Seems like you can float on your back forever, without really getting tired. When people drown in lakes or oceans, why can’t they just float until someone rescues them? I get it if you’re wearing clothes heavy with water, but if you were already swimming, or at least dressed for it…?
In: 851
Couple of things.
First, **not everyone can actually float**. That is, nearly everyone can float when their lungs are fully inflated, but that’s not necessarily very helpful as this takes effort and is hard to keep up (and you’ll still sink every time you breathe out). The ability to float *without* inflating your lungs depends on your body composition, and especially on how much muscle and fat you have. Fat floats as it is less dense, whereas muscle is more dense and sinks. [This study](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/617991) tested 98 men and found that, without inflating their lungs, only 69% of them could float in sea water, and **only 7%** could float in fresh water.
Second, passively floating may not be enough to keep your head above the water. A wave could overturn you or land on top of you. Passively floating usually doesn’t keep your head very high above the waterline so it doesn’t take much to push you under.
Third, a big factor in many drownings is hypothermia. You might be able to stay afloat but that’s no help if you freeze to death, and if you keep moving you might actually slow that process down some.
Latest Answers