Most divers envy those with brilliant air consumption as no one wants to be the first person to give the thumbs up" on a dive. Then, there is also the much dreaded "How much air have you got left?" question back on the boat, usually from the person trying to indirectly declare that they are a better diver since they used lesser air than you.

Generally, the more experienced divers' uses lesser air but there is basically no ideal air-consumption rate to aspire to. How much air you consume will depends on the size of your body, lung capacity, metabolism and gender. Usually, ladies tend to consume lesser air than men. The conditions you are diving in, such as temperature, depth, and workload and water movement will also affect your air consumption.

However, there are things you could do to cut down on how much air you use on a dive.

• Stay Neutral Get your weight right. Divers who carry too much weight or too little weight will use up more energy and air. An over-inflated BC will lead to increase drag. If you tend to fin a lot just to keep yourself down, you will use up a lot of precious air. Maintain a neutral, horizontal position in the water and be as streamlined as possible.
  
  
• Streamlining and Maintenance of your kit Maintain your kit regularly especially your regulator to ensure that there is no leaks. Also, try to streamline your kit to reduce drag in the water. Make sure your hoses are kept close to your body and clipped all gauges. If you are carrying any kit for emergency purposes such as a spare torch etc, consider taking a version that can fit easily in your BC pocket.
  
  
• Keeping Fit The most effective way to improve your air consumption is to increase your fitness and general health. Regular cardiovascular exercises will help improve your air consumption and also prevent cramps, stress and tiredness. It will also help you lose body weight, which is a huge benefit since it means less weight to carry.
  
  
• Relax The more relax you are when diving, you will enjoy your dive more and uses lesser air. You can try relaxing techniques such as those from learned in yoga.
  
  
• Efficient Finning Learn the correct finning techniques. Fin using your hips and not your knees. When there is a strong current, try to plan a drift dive to let the water movement do the work for you.
  
  
• Slow Down Diving is not a competitive sport, so slow down and enjoys the underwater serenity. Calm, slow and deliberate movements tend to reduce air consumption dramatically. Breathe slowly and deeply so that your body can exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide more completely.
  
  
• No hands Avoid using your hands. Try to fold your arms and hands in front of your chest, close to your body. If you use your hands, you will use more energy and create more drag.
  
  
• Keep warm We lose our body heat 25times faster in water than on land, it is important to keep warm especially your torso and head. The colder you are, the more energy you will use and thus more air is guzzled. Invest in good gloves, hoods, internal linings and wetsuit to keep warm.

Generally, I would say that the more you dive, the more you will be relax and would be able to use less air and thus eventually enjoy your dive more! However, do remember not to skip breathing just because you want to save some air. Skip breathing (that is holding your breath) is dangerous and is associated with diving-related problems, including an increased risk of burst lung. Also, the level of carbon dioxide in the blood will rise, producing the risk of headaches at mild end and loss of consciousness if severe which will compound any difficulties you are having with nitrogen narcosis.