How to Breathe While Skydiving: Techniques for a Smooth Freefall
Table of Contents
- Can You Breathe While Skydiving?
- Is It Hard To Breathe While Skydiving?
- Best Practices For Breathing While Skydiving
- Do You Get The Stomach Drop Feeling When Skydiving?
- How To Not Pass Out While Skydiving
Key Takeaways
Breathing while skydiving is easier when you focus more on relaxing than on taking a breath. Keeping your chin up, breathing through your nose, and even shouting to force yourself to intake air are some techniques that help you breathe while skydiving.
Can You Breathe While Skydiving?
Yes, you can breathe while skydiving! But sometimes people forget to breathe! Between the adrenaline, excitement, and sensory overwhelm, it’s possible to inadvertently hold your breath. Knowing that this may be true for you, it’s good to gather some tips on how to breathe while skydiving so you can put them into action if necessary. Here are our best tips for easy breezy breathing while taking the leap.
Is It Hard To Breathe While Skydiving?
Is it hard to breathe when skydiving? Well, it can be, but that’s just because you’re overthinking it. Breathing, for the most part, is a subconscious effort. However, there are some instances that it may take some more intentionality. Two examples that apply to skydiving include lots of wind (or a significant change in environment) and stressful situations.
Best Practices For Breathing While Skydiving
It can be difficult to focus on the actual act of breathing, but it absolutely can be done and it can significantly improve your experience. Lots of healthy oxygen will help your body take in the physical sensations, the view, and the in-the-moment realization that you’re flying!
1. Be intentional about relaxing.
Our top tips to relax during one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life include asking questions before the jump, chatting during the plane ride, and reminding yourself to relax. It’s sort of a trick to the brain. The first thing our bodies do when we think, “okay, I need to relax” is take a big, deep breath (and we don’t even think about it)! So rather than thinking, “take a breath!” just think, “relax” and watch the breath happen naturally.
2. SCREAM.
Can you open your mouth while skydiving? Yes! Think of times on the ground when you’ve screamed, whether it’s out of fright, shouting the words at a concert, or hollering on a roller coaster. What happens immediately after finishing that yell? You take a big inhale – naturally!
The same thing happens in the sky. When we expel a bunch of air from our lungs, our bodies send a signal to our brain, which sends a signal back to our lungs to take a deep breath in to replace the air we just released. If you’re feeling tight in the chest, let out a big “AHHHH!!!” and take that intuitive deep breath in.
3. Keep your chin up.
During your pre-jump briefing, your instructor will talk with you about body position. Think of the correct body position for tandem skydiving as a banana, with the middle as your hips and the stem as your face. The top of the stem is pointed where? Up! Keeping your head tilted up and your face forward (instead of pointed down) will help to keep the airflow from feeling so intense.
When we look straight down, we endure a 120 mph wind blast straight to the face! Although it’s absolutely possible to breathe in this position, the feeling of the swift wind can trick people into thinking it’s harder than it is, leaving them anxious. The easy solution is to keep your chin up. Plus, this makes for awesome photos of your face, rather than the top of your head!
Do You Get The Stomach Drop Feeling When Skydiving?
The infamous roller coaster feeling doesn’t happen during the freefall portion of the skydive. WHAT?! We know, it’s shocking. If that stomach drop feeling causes you to momentarily lose your breath (or your lunch), don’t fret, because you won’t even have to worry about it! Leaving the airplane doesn’t cause this feeling because the plane is already moving forward and the stomach drop feeling occurs when jumping from a static object.
The stomach drop feeling may occur while making turns under the parachute, though. This is due to the force swinging the body sideways. If you’re worried about motion sickness, let your instructor know – they can modify the way they fly the parachute to have minimal effect.
How To Not Pass Out While Skydiving
Passing out while skydiving is a totally normal concern for many people, especially if they’ve experienced feeling faint in other high-adrenaline scenarios! However, passing out while skydiving is rare and for the most part, completely preventable.
Staying hydrated, making sure you eat prior to jumping, and maintaining a smooth heart rate are key to making sure your experience is faint-free. The best way to ensure your heart rate stays steady and your oxygen levels maintain solid levels is to BREATHE.
Have questions? Nervous about your first jump? Give us a call! Or, are you ready to book the adventure of a lifetime? Reserve your skydive today! Blue skies!