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A member asked:
Can "breath holding" contests cause damage to the brain if contestants hold their breath for 1-2 minutes? do brain cells begin to die in this time?
5 doctors weighed in across 3 answers
Caution: From neurological point of view lack of oxygen to the brain for more than 4-8 min can cause significant brain damage. But recent research has found out that anoxic events of even small duration can have adverse affects on cognition and memory over time.Don't do that again. Will be interested to know a neurologist's opinion.
Answered 12/10/2013
5.1k views
See below: Brain cells start to die after 20 seconds when deprived of oxygen. The 'breath holding' contest is a really bad idea if you want to protect your brain. I would strongly suggest not participating, and make others think about their actions.
Answered 1/28/2016
5.1k views
Mixed results: In study of deep sea divers brain scans of five people with at least 1, 000 breath-hold dives over a five-year period. Mri revealed no abnormalities in the structure of their brains, nuclear spect studies of brain showed some abnormalities in frontal and temporal regions of brain.Not enough studies to make definite determination of effect of breath holding on brain.
Answered 9/22/2017
5.1k views
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