The survival rules of three – Accuracy breakdown

The survival rules of three states that you can survive for:

3 minutes without oxygen or in freezing water
3 hours in a harsh environment
3 days without water
3 weeks without food

Different people will be able to last for different amounts of time depending on their size, age, normal diet, and a whole range of other factors, but these rules are generally considered to be the average times people can go without, but exactly how accurate are they and what would happen before you reached the time limit?.

3 minutes without oxygen or in freezing water

Most people can’t hold their breath for more than 60 seconds, and that’s in a safe environment when their bodies are functioning normally. If you were moving around underwater or doing something active your heart will be elevated and your body will require more oxygen than it usually does. After 60 seconds your body will start to panic and you will experience a headache and begin to see “stars”, after 2 minutes you’ll begin to start blacking out for a few seconds at a time while feeling extremely weak, with the 3-minute mark causing you to become unconscious. Even though you can technically stay alive for 3 minutes without oxygen you won’t be fully functioning and capable any were close to the 3-minute mark, with that time being significantly reduced if your heart is massively elevated.

The 3 minutes in freezing water is a very accurate average, as a person with regular body fat in -5°C water will lose enough heat to cause them to pass out in around this amount of time, but again there are numerous factors involved.

3 Hours in a harsh environment

A harsh environment can be considered anything of extreme temperature or weather effects, such as being in a blizzard or in the Sahara during midday. This is by far the most wild estimate as people have lasted well over a day in the desert sun, but have passed out in less than five minutes when caught in a nasty blizzard in the wrong clothing. This estimate of three hours should be taken lightly and would depend on more factors than any of the other rules.

(The 3-hour rule for this one refers to being in an extreme climate, such as a blizzard without the proper protective clothing)

3 Days without water

Three days is the average it would take an adult of normal size before they died, but they would be incapacitated long before this point. The average daily consumption of water is about 2 liters, or 3.5 pints if you prefer, and at this level, your body will pass water at a normal rate, with more or fewer toilet trips if you go either side of this amount. The problem with water is that your body can’t store it very well and needs regular top-ups, and if you drank your 2 liters in the morning all in one go you’d only pee it out by midday and be thirsty again by the evening.

The three day mark is the point you’ll actually die from one or more of your vital organs shutting down. Your whole body depends on water and it helps fuel every single organ and muscle you have, and without it they will begin to fail. After 12 hours of not drinking anything you’ll start to feel very uncomfortable and your energy levels will start to seriously suffer. At 24 hours you’ll be completely drained and start feeling ill, and after 48 hours your organs will start to fail which will include losing your ability to speak from a dry throat, and the moisture in your eyes will disappear, leaving you close to being blind. Even though it takes 3 days to die from a lack of water, if you go without for 24 hours your in very serious life threatening trouble.

3 Weeks without food

As with the water rule, you won’t be capable of doing anything before you get close to the three-week mark. Your body will again shut down from organ failure but before this happens your energy levels will be so low you won’t even be able to walk. If you are sat in comfortable conditions and spend each day just sitting or laying down, then you may hit the 3-week mark, but hiking through the wilderness using up an elevated amount of calories could see you starve to death in less than 2 weeks. The two major factors to how long it would take to starve are your level of fitness and your body’s fat content, as the higher both of them are the longer you’ll last.