- Updated on November 10, 2021
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 naive 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
