Increase your time underwater effortlessly

The 2 best free apps to learn how to breathe correctly

1. STAmina Apnea Trainer

This app is designed for people who want to improve their time underwater, especially in sports such as freediving or snorkeling.

How often should you practice?

What NOT to do if you want to last longer underwater?

But even if you just want to feel better and train your lung capacity, it works wonders.

2. Breathe+ Coherence Breathing

This app is more visual and relaxing. It's based on coherent breathing, a technique that helps synchronize your heart and nervous system with your breathing.

Ideal for:

Reduce stress
Prepare your body before diving
Train smooth breathing control

It shows you an animation with a circle that expands and contracts, guiding you on when to inhale and exhale. It seems simple, but trust me: it's powerful.

How to improve your breathing and increase your time underwater? Simple techniques that really work.

Now, let's get to the practical part. If you want to learn how to breathe correctly and manage to stay underwater for longer periods of time without suffering, there are some basic—but very effective—techniques that you can apply starting today.

You don't need any previous experience, or even to be on the beach or in an Olympic pool. These strategies are accessible to everyone and, if you practice them consistently, will help you significantly extend your time underwater safely and naturally.

Here I share with you five fundamental steps that changed the way I breathe and can do the same for you:

1. Start with diaphragmatic (or abdominal) breathing

This type of breathing is the foundation of everything. Many people, unknowingly, breathe shallowly, using only their chest. The result is that air doesn't fully reach the lungs, which limits their oxygenation capacity.

Do this little exercise: place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. When you inhale, make sure it's your abdominal hand that rises higher, not the one on your chest. This indicates that you're breathing with your diaphragm, allowing your lungs to expand as much as possible. The more air you can efficiently inhale, the better prepared you'll be to increase your endurance.

2. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth

This breathing pattern isn't just a yoga or meditation tip. It has a powerful physiological reason: inhale through the nose helps filter, warm, and humidify the air, which is better for your lungs. And exhale through the mouth allows carbon dioxide to be released in a more complete and controlled manner.

Additionally, this type of breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for calming you, reducing anxiety, and putting you in an ideal state of mind to dive with confidence and control. It's an essential technique if you want to breathe correctly before entering the water.

3. Practice deep, slow, controlled breathing

This isn't about breathing rapidly or filling your lungs with pressure. The key is calmness and control. Try this rhythm:
Inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 2 seconds, and exhale slowly in 6 seconds.

This type of sequence helps train your body to be more efficient at using the oxygen it receives. Over time, you'll notice that you tire less, breathe better, and can remain apnea-free for longer periods of time without discomfort. This also prepares your mind for the moment of submersion, doing so in a relaxed and natural way.

4. Dry apnea: your best ally out of the water

Although it sounds strange, you can train your lung capacity. without having to get into the waterThis is called "dry apnea." And it works. A lot.

Find a quiet place, sit or lie down, take several deep breaths and then hold your breath As long as you're comfortable with. Don't force yourself. Start with short times and gradually increase them. Track your progress and don't compare yourself to anyone else: the important thing is to progress at your own pace.

This workout is great for increasing your carbon dioxide tolerance and improving your diving reflex, which directly translates into more time underwater safely.

5. Relax completely when you are underwater

This advice seems obvious, but we often forget it. When you dive into a deep dive with tension, anxiety, or fear, your body consumes oxygen more quickly. Your muscles contract, your mind goes on alert, and everything becomes more complicated.

Instead, if you manage to enter a calm state—as if you were floating in bed—your oxygen consumption decreases significantly. Practice this: once in the water, close your eyes, relax every part of your body, loosen your shoulders, turn off any urgent thoughtsImagine yourself floating like a jellyfish or a leaf in the sea. The calmer you are, the longer you can stay without needing to breathe.

Just breathe, connect with yourself, and let your body learn its own rhythm.

Tagged underwater, things you didn't know, Interesting facts, effortlessly