Who wouldn’t love the opportunity to increase bottom time by making air last a bit longer? And who wouldn’t love the feeling of reduced stress that comes with knowing that there’s plenty of air on reserve? If you’re still new to diving, you may feel some frustration as you watch the air in your tank disappear more rapidly than you’d like it to, and you may even feel like you’re holding others back from enjoying diving as much as they’d like to, simply because you use air faster than they do. No matter what your reasons for wanting to conserve air and increase bottom time, we are here to help! Here are ten top tips for making the most of every dive by using just a little less air.
Breathe Intentionally
If you’ve ever meditated, you know what it’s like to focus on every breath that enters and leaves your body. Breathing intentionally is a big part of the meditation process, and it’s also an excellent way to ensure that you are making the most of the air in your tanks. To do this, try following a specific rhythm: inhale for five seconds, then exhale slowly, trying to take between 10 and 15 seconds to let the air out of your lungs. You’ll find that getting into this rhythm without skipping breaths or breathing too rapidly will help your body and mind relax as you use less air. As a bonus, the more relaxed you are, the better your body will use the air you have available.
Exercise Perfect Buoyancy Control
Not only does good buoyancy control make you look a whole lot more competent underwater, it helps your body to use air efficiently. This happens in a couple of ways. First, you won’t be fighting to stay at depth, and you’ll be more relaxed. Secondly, you will use less air in your BCD, meaning there’s more for you to breathe.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Diving isn’t meant to be a hurried process. Instead of working hard to get to where you’re going, move slowly, steadily, and intentionally. You’ll relax, your body won’t work as hard, and you will ultimately lose less air. Another way you can use less air is by staying as shallow as a given dive profile will allow for. The deeper you go, the more air you’ll use; sticking to shallower portions of a dive site can help save a bit of it.
Streamline your Profile
The less streamlined you are, the more drag you have, and the harder you have to work to cut through the water. The harder you have to work, the more air you use! By keeping all hoses and accessories secured and close to your body, and by swimming in a horizontal position, you will use as little energy as possible, thereby conserving air. Check in with yourself frequently as you are working on this skill – be intentional about it and notice how your body position influences the way you move through the water column. With just a little practice, you’ll find maintaining a horizontal profile is fairly simple.
Use Your Snorkel when Possible
While you’re at the surface waiting for a buddy, swimming a short distance, or just enjoying a peek at shallow reef life, use your snorkel instead of breathing air from your tank. Do this only when conditions are calm enough so that you feel comfortable; if waves are breaking overhead, go back to breathing through your regulator.
Weight Yourself Properly
Weighting plays a crucial role in the amount of air you consume. Be sure that your weight is distributed evenly, and make minor adjustments as necessary to ensure that you are able to maintain a streamlined profile. If you are over-weighted, you’ll have to work harder to maintain a proper profile; if you are under-weighted, you may discover that you have to work harder to maintain depth. This is a balancing act that can seem difficult; however, practice makes perfect.
Remember to Relax
Remember to relax and have fun on your dives! It’s normal to feel excited or nervous, but both of these physical states of agitation cause your body to use much more air than relaxing does. Try to calm yourself before diving, and once you’re in the water, focus on breathing slowly and consistently while calming yourself and relaxing your muscles. This is another skill that can take some practice to cultivate, but it is definitely one that will serve you well.
Go with the Flow
If possible, allow the current to assist you as you move through the water. If you must work against a current, expect to use a little more air than you normally do, as your muscles will need more oxygen to keep working through the challenge of swimming against the water’s natural flow. Resting when possible can help improve efficiency, and so can slow, deliberate motions.
Increase Knowledge
You’ll become a better diver and you’ll learn to use less air if you take more scuba courses. Taking peak performance buoyancy, night diving, deep diving, and wreck diving courses will not just give you the skill sets you need to go into more challenging environments, it will give you an increased sense of confidence as well as the ability to relax more readily even when challenges do present themselves. The more you know and the greater your confidence level, the more you will enjoy diving.
Keep Your Skills Up
As with all things, practicing keeps your scuba skills sharp. If you can’t travel regularly, at least make a point of going to a local dive site – even if that’s the pool your scuba shop uses for training – and practice those basic skills, so that when the opportunity to go to coveted dive sites does arise, you’ll be able to enjoy every minute of your holiday with calm confidence.
Finally, ensure you familiarize yourself with new equipment before diving, and prepare yourself for each dive by creating a plan and sticking with it. By incorporating all of these actions into your routine, you can save a surprising amount of air and enjoy more bottom time.