useablelobster2 t1_iy2rega wrote
Reply to comment by deep_sea2 in Eli5: Old Three Stooges episodes show people occasionally breathing into paper bags as some sort of remedy for emergency situations involving stress or trauma… what was the belief then and what do we now know better about the practice? by coffeygrande
Your body only knows to breathe because of increasing CO2 concentration, so unless you tape the bag to your face, you are likely to know when the air in the bag is too stale. Too much or too little O2 isn't something you can detect.
That is also why hyperventilating and holding your breath can cause you to fall unconscious, you run out of oxygen without hitting CO2 levels which tell your body to breathe. Never try to hyperventilate in order to hold your breath longer, doubly so if it's to dive underwater.
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