What freediving can reveal about human health — and our limits

The extreme activity offers clues to lung and heart function that may improve treatments for common conditions

An illustration of a silhouette free diving in the dark surrounded by air bubbles

Illustration by Xiao Hua Yang

At 19, Tucker Francis was living his dream.

About a decade earlier, he had sailed around the northwest Atlantic with his family, and his passion for the ocean and adventure blossomed. He loved snorkeling and recreational freediving, the loose term for diving deep underwater with no breathing gear.