eli5: Why do we sink when drowning and float when we die?
In: Biology
You always float, dead or alive. If you’re drowning, it is because there’s an undercurrent, or you are panicking, or the water is extremely choppy, or there are undercurrents dragging you down etc..
There’s something called a dead man’s float … ngl, it isn’t an encouraging term, but it basically suggests you allow your head to be submerged (you’ll float), and then just stick your head up every 15 seconds or so as you need to breathe.
So the issue isn’t really floating… you’ll float when alive… the issue is periodically getting your mouth into the air to breathe.
Then, if you fail to breathe, as u/fyrezard points out, the natural process of gas release from bacteria in your guts after death will ensure you float.
tl;dr
you’re mostly going to be floating. Don’t worry about that. It is the breathing you need to focus on.
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