“Your body is telling you it is time to breathe, but you still have plenty of time because the spleen will contract, releasing a store of oxygenated blood into the system,” says Prinsloo. After 30m, a diver stops swimming as his or her compressed body achieves negative buoyancy and, assuming a head-down skydiver’s pose, he or she actually falls into the depths. “The ocean opens up and I surrender to it.”

As the pressure increases and lungs are squeezed to the size of fists, the mammalian dive reflex causes the vessels in their walls to swell, protecting the organs from collapse and damage. Pressures are so high that, if a diver was to open his or her mouth, water would flood the lungs, causing instant death.

1. complexityaddiction reblogged this from oldworldwandering
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7. backhooks reblogged this from galesofnovember and added:

   odds that I have spleen-related nightmares tonight: now approaching 100%

8. galesofnovember reblogged this from oldworldwandering and added:

   The bolded is my favorite part about free divers: their faith in that store of spleen oxygen. I do not believe in the...

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