Under which condition can you hold your breath longer?
First breathe in as much as you can and hold your breath, and time it. (Lungs completely inflated)
After, breathe out as much as you can, hold your breath, and time it. (Maximal expiration).
Which condition can you hold your breath longer? Why?
I'm trying to relate all of this with chemoreceptors for carbon dioxide and oxygen. I would really appreciate a useful resource.
Hint: After breathing air, there is still a sufficiently high ration of oxygen in it in order to breathe it two times again.
That makes sense, that there is enough oxygen to supply the body for a longer time, however, I thought the body senses CO2 more, so after maximal exhalation, the CO2 decreases in blood, and you can hold your breath longer?
To determine under which condition you can hold your breath longer, you can compare the duration of holding your breath after maximal inhalation (lungs completely inflated) and maximal expiration (full exhalation).
When you breathe in as much as you can and hold your breath, your lungs are completely inflated, which means there is a greater volume of air in your lungs. This results in a larger amount of oxygen available in your lungs to be absorbed into the bloodstream. However, during this time, the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in your body will start to rise as you continue to metabolize oxygen.
On the other hand, when you breathe out as much as you can and hold your breath, your lungs are primarily empty, with less air volume. The initial oxygen levels will also be lower compared to the first condition. However, since the CO2 levels in your body are already elevated due to metabolic activity, this condition may trigger chemoreceptors to respond more actively to rising CO2 levels. These chemoreceptors are sensitive to changes in CO2 levels and trigger the urge to breathe.
Therefore, holding your breath after maximal expiration typically leads to a shorter duration compared to holding your breath after maximal inhalation. This is because the urge to breathe may be more pronounced when starting with lower oxygen levels and higher CO2 levels.
To explore this topic further and find a useful resource, you can refer to the field of respiratory physiology, specifically focusing on breath-holding and its relationship with chemoreceptors. Academic journals, physiology textbooks, or online educational resources related to respiratory physiology could provide in-depth information on this topic. Some reputable resources that may help are:
1. "Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials" by John B. West
2. "Principles of Physiology for the Anaesthetist" by Peter Kam and Ian Power
3. Medical articles in journals like "Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology" and "Journal of Applied Physiology"
4. Online resources such as educational websites associated with medical or physiology schools or organizations.
Remember to consult credible sources and scientific literature to ensure accurate and reliable information.