How Long Can You Survive Without Water?

Most people can survive about 3 days without water. In cool, sheltered conditions some have lasted 8–10 days, and the Guinness world record is 18 days (Andreas Mihavecz, an Austrian teenager forgotten in a holding cell in 1979). In hot or dry conditions, severe dehydration can kill in hours.

After successfully distracting yourself by running your fingers on the hamster wheel that is your Instagram feed, you finally leave your devices alone to fall asleep. Instead, you find yourself in the uncomfortable unknown, where your inquisitive self bursts into life and vanquishes your sleep as you look closely and notice the unnoticed, ask the unasked, meandering just below your nose when you were consumed in the dailiness of your life. Wait a minute, Why do I have toe-nails?! Or I wonder how long could I survive without water?

Short Answer: On average, a person can survive about 3 days without water. In cool, sheltered conditions, the limit can stretch to 8–10 days; the Guinness record is 18 days.

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Why Is Water So Important?

Thirst is a survival instinct and I’m guessing by now you’ve realized that water is one of the most essential nutrients required by living things. Water regulates our body temperature, digestion, aids the disposal of waste and is needed by the brain to produce hormones and neurotransmitters. So… it’s pretty important. Clearly. 

Water is the most abundant molecule in our body, making up roughly 50–60% of an adult’s total body weight (closer to 65% in lean men, somewhat less in women and the elderly because fat tissue holds less water). When the water coming in from drinks and food drops below what the body is losing, our cells, blood, and tissues all start to draw on what little internal water we have in reserve.

This is how camels survive without water for days in the scorching heat of deserts – by extracting water from fats all around their body. The human body, unfortunately, does not have as much storage capacity. After an excruciating week without water, sweating ceases, leading to an unavoidable increase in our body temperature and digestion becomes impossible due to a lack of saliva or intestinal juices, while blood pressure decreases due to low blood volume.

Under such feeble conditions, death is just around the corner. Surviving without water comes down to disrupting the balance between losing water and gaining it. This means that survival can be stretched if the rate of losing water through sweating, urinating or exhaling rapidly is less than the amount gained by consuming food and liquid.

How Long Can You Live Without Water?

On average, a person can survive without water for about 3 days, but some have reported to survive around 8 to 10.

This amount of time can also be stretched and contracted by external factors, such as temperature, humidity and the health of an individual. For instance, athletes exercising intensely in the dry heat can dehydrate and die within hours. Whereas the Guinness record holder for surviving the longest without water is Andreas Mihavecz, an 18-year-old Austrian who was held in a holding cell in 1979 and forgotten by police for 18 days.

However, it is reasonable to point out that he was indoors in the absence of the sun or any heat.

Yep, forgotten.

Also, one can live without water indefinitely, provided you have eaten enough water-containing foods to replace the lost water. Our body doesn’t necessarily need “pure water”; it only requires electrolytes and nutrients in aqueous solution, so that they are available to be absorbed. It enacts a terminal step in a line of reactions involving the oxidation of hydrogen or hydrocarbons to provide energy.

Poon Lim, a Chinese sailor whose ship (the SS Ben Lomond) was torpedoed in 1942, survived 133 days alone on a small wooden raft in the South Atlantic. His tin of biscuits and small water supply ran out within weeks. So how did he keep going? He rigged a canvas to catch rainwater whenever a squall passed, and supplemented his diet by catching fish, seabirds, and (according to his own account) drinking shark blood. However repulsive, it kept him alive.

So your query does not have a fixed answer. The average is about 3 days, but you could try out for yourself. Now, give your mind a break and get some sleep!