Complete Normal Body Oxygen Index Table (Breath Holding Time)

Here is a more detailed Table of Table 4 from the web page Normal Body Oxygen Index - Control Pause in Healthy People

Abbreviations for the Table: "max" - maximum; "norm" - normal; "out" - outhale or exhalation; "in" - "inhalation"; "tr" - trained; "imm." - face immersed in water. In their medical and physiological research articles, the breath holding time test was done after some breathing maneuvers (maximum inhalation, or 3 deep breaths, etc.). The explanation for corresponding CP (Control Pause, or body oxygen level, or body oxygen level, or BHT) calculations are given below.

Table 4b. Complete Normal Body Oxygen Index Table

Types of people investigated	# of subj.	CP, s	BHT, s	Conditions (order of actions before BHT test)	% of BHT for CP*	Reference
US aviators	319	41 s	68 s	Max out, large in	60%	Schneider, 1919
Fit instructors	22	46 s	67 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
Defence pilots	24	49 s	72 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
British candidates	23	47 s	69 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
US candidates	7	45 s	66 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
Delivery pilots	27	39 s	57 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
Pilots - scouts	15	42 s	62 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
Min requir.:flying		34 s	49 s	Max out, norm in	70%	Flack, 1920
Normal subjects	20	39 s	65 s	Max out, large in	60%	Schneider, 1930
Normal subjects	30	23 s	58 s	Max in	40%	Friedman, 1945
Normal subjects	7	44 s	115 s	Max out, max in	38%	Ferris et al, 1946
Normal subjects	22	33 s	45 s	Norm in	73%	Mirsky et al, 1946
Aviation students	48	36 s	90 s	Max in	40%	Karpovich, 1947
Normal subjects	80	28 s	70 s	Max in	40%	Rodbard, 1947
Normal subjects	3	41 s	82 s	Norm out, tr.	50%	Stroud, 1959
Normal subjects	16	16 s	48 s	Max: in, out, in	33.3%	Kohn .., 1970
Normal subjects	6	28 s	76 s	Max out, max in	38 %	Davidson .., 1974
Normal subjects	16	22 s	56 s	Max in	40 %	Stanley et al, 1975
Normal subjects	7	29 s	77 s	Max out, max in	38 %	Gross et al, 1976
Normal subjects	6	36 s	36 s	Norm out	100%	Bartlett, 1977
Normal subjects	9	33 s	55 s	Norm out, tr.	60%	Mukhtar et al, 1986
Normal subjects	20	36 s	60 s	Norm out, tr.	60%	Morrissey et al, 1987
Normal subjects	14	25 s	74 s	Deep breath 50%O2	33.3%	Zandbergen .., 1992
Normal subjects	26	21 s	21 s	Norm out	100%	Asmudson .., 1994
Normal subjects	30	36 s	36 s	Norm out	100%	Taskar et al, 1995
Normal subjects	76	25 s	67 s	Max out, max in	38%	McNally & Eke, 1996
Normal subjects	8	32 s	35 s	Norm out, tr.	90%	Sasse et al, 1996
Normal subjects	10	38 s	38 s	Norm out	100%	Flume et al, 1996
Normal subjects	31	29 s	32 s	Norm out, supine	90%	Marks et al, 1997
Normal males	36	29 s	29 s	Norm out	100%	Joshi et al, 1998
Normal females	33	23 s	23 s	Norm out	100%	Joshi et al, 1998
Healthy subjects	20	38 s	108 s	Max in, tr.	35%	Morooka et al, 2000
Normal subjects	6	30 s	60 s	Usual exhale, tr.	50%	Bosco et al, 2004
Normal subjects	19	30 s	33 s	Usual exhale, tr.	90%	Mitrouska .., 2007
Healthy subjects	14	34 s	114 s	Max out-in, imm., tr.	30%	Andersson .., 2009

Notes. * “Handbook of physiology”, after analysing numerous relevant publications, suggested the following proportions for BHT measurements (Mithoefer, 1965). If BHT after full inhalation is 100%; then BHT after normal inhalation is 55%; BHT after normal exhalation is 40%; BHT after full exhalation is 24%. Taking an additional full exhalation or inhalation before starting the test increases BHT by about 5 or 15% respectively for each manoeuvre. Subjects, who have repetitive breath holds in a day, experience the “training” effect that gradually increases maximum breath holding time (up to 30%), but the BHT test done until first stress or initial discomfort is not improved using such training. This information allows us to compare different BHT tests done during almost a century of clinical investigations, if we use some standard conditions for the test. In order to do that, let me introduce the CP (Control Pause): the CP is BHT after quiet or usual expiration and only until first sensation of air-hunger (a stress-free version of the test). For people who practiced breath holding many times per day, BHT for as long as possible after usual exhalation is about 2 times longer then the CP due to the “training effect”. For naïve people, it is only about 30% greater.
**. Zandbergen et al, 1992 conducted their experiments with the mixture of 50% O2 and 50% N2. According to Ferris with his colleagues (1945), such mixture increases normal BHT by about 50%.

References for Table Normal Breath Holding Time - Control Pause in Healthy People

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