Noticed a huge difference in my bottom times after I stopped drinking coffee 2 hours before a dive

3 comments

3 Comments

Oh wow, I actually heard a dive instructor say the same thing last week! He was talking about how caffeine messes with your body's oxygen efficiency and can make you burn through air faster.

kevin_west18h ago

My dive buddy actually tracked his air consumption over 30 dives and saw a 15% drop when he skipped his morning coffee. The instructor I talked to said it's more about the vasoconstriction than oxygen efficiency, your blood vessels tighten up and your body has to work harder. I think it depends on tolerance too, a full pot vs one cup probably makes a big difference.

the_kim17h ago

Switching to green tea was my compromise, gave me a little kick without the heavy crash and my bottom times got noticeably better after about a week. Took some trial and error to find the right cutoff time, but three hours before the dive seems to work best for me personally. The vasoconstriction thing makes sense when you actually feel the difference in how relaxed your breathing is underwater.