Almost every diver wants better gas consumption. Sometimes it is about staying down longer with your buddy. Sometimes it is about feeling less stressed. Sometimes it is just pride. Nobody wants to be the one surfacing first every time. The good news is that good gas consumption is not magic, and it is not just something you are born with. Some of it is body size, some of it is fitness, and some of it is the dive itself. But a lot of it comes down to technique, calmness, and habits you can improve. This is a practical guide to getting better at it in real life. Why we do not breathe “normally” in the water Humans are land animals. We are not wired to feel instantly relaxed with our faces in the water, a regulator in our mouths, and a bunch of kit strapped to our backs. Millions of years of evolution have basically told our brains one thing: if your face hits the water, pay attention. That is why many divers do not breathe naturally at first. Even when they feel calm in their heads, their body can still be running a little stress response in the background. The breathing gets faster. The chest gets tighter. The inhale gets shallow. The whole system becomes less efficient. That is normal. Better gas consumption usually starts when you stop fighting that and start teaching your body that diving is not a panic situation. The more relaxed and familiar diving feels, the more your breathing starts to look like normal breathing again. The first big myth: skip-breathing is not the answer Let’s kill this one properly. Skip-breathing is not a good way to save gas. Holding your breath for little pauses between inhale and exhale might look clever, but it can cause a buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2). That can leave you feeling more anxious, more short of breath, more headachy, and less in control. In other words, the trick people use to save gas can actually make them feel worse and breathe less efficiently. So if anyone has ever told you to “just hold each breath a bit longer,” ignore that advice. What you want instead is continuous breathing. No skipping. No locking the breath. No weird chest tension. What your breathing should feel like instead The goal is not super deep yoga breathing, and it is not tiny shallow sips either. The sweet spot for most divers is: a natural inhale a relaxed, slightly longer exhale a smooth rhythm with no breath-holding Think of it as calm breathing, not clever breathing. If it helps, aim for: shorter, easy inhale longer, unforced exhale constant, but slow and steady movement of gas in and out The longer exhale is useful because it encourages you to relax, and it helps stop that tight, rushed feeling that makes people burn through gas. But it should still feel natural. If you are turning breathing into a task, you are probably overdoing it. What is a “good” SAC rate? SAC stands for Surface Air Consumption. It is basically your gas use rate, adjusted back to the surface so you can compare dives more fairly. DAN uses a very helpful planning benchmark: at the surface, about 8 litres per minute is a resting ventilation rate, and about 20 litres per minute is more like light to moderate activity. That gives you a realistic range to think with. Underwater, that number increases with depth because the gas is denser and every breath contains more gas molecules. So what is “good”? For a calm recreational diver on an easy dive, being closer to the low end of that spectrum is obviously nice. But do not get obsessed with chasing someone else’s number. A “good” SAC rate is one that is: safe for the dive you are doing steady rather than chaotic good enough to follow the plan comfortably improving over time If you are cold, overweighted, anxious, swimming into current, or carrying a giant camera rig, your SAC will go up. That does not mean you are a bad diver. It means conditions and workload matter. Why some people always seem to use less gas There are a few reasons some divers seem to sip air while others empty tanks like it is a hobby. 1) Body size matters Bigger bodies generally need more oxygen and move more mass through the water. That often means higher gas use. 2) Work rate matters even more Drag, poor trim, big fin kicks, heavy weighting, and fighting the water all raise oxygen demand. Underwater swimming studies have shown that gear setup, body attitude in the water, and fin type can make a big difference to energy cost. 3) Stress changes everything A slightly stressed diver can burn through gas very quickly without even noticing it. 4) Yes, many women often do well on gas A lot of instructors will tell you the same thing: on average, many women often outlast many men on air. That is not because women have some secret scuba superpower. Usually it is a mix of smaller body size, lower oxygen demand, and often calmer movement underwater. But it is not a rule. There are plenty of men with excellent gas consumption and plenty of women who work hard underwater and use more. Technique matters more than stereotypes. The real-world habits that improve gas consumption Slow down This is probably the biggest easy win. Divers who rush burn more gas. Fast finning, quick movements, darting around after fish, and trying to cover too much reef all cost air. Slowing down usually improves gas consumption almost immediately. Diving is not cardio. If it starts to feel like cardio, your SAC will show it. Fix your buoyancy Good buoyancy saves gas in two ways. First, it stops you from constantly inflating and dumping your BCD. Second, it stops the endless little recovery movements that happen when you are either too heavy or not in control. A diver who hovers well moves less. A diver who moves less uses less gas. Check your weighting honestly Being overweighted is a classic gas-waster. More weight means more air in the BCD. More air in the BCD means more buoyancy swing. More buoyancy swing means more finning and more correction. It all adds up. If you have not checked your weighting in a while, do it. A lot of divers carry more lead than they need, especially if they learned in different exposure gear and never really adjusted. Improve your trim A flat, horizontal position usually creates less drag than being head-up with your fins hanging down. Better trim means you move through the water more cleanly and with less effort. And less effort means less gas. Use smaller, smarter fin kicks Big bicycle kicks waste energy. So does constant kicking when you do not actually need to move. Smaller kicks, better trim, and little pauses where you just glide can make a big difference over a full dive. It is not about looking technical. It is about looking effortless. Streamline your gear If things are dangling, flapping, or catching water, your body has to work harder to move. Tidy gauges, clipped-off octopus, a close-fitting setup, and a bit of attention to drag all help. Underwater swimming research has shown that gear placement and drag can significantly increase energy cost. So yes, the clutter matters. Currents, cold, and conditions change everything This part is important because divers often judge themselves too harshly. If your SAC rate is worse than normal on a dive with current, surge, cold water, poor visibility, or a long surface swim, that is not a personal failure. That is physics. DAN notes that exertion, strong current, stress, and depth all raise gas consumption. Dense gas at depth also increases work of breathing, which is one reason deeper dives can feel more “expensive” even when you are not doing very much. So do not compare your calm 12-metre reef dive SAC to your deep, slightly currenty, chilly second dive of the day and assume something is wrong. Compare like with like. How to breathe better when you notice yourself rushing One of the best skills in diving is catching yourself early. If you notice your breathing getting quick or noisy, do this: stop finning for a moment if it is safe look at something still and simple relax your shoulders and jaw take one easy inhale let the exhale run a little longer repeat a few times without forcing it Often that is enough to reset the rhythm before it turns into stress breathing. Lifestyle choices matter more than people like to admit Smoking Smoking is bad for diving in the obvious long-term way, but it also matters in practical day-to-day performance. DAN notes there is strong evidence that smoking impairs lung function over time, and smokers may have to retire from diving earlier than they would like. Even before things get that serious, poorer lung function and lower exercise capacity can show up as worse gas consumption when a dive gets demanding. You may feel fine on a calm dive, then suddenly feel the difference when there is current, a climb back onto the boat, or a stressful moment that pushes your breathing harder. Alcohol Alcohol and diving are a bad pairing for several reasons, but one simple one is that alcohol can worsen dehydration. DAN specifically notes that avoiding evening alcohol can help if you plan to dive the next day. Even when alcohol is not directly affecting your judgement anymore, it can still leave you a bit dry, a bit flat, and a bit less physically sharp the next morning. That usually does not help your gas consumption. Fitness and sleep You do not need to be an athlete to be good on gas, but basic cardiovascular fitness helps. So does being rested. If you are tired, dehydrated, or unfit, your body reaches a higher breathing rate more quickly when workload goes up. That is why some divers look fine on the first easy dive, then fall apart on the second one when the current picks up. The easiest way to improve your SAC: dive more There is no way around this one. Experience helps. The more often you dive, the less unusual diving feels. The less unusual it feels, the more naturally you breathe. The more naturally you breathe, the better your gas consumption gets. That does not mean every experienced diver is magically amazing on gas. But simple familiarity removes a huge amount of wasted tension. What not to do if you want to use less gas Do not skip-breathe. Do not compete with your buddy. Do not obsess over tiny numbers instead of improving technique. Do not force giant deep breaths if they make you feel tense. Do not treat poor SAC as a character flaw. Gas consumption is feedback. Use it that way. Final thoughts The best gas consumption advice is not mysterious. Relax more. Move less. Breathe continuously. Stop chasing myths. Improve the skills that reduce workload instead of trying to “trick” your lungs. And remember: the goal is not to become the person who uses the least gas on the boat. The goal is to become the diver who is calm, in control, and able to follow the dive plan comfortably. That is the kind of diver everyone likes to dive with. Want help improving your gas consumption?At Phoenix Divers, we love helping people fine-tune the small things that make a big difference underwater. Better buoyancy, better trim, calmer breathing, cleaner movement — it all adds up. Message Phoenix Divers if you want to work on your diving skills and get more relaxed, efficient, and comfortable in the water.Get in touch Sources DAN: Your Lungs and Diving DAN: Estimating Your Air Consumption DAN: How Much Air Do You Really Need? DAN: Tobacco, Marijuana and Asthma DAN: Optimal Nutrition for Diving DAN: Performance Under Pressure PubMed: Energetics of Underwater Swimming with SCUBA