spent almost ten years perfecting his meditation technique before breaking the 22 minute dive
‘I am certain future studies will also reveal benefits on telomere length, linked to longevity and reduced risk of disease, along with other epigenetic markers.’
Mr Severinsen says the other major benefit of controled breathing is that it has been scientifically proven to reduce the levels of stress hormones in the blood.
This means through employing his technique he is able to ‘deal with stress in a more productive manner’ and ‘relax completely in the face of extreme challenges.’
He muses: ‘Of course I can also feel stressed, sad, upset – but I have learned to deal with stress in a more productive manner and this is something everyone can learn.’
Through his company, Mr Severinsen has a seven-day breathing course, which builds on the practice each day, with the maximum breath hold achieved on the final day.
He says: ‘I believe it is the largest online community and training program for breath holding and our aim is to arm people with they knowledge and skills to double or triple their breath hold in just one week.’
In terms of his plunge into the world of breath holding, Mr Severinsen was fascinated by the water from an early age.
He revealed: ‘Well, I fortunately had a large swimming pool in the backyard of the villa where I grew up in Denmark.
‘We also had a nice boat, so for safety reasons, my parents wanted my younger brother and I to become strong swimmers.
‘So I learned to swim as a baby and was selected for the “talent team” in my swimming group at the age of five.
‘My breath holding career, you could say, started in the pool diving for plastic animals on one breath – this was the favorite game for us to play as kids.
‘In swim practice I was also a bit naughty and liked to sit underwater while my friends swam two laps – it would make my coach furious when he caught me!
‘Things progressed when I learned to spearfish and I remember feeling like a real-life James Bond when I got my first diving knife and speargun.
In terms of his plunge into the world of breath holding, Mr Severinsen was fascinated by the water from an early age
While Mr Severinsen has now retired from breaking records, he is still passionate about breath holding
‘My brother and I would then spend summer holidays in the Mediterranean hunting for marine life which was great fun.’
Mr Severinsen began playing underwater rugby in high school, ultimately becoming part of the Danish National Team.
A few years later, while studying at the University of Barcelona, he joined the Spanish National Underwater Hockey Team.
On a recommendation from his underwater rugby coach, he started freediving in 2003.
By the end of his first year of practicing he had already broken three records and he spent almost ten years perfecting his meditation technique before breaking the 22 minute dive.
In October 2012, Mr Severinsen broke the record for the longest time breath held voluntarily by a male by spending 22 minutes with his head submerged in a pool in London.
He also went on to break the record for the longest underwater swim, travelling 500ft (152m 40cm) in just two minutes and 11 seconds.
While Mr Severinsen has now retired from breaking records, he is still passionate about breath holding and he spends his time traveling the world teaching his techniques to everyone, from kids swimming clubs to the military.
He also supports a school in Cambodia, ‘with the hope that one day all kids in school learn breathing techniques at an early age, so they can better navigate in a fast-paced and often stressful world.’
