World record holder told what helped him cure asthma, allergies and look younger (6 photos + 1 video)
Stig Severinsen does not recommend a radical approach to holding your breath underwater. According to him, it requires extensive training and adherence to safety rules. 
51-year-old Stig Severinsen earned the nickname "the man who doesn't breathe" after setting a world record for the longest time spent underwater without surfacing - 22 minutes. He worked for decades to achieve this feat, and now, in retirement, he believes that his method of extreme breath-holding, which he calls "Breathing Therapy", could be the key to living longer and curing a variety of diseases.
"There are many obvious reasons why holding your breath can help you live longer — and live healthier overall. For example, I've never been hospitalized, and the childhood asthma and allergies I suffered with for years disappeared when I started extreme breath holding," Stieg said. 
Doctors say there's some truth to that. Dr. Leonard A. Jason, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, said "there is scientific evidence that controlled breathing can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system (a network of nerves that relaxes the body after periods of stress or danger), improve lung function, and promote mental clarity." However, he calls the direct links to increased longevity "speculative."
Jason also listed the potential risks that prolonged or extreme breath holding can carry: dizziness, fainting, and in extreme cases, hypoxia. The latter can even lead to death due to dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood. Therefore, the doctor does not recommend experimenting with holding your breath underwater for those who are just starting out.
Useful, but dangerous
Severinsen says that simply holding your breath, if practiced safely for a long time, can do wonders for your health. The benefits of these breathing techniques, he says, are that the body becomes more efficient at using oxygen. By holding back the urge to inhale and inhale more oxygen, the body is forced to adapt.
The better your body is at delivering oxygen to your body's cells, the better it is at repairing damage and clearing out waste. This reduces the risk of everything from viruses to depression to muscle tension.
As we age, our lungs naturally weaken and lose some of their elasticity, making it harder for our cells to get the oxygen they need.
"When you keep your chest and diaphragm flexible, you can also inhale more oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and other waste products better. Breath holding naturally involves breathing, which is why daily exercise helps maintain cardiovascular health," Stieg says. He does, however, ask anyone who wants to experiment with breath holding not to be as extreme as he is.
Severinsen says that not only does holding your breath increase your lung capacity and relieve stress, it can also increase the release of erythropoietin (EPO), which is a natural hormone produced by your kidneys that stimulates red blood cell production.
Research backs up his claims, and some athletes even practice breath-holding exercises to potentially improve their aerobic capacity and endurance. For this reason, Stieg calls breath-holding a form of "natural doping."
Another major benefit of controlled breathing is that it has been scientifically proven to reduce stress hormone levels in the blood.
"Of course, I can also feel stress, sadness, frustration - but I have learned to cope with stress more productively, and this is something that everyone can learn," Severinsen emphasizes.
The path to records
The man became interested in swimming and diving as a child, since there was a large pool in the backyard of the villa where he grew up. His parents wanted both of their sons to learn to swim.
"So I learned to swim as a baby and was selected for the 'talent team' in my swim group at the age of five. "My breath-holding career pretty much started with diving into the pool after plastic animals on one breath - our favourite game as a kid. I was also a bit naughty in swimming training and liked to sit underwater while my friends swam two laps – which would drive my coach crazy when he caught me!” Stig recalls.
Severinsen started playing underwater rugby in high school, eventually becoming a member of the Danish national team. A few years later, while studying at the University of Barcelona, he joined the Spanish national underwater hockey team.
On the recommendation of his underwater rugby coach, Severinsen began freediving in 2003. By the end of his first year of training, he had already broken three records and spent almost a decade perfecting his meditation technique before breaking the 22-minute dive record.
He holds the record for the longest breath-holding time by a man (22 minutes) and the record for the longest underwater swim. He swam 152.4 meters in just two minutes and 11 seconds. In 2021, Stig Severinsen broke the world record for the longest distance finswimming on one breath, swimming 202 meters underwater
He now spends his time traveling the world teaching his techniques to everyone from children's swimming clubs to the military. Stig also supports a school in Cambodia, hoping that one day all children in the school will learn the breathing technique at an early age.
