1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren vogelbaumb and this is a classic episode of 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: the podcast. In this one, we get into the weird 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: biology of how some air breathing mammals and reptiles managed 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: to hold their breath underwater for minutes or even hours 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: at a time. Hey brainstuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here you like, 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: most humans can probably hold your breath for about two minutes, 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: though in twenty sixteen, Guinness World Records clocked free diver 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: a leash Seguravendrol of Barcelona, Spain, holding his breath for 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,160 Speaker 1: a little over twenty four minutes, which is of course 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: completely wild. Humans aren't built for breath holding. We've got 12 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: other priorities like world domination. If we had spent even 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: a little more of our evolutionary history working on holding 14 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: in air instead of making our brains giant and complex, 15 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: we probably could survive without oxygen at least as long 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,639 Speaker 1: as the average beaver, which is fifteen minutes. But there 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: are lots of air breathing animals that are built for 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: breath holding. A sloth can hold its breath for a 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 1: wapping forty minutes. Because it's able to decrease its heart 20 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: rate to about a third of the normal. A sleeping 21 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: sea turtle can hold its breath for up to seven 22 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: hours at a time. A loggerhead turtles often forage underwater 23 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: for around forty minutes in one go, but one study 24 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: of loggerhead activity found that males can voluntarily sustain themselves 25 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: on one breath or sometimes a quick charge up of 26 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 1: several successive breaths, for around ten hours. One female was 27 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: observed going as long as twenty hours. Some turtles can 28 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: spend all winter long at the bottom of a frozen 29 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: lake in deep hibernation, not using their lungs at all. 30 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: The turtle's secret is that during this period of almost 31 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: complete systems shut down, it does take in a tiny 32 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: bit of oxygen by breathing through its highly vascularized cloaca. 33 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: The kloaca being a single organ found in reptiles, birds, amphibians, 34 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: and even some mammals that serves as the animals exit 35 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: for its u urinary tract and digestive tract, and that's 36 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: also the opening for their reproductive tract. Yes, they pee, poop, 37 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: and have sex with this single organ in turtles with 38 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: chloacal respiration. They can also draw water up into their 39 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: kloaca and absorb oxygen from it, then flush it back out. Turtles, however, 40 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: are ectotherms animals that rely on outside sources for heat. 41 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: It's much easier for ectotherms to go without oxygen than endotherms. 42 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: Like US mammals, we use a lot of oxygen keeping 43 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: our systems running hot, which is why marine mammals like whales, seals, 44 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: and otters are so impressive. They can pull off unbelievably 45 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: long deep dives in order to hunt for food. Take 46 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: Coovi's beaked whale, the deepest diving of all marine mammals, 47 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: and the one scientists think holds the record for the 48 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: endotherm that's achieved the longest breath holding session. These midsized 49 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: whales can dive around ten thousand feet that's about three 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: thousand meters, hunting for squid and other deep sea goodies, 51 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: and they can hold their breath for an average of 52 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: sixty seven minutes, with one record dive that lasted one 53 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty eight minutes before a Coovi's beaked whale 54 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: broke the previous record. A Northern elephant seal was the 55 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: gold medalist caught holding its breath at one hundred and 56 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: nineteen minutes. A sperm whale now comes in third place 57 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: at ninety minutes. That's a long time to go without 58 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: oxygen when you've got an expansive mammalian metabolism to keep up. 59 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: But lots of marine and aquatic mammals make it work 60 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: by slowing their heart rates and redirecting blood away from 61 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: their extremities into their brains, hearts, and muscles. They even 62 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,839 Speaker 1: have special oxygen binding proteins in their muscles that allow 63 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: them to store more oxygen than us land lovers. Today's 64 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:47,839 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article what animal can hold 65 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: express the longest on houstufforks dot com written by Jesslinshields. 66 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with 67 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: houstuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Glang. Four 68 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 69 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.