Why Diving Awareness is Crucial for Scuba Diving Safety

Why Diving Awareness is Crucial for Scuba Diving Safety
18 Apr 2017

Why Diving Awareness is Crucial for Scuba Diving Safety

The ocean makes up a whopping 70% of the earth’s surface. To truly see the world, adventurous spirits have to explore the waters as well.

In order to do this, scuba diving training and knowledge of scuba diving safety is a must.

Scuba diving safety requires a knowledge of the equipment and gear. It also requires the more intangible skill of diving awareness.

In this article, we’re breaking down diving awareness and why it’s so important.

Scuba Diving Safety: Diving Awareness

Scuba diving showcases that human attention has limitations. When scuba diving, you have much more to pay attention to than your average situation on land. You must keep aware of your air tank levels, diving buddy, and buoyancy all while trying to enjoy the incredible underwater world.

Diving awareness can be divided into three main categories: self-awareness, global awareness, and situational awareness.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness refers to how you manage your mental state during your dive. It also refers to being aware of how your gear is functioning.

During your dive, it is incredibly important to check in with how you are feeling. Scuba diving can produce anxiety, and anxiety can set your slow, even breaths off track. Stay in tune with your air consumption. Remember not to overexert yourself and waste valuable energy during your dive.

If something feels off, follow the guidelines established by your dive buddy and team for how to handle it.

Global Awareness

Global awareness is all about knowing your surroundings. While diving, you need to pay attention to what’s around you. We don’t just mean the incredible marine life, coral, and other beauties of nature that you are diving to enjoy. We also mean the other divers, rocks, or other traffic in the diving area.

Diving can be mesmerizing, but a key part of scuba diving safety is staying in tune with the environment around you.

For example, when it is time to ascend, make sure to look above you to the water’s surface to check for boats, marine life, other divers, etc.

Situational Awareness

Having situational awareness means being in tune with what’s going on during your dive. Situational awareness helps divers process potentially dangerous circumstances and figure out how to handle them.

Noticing cues in the environment, such as a change in current, can make the difference in a good and bad dive. Experienced divers develop a keen sense of situational awareness over time, helping them see any potential problems coming from a mile away.

That’s It!

Scuba diving safety and diving awareness are important skills to master. Diving awareness comes mostly with experience, but learning it can be accelerated with practice and good instruction.

Want more? Check out our other great posts on our blog like “What To Know When Buying Your First Set Of Scuba Gear” and “Understanding the Different Types of Gas  Mixtures for your Scuba Tank.”

Learn more about the courses offered by Scuba Guru here!