Diving is one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also a hobby that comes with risks. When diving is done right, though, everyone has a great time and goes home safe to their families and friends. Here are five common mistakes people make when they dive and how to avoid them:
Table of Contents
Overweighting
- Weight belts are not a substitute for proper weighting.
- If your weights are off, you’ll find that your diving style is not what it should be. It’s important to have a good balance of weight on both sides of the body and in front and back as well.
- Overweighting refers to carrying too much weight in the bending portion of your body (shoulders, elbows, knees). This can cause pain when you go into those positions during a dive, or even make it impossible for you to get into certain positions at all!
- Underweighting refers to carrying less than enough weight around these areas—this will make it hard for you to maintain proper form during an overhead dive because there won’t be enough resistance against gravity pulling downward on those areas where there isn’t enough resistance against gravity pulling downward on those areas where there isn’t enough resistance against gravity pulling downward!
Not Equalizing Your Ears
Equalizing your ears is important, but it’s often one of the most overlooked aspects of diving. Knowing how to equalize when you need to and what happens if you don’t is crucial for safe diving. You may think that equalization only needs to be done during an ascent from deep water, but in fact, it should happen at all depths whenever there’s a pressure change inside or outside your ear canal.
Let’s go over how this works: The eustachian tubes are located between your throat and inner ear—their job is to drain any fluids that build up in those areas so they don’t cause discomfort or infection (which would be bad). When you dive underwater, changes in pressure affect these tubes too; for example, if water pressure increases outside your body (as it does when descending), then fluid will move into both sides of them and create extra pressure within them as well—and this excess buildup can cause pain or discomfort if not released properly through equalization techniques like yawning or swallowing
Running Out Of Air
If you’re running out of air, the worst thing you can do is panic. You need to keep a clear head and stay calm if you want to make it back to the surface safely.
- Don’t swim towards the surface: If you’re low on air and find yourself swimming towards the surface (because it’s closer than your buddy, or because that’s where all your other friends are), don’t give in to this instinct! Instead, swim up at an angle so that when you reach shallower water, there will still be plenty of time for your body to acclimate before reaching land again.
- Don’t try to breathe faster: When we see our buddy at risk and they start swimming up towards us as fast as they can manage—this is likely because they’re breathing so quickly that their lungs start feeling full with carbon dioxide bubbles instead of oxygenated air (which makes sense—if we run outta fuel on our car engine, does that mean we should drive faster?). But what usually happens here is those bubbles get trapped in their bloodstreams and cause serious damage later down the road!
Stressing Out Over The Size Of a Shark
- Sharks are not interested in attacking humans. They don’t care about you, your scuba gear or what you’re wearing.
- Sharks aren’t interested in attacking scuba divers. If a shark does decide it wants to attack a scuba diver, that’s just because it’s trying to eat them and not because they want to do anything else with them.
- For the same reason sharks aren’t interested in attacking humans and/or other species—they just want food! There is no other reason for their behavior than this one. If a shark isn’t interested in eating something, then there’s nothing else going on (unless it’s sick or injured).
- Finally: No matter how much fear you feel when seeing large animals like sharks or whales underwater during your dives, remember that these animals cannot hurt you! They have no intention of doing so; all they want is some food (and maybe some company).
Holding Your Breath Underwater
If you’re a diver, there are a few things that you should know. One of the most important is that it’s not a good idea to hold your breath underwater. There are many reasons why this can be harmful, and as long as you follow these tips, there’s no need to worry about any problems:
- You’ll get dizzy faster than normal because your lungs take oxygen from the air around them to function properly; if no oxygen can reach them, they’ll start going into shock as soon as possible so they stop working completely (which means no more breathing). This can lead to unconsciousness or death in extreme cases!
- Holding onto a breath for too long will also expand chest tissue beyond comfortable levels which could lead to injury or even death by rupturing blood vessels in vital organs like heart chambers or brain stem tissues where oxygen delivery occurs via red blood cells called hemoglobin molecules containing iron atoms whose outer surface has four pairs each (oxygen-binding sites).
Remember these mistakes and you’ll have a better time diving.
Experienced divers will always tell you this, but it’s worth repeating: when you’re diving, take your time, and make sure that the weight of your equipment doesn’t cause trouble by putting stress on your air tanks or pulling you down too fast. If you need help figuring out how much weight to put on, ask a dive master or instructor for their advice—they’ll be able to recommend an appropriate amount based on factors like water temperature and weather conditions.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two from this article. Whether you’re just getting started or have been diving for years, there’s always something new to learn and room to improve. So just remember these common mistakes and keep practicing your diving skills—then you won’t have to worry about making them anymore!
