[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/punkfish-academy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/2021-Juli-29_13-18-42_Alexander_Iwan-scaled-e1777587482889.jpg” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Finger Paint|700|||||||” header_font=”|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”47px” header_letter_spacing=”2px” hover_enabled=”0″ text_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”0.21em” text_text_shadow_vertical_length=”0.09em” text_text_shadow_blur_strength=”0.6em” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||5px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||4px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Even in OWD\u2014every beginner course\u2014nitrogen narcosis is covered. The focus is usually on deeper dives; from around 30 m, nitrogen narcosis can become relevant. But people notice from the very first metres that something feels \u201cdifferent\u201d. So there are changes that can\u2019t yet be true nitrogen narcosis\u2014but thinking, perception and action underwater are fundamentally different from on land. <\/span><\/p>\n Nitrogen narcosis\u2014the more technical term for \u201cdepth intoxication\u201d\u2014is caused by high nitrogen partial pressures underwater. The deeper we dive on air, the higher the partial pressure of nitrogen we breathe. At some point, that nitrogen can have a narcotic effect on the nervous system. <\/span><\/p>\n So far, the textbook knowledge is fairly clear. <\/span>It gets harder when you ask what divers actually mean when they say, \u201cI was narced.\u201d <\/span>Because the term is used to lump together a whole range of things: mild impairment, a pleasant buzz, false confidence, fear, perceptual changes, slowing down\u2014and in very rare reports even states where people were barely able to function for a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n So there isn\u2019t just one kind of nitrogen narcosis. There are different manifestations that can overlap, sometimes gradually blending into each other and sometimes appearing surprisingly suddenly. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#aeb3fc” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” border_radii=”off|12px|12px|12px|12px” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”65px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”4183fb6d-c74e-4861-9493-5fb6a9ce011c” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n \u201cDepth intoxication\u201d sounds unsettling. The term \u201cnitrogen narcosis\u201d, used in the same sense, sounds almost medical\u2014and for many, even more threatening. Anyone hearing about it for the first time usually has a lot of respect for it and waits for something very special to happen on the first deeper dives.<\/span><\/p>\n For some people, that\u2019s exactly what happens. They suddenly feel unwell, get anxious, and want to go back up. Others relax, perhaps even become slightly euphoric. Many don’t notice anything at all, but conspicuously check their dive computer frequently. Others eventually pay attention to almost nothing at all. <\/span>And it doesn\u2019t start at the same depth for everyone. <\/span><\/p>\n When we talk about nitrogen narcosis, we can roughly mean three different things.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Underwater, we\u2019re not simply the same people as on land\u2014just with fins. <\/span>Cold, work of breathing, distraction, equipment, stress, current, poor visibility, unfamiliar movements, and the simple fact that we\u2014as land-dwelling creatures\u2014are suddenly expected to function in an alien environment all change how we think and act. You can feel that in the first few metres. <\/span><\/p>\n You could say, somewhat pointedly: Underwater, everyone gets a bit dumber. Or expressed more scientifically: Underwater, even at shallow depths, it can be demonstrated that cognitive performance may be impaired\u2014and that this effect can persist even after the dive. <\/span>That\u2019s not nitrogen narcosis in the narrow sense. But it explains why some things already feel more complicated underwater in shallow water than they do on land. And it\u2019s important not to confuse this level with nitrogen narcosis. <\/span><\/p>\n In this project, we\u2019re mainly interested in the effect nitrogen can have at greater depths under higher pressure. But the other factors don\u2019t disappear\u2014they add to it. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Nitrogen narcosis is often not threatening at all. Sometimes it’s rather pleasant: <\/span>Everything feels a bit easier. Things that were annoying higher up suddenly don\u2019t matter anymore. The depth feels calm, beautiful, special. You\u2019re relaxed\u2014maybe even a little euphoric. A bit \u201ctipsy\u201d, to compare it with more familiar intoxicated states. That\u2019s probably where the term \u201cmartini effect\u201d, common especially among older divers, mainly comes from. <\/span><\/p>\n This is precisely where one of the difficulties lies. Pleasant nitrogen narcosis doesn’t feel like a warning signal. It feels more like everything is just fine. <\/span>Maybe everything is fine. Maybe you can still react sensibly, keep your buddy in sight, take gas management seriously, and control your own depth. Then this mild narcosis is something that many divers know and sometimes even enjoy. <\/span>But pleasant doesn\u2019t automatically mean safe.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re very happy and content down there, don\u2019t really want to surface, and yet you\u2019ve just forgotten how much gas is left in the tank even though you checked a moment ago\u2014then it\u2019s no longer a poetic feeling of depth. It\u2019s a sign that perception, attention and judgement have already changed. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n An actually pleasant high can suddenly change. Whether, when and why this happens isn\u2019t always clear. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly one of the dangers: if you feel too secure in the pleasant, light euphoria, you may miss the right moment to ascend.<\/span><\/p>\n Calm can turn into uncertainty. Fascination can turn into fear. Colours may seem more intense; sounds strangely close or far away. Some report music, tones, singing, or an altered sense of time and space. The way up can suddenly seem very long. The environment can feel unfamiliar. You really want to go back up\u2014now. <\/span><\/p>\n These descriptions sound dramatic, but they\u2019re part of what some divers report from deep air dives\u2014especially from times when trimix wasn\u2019t yet available or was used far less widely.<\/span><\/p>\n Even more serious are reports of states sometimes described as \u201cwah-wah\u201d: everything roars, perception collapses, and afterwards you can barely remember how you made it back to the surface. The term was coined by Bob Raimo in a very personal account. <\/span><\/p>\n Very occasionally, there are also reports of a kind of \u201cabsence\u201d: divers are not unconscious for a moment, but they\u2019re also not really reachable or capable of acting. Such reports are rare, hard to classify, and not cleanly explained scientifically. But they do appear in accounts by experienced deep divers, including Sheck Exley. <\/span><\/p>\n For today\u2019s recreational air dives to around 40 m, such severe loss of control isn\u2019t the typical scenario. Much more relevant is the milder, harder-to-spot change: less attention, poorer judgement, more ease, less control. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#aeb3fc” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” border_radii=”off|12px|12px|12px|12px” sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Nitrogen narcosis isn\u2019t a neatly ordered symptom ladder. <\/span>It\u2019s not that concentration problems come first, then euphoria, then fear, then loss of control. Individual changes can appear suddenly, mix together, or be barely visible from the outside. Sometimes the affected person notices little themselves. Sometimes the buddy sees much earlier that something is off. <\/span><\/p>\n Still, there are patterns that are described again and again.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n What seems self-evident on land can become complicated underwater. Simple tasks take longer. You forget things you just knew. You look at the computer and shortly afterwards can\u2019t remember exactly what it said. You need more time to interpret information. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s probably closely linked to attention. Some studies on changes in cognitive performance underwater examined exactly this phenomenon: even comparatively small pressure-related changes can have measurable effects on attention and performance. The page on the current evidence goes into this in more detail. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Many reports of nitrogen narcosis don\u2019t start with fear, but with a sense of wellbeing. <\/span>Everything is beautiful. Everything is easy. The dive feels special. Limits seem less urgent. Things that actually need attention\u2014gas, time, depth, buddy, plan\u2014move a little further into the background. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s tricky because it doesn\u2019t feel like loss of control. It feels more like control. From the outside, this behaviour is often perceived differently than it feels to the diver in that moment: someone with a clear head may notice a certain scatterbrainedness and carelessness. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Nitrogen narcosis can change perception. Colours may seem more intense, sounds unfamiliar, the environment unusually clear\u2014or unusually unreal. Some describe an altered sense of time. Others later remember details they couldn\u2019t really make sense of in the moment. <\/span><\/p>\n These reports are hard to measure, but they\u2019re important for understanding. Because nitrogen narcosis isn\u2019t just about reaction tests\u2014it\u2019s also a change in experience. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_padding=”||1px|||”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n When attention, judgement and perception change, your ability to act suffers too. <\/span>That doesn\u2019t have to look dramatic right away. It can mean someone reacts more slowly, no longer actively follows the plan, loses sight of their buddy, or can\u2019t complete a simple task cleanly. If a real problem occurs in this state, problem-solving ability can be significantly impaired. <\/span><\/p>\n If you feel like you want to stay down there forever, you need to go up.<\/span><\/p>\n Now. Immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#aeb3fc” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” border_radii=”off|12px|12px|12px|12px” sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\nWhat is Nitrogen Narcosis?<\/span><\/h2>\n
One term for very different experiences<\/span><\/h3>\n
Not everything that feels different underwater is nitrogen narcosis<\/span><\/h4>\n
The pleasant narcosis<\/span><\/h4>\n
When it tips over<\/span><\/h4>\n
How to recognize nitrogen narcosis<\/span><\/h2>\n
Attention and thinking<\/span><\/h4>\n
Mood and judgement<\/span><\/h4>\n
Perception<\/span><\/h4>\n
Ability to act<\/span><\/h4>\n
What is probably happening in the nervous system<\/span><\/h2>\n