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Diving reflex in a human baby. The diving reflex, also known as the diving response and mammalian diving reflex, is a set of physiological responses to immersion that overrides the basic homeostatic reflexes, and is found in all air-breathing vertebrates studied to date.
It is an evolutionary adaptation that helps mammals, including humans, manage the challenges of being submerged in cold water. The diving reflex is more pronounced in aquatic mammals and is thought to have originated as a way to conserve oxygen and enhance the ability to stay underwater for longer periods. Key components of the diving reflex ...
The diving reflex is a response to immersion that overrides the basic homeostatic reflexes, and which is found in all air-breathing vertebrates. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] It optimizes respiration by preferentially distributing oxygen stores to the heart and brain which allows staying underwater for extended periods of time.
Most human babies demonstrate an innate swimming or diving reflex from birth until the age of approximately six months, which are part of a wider range of primitive reflexes found in infants and babies, but not children, adolescents and adults. Other mammals also demonstrate this phenomenon (see mammalian diving reflex).
Other mammals also demonstrate this phenomenon (see mammalian diving reflex). The diving response involves apnea, reflex bradycardia, and peripheral vasoconstriction; in other words, babies immersed in water spontaneously hold their breath, slow their heart rate, and reduce blood circulation to the extremities (fingers and toes). [9]
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The instinctive drowning response is an instinctive reaction that occurs in humans, particularly in non-swimmers, when close to drowning.It is focused on attempting to keep the mouth above water to the exclusion of useful effort to attract help or self rescue, and is often not recognized by onlookers.
The human body has several oxygen-conserving adaptations that manifest under diving conditions as part of the mammalian diving reflex. The adaptations include: Reflex bradycardia: Significant drop in heart rate. Blood-shift: Blood flow and volume is redistributed towards vital organs by means of a reflex vasoconstriction. Blood vessels distend ...