By the Numbers: Freediving and the Mind/Body Connection

1913

Year Stotti Georghios swam 200 feet below the surface to retrieve an anchor and became the first recorded freediver

100

Number of meters (328 feet) freediver William Trubridge plunged without aid, setting a world record in Constant Weight Apnea with Fins (2010)

30

Number of seconds the average person can hold his or her breath underwater

19

Number of minutes Swiss freediver Peter Colat held his breath underwater

3

Weight of an average, fully-grown brain in pounds

100

Number of billions of neurons in the brain (the same number as stars in our galaxy)

11

Percentage of adults who write with their left hands (89 percent are right-handed, while .34 percent can use either hand)

30

Percentage of 80-year-olds who perform as well as young people on
cognitive tests

58

Percentage of Americans who believe that good physical health is not possible without good mental health

986

Average number of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s daily

87

Percentage of daily energy intake from food needed to supply the brain as an infant

25

Percentage of daily energy intake from food needed to supply the brain as an adult

300

Billions of dollars spent by the American industry on stress-related issues

42

Cost in billions of work-related medical losses from anxiety-related disorders in 1999

43

Percentage of all adults who suffer adverse health effects from stress

12

Number of weeks of exercise needed to show benefits in mood and cognition for overweight people

61,974

Average number of results Amazon provides for a search on “yoga”

4,000

Age in years of the Chinese mind-body exercise Qi Gong, which uses gentle, flowing movements while maintaining balance and focus

76

Percentage of risk reduction given by frequent dancing, the only physical activity found to offer protection against dementia

4

Times a week a senior needs to do a crossword puzzle to gain a significantly measureable lower risk of dementia

10

Minutes of physical activity in school shown to benefit attention and problem-solving skills in children

1

Number of Americans out of 20 who suffer from hypochondria

1996

Year that the Surgeon General’s report released the finding that “physical activity appears to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety and improve mood”

8

Hours of sleep the average adult needs to properly function

96

Percentage of doctors in a Chicago-area study who believed that placebos could have real positive therapeutic effect

45

Percentage of doctors in the same study who had prescribed placebos in their regular clinical practice (half of those within the last year)

14

Number of millions of people who said their doctors prescribed yoga

Sources:
http://www.hanaumabaydivetours.com/Aboutfreediving.htm; http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10694259; http://www.livestrong.com/article/495957-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-freediving-training/; http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/02/holding-breath-underwater.html; http://www.brainhealthandpuzzles.com/fun_facts_about_the_brain.html; http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-needs; http://www.itsallaboutyoga.com/2008/02/yoga-statistics.html; http://aprilstolf.com/?p=281; http://www.humaneticscorp.com/ittrium/visit?path=A1xeb4x1y1x1038x1x65y1x1089x1x65y1x108dx1x65y1x10a4x1x65; http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/healthandlifestyle/nutrition-and-brain-health/281; http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/effects-of-stress-on-your-body; http://www.yogabusinessacademy.com/2011/02/15-facts-to-know-about-yoga-industry/; http://www.exercisetoheal.com/What+Is+Qi+Gong%3F.html; http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm; http://fitness.gov/mentalhealth.htm; http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1700079,00.html; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/cope-hypochondria_n_1665099.html#slide=1211265; http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm; http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/can-physical-education-make-you-smarter.htm