Go Deep, Dive Safe: Proper Training Important For Safe and Enjoyable Freediving

As professionally trained freedivers, we learn and train to be prepared for blackouts (the loss of consciousness underwater) and sambas (loss of motor control) while diving. Most importantly, we learn to not fear them if we are properly supervised and follow the important rules of freediving safety.

By definition, on every apnea dive we make we are putting our bodies into a hypoxic state, and this hypoxia can have different effects on us. Mild hypoxia is equivalent to the feeling of trying to catch your breath after a light jog, while more severe hypoxia can cause your brain to send random electrical signals through your body, causing what is known as a loss of motor control, or a “samba”. During this loss of motor control, a diver can lose control of his respiratory functions and fine motor skills. A loss of motor control can easily escalate into a full loss of consciousness, also known as a blackout. If you should ever encounter this with your buddy while diving, do everything possible to protect their airway and encourage them to breathe.

When a blackout occurs, the heart is still pumping blood to the brain, and the majority of the oxygen remaining in your body is still being distributed to the vital organs. A blackout does not mean someone is drowning.

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