Submitted 2 days ago by ageedizzle@piefed.ca to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
My whole life I’ve been told that if you fall asleep in the bath then you’ll drown, or something. But is this true? I’m a grown ass adult I think I’d just wake up if my head fell under water
Not an issue for me. I’m 6’4". The only way I’m drowning after falling asleep in the bathtub is if my legs dissolve.
Yes, a person can drown in as little as 2 inches of water.
But do you drown instantly? Surely as soon as you got water in your throat you’d wake up and start coughing or something
Possibly, but you might just pass out and drown. Theres also something called Dry Drowning where you get enough water in your lungs that you slowly suffocate, even when not in the water any more. Its about minimizing risks. Sleeping in the tub increases your risk of drowning.
The cautionary stories came about with the era of bored housewives who drank heavily and took pretty heavy prescription drugs…
But they were also wealthy so rather than say OD or suicide they “fell asleep” in the bath.
And I’m sure more than a few murders got wrote off as the same thing. A housewife that habitually passes out deeply could just got tossed in the tub.
Because like you said, no sober person is staying asleep till they drown.
But people hear the cover story and believe it, so they warn people about something that just won’t happen
Dry drowning… That shit is low key terrifying
Or less. All it has to do is cover your mouth and nose.
I’ve fallen asleep in the bath for maybe 20-30 minsand didn’t drown. As a sample pool it isn’t large, but it’s some first hand experience.
To be fair, I’m tall, so I was wedged nicely in.
Yeah there’ve been a couple other people on this thread that have said the same thing. Seems like so long as you’re sober and healthy then it should be fine
There’s more than just drowning.
Hypothermia is a risk of the water isn’t kept warm. And most likely someone’s going to fill the tub and let it sit, so it would quickly lose its warmth. Don’t assume because you’re cold you’d wake up.
Even assuming you start with room temperature water, it’d be several hours before you start feeling the effects of hypothermia. Given the water starts off warm, it’s only a bathtub of water so body heat will keep it above room temperature, and you’re (probably) in a small room that’ll help hold in the heat, I’d say you’d more than likely be okay assuming you don’t sleep more than 8-10 hours. If you pass out in the tub for something like 16-24 hours then I’d be more worried.
In some ways, I’d be more concerned about what would happen in the drain plug wasn’t completely watertight and the water drained away, particularly if you weren’t naked and were wearing clothing that holds in water like cotton.
Most people wake up when they get cold. If you have a sleep disorder or have taken medications that make you sleepy, them it could be a problem.
Yeah I live in a cold climate and wake up from getting cold all the time
I fall asleep in the bath all the time. It’s comfy in there.
This thread is wild simply because I don’t know any adult humans who actually take baths, and I have honestly always assumed the reason they exist at all is for washing small children.
I near exclusively take bubble baths. Some nice epsom salt, soft music, chamomile tea. It’s the best!
You should try it, maybe you’d be less of a judgey sour puss.
Your life is very sad.
I like a hot tub, but I don’t get the bath thing. It’s not remotely the same.
They’re relaxing for most people. I’m too tall and don’t thermoregulate well enough anymore for them to be anything other than squeezing into a small space where I get dizzy from the heat, but it’s a common form of relaxation
I assume you’d wake up upon aspirating water. But also, maybe I’m just tall and have had short bathtubs, but it takes contorting to get my head under water
If worried about falling asleep and drowning, you can always take a household pet in the tub to nudge you awake.
Little-known fact is that cats are very good at this.
I’d put my concerns elsewhere: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6748192/
Very interesting and potentially useful information. Thank you!
If you’re this curious why not try it out and report back? Many people have provided exactly why the warning exists.
In Korea they say not to leave a fan running overnight. Why? Because it will blow the oxygen away and you’ll suffocate.
Doesn’t mean it’s true.
I love fan death
Well … are you a fish? If so, no… if not, yes.
I sincerly hope that this is a troll post because if not, well. Sigh.
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 2 days ago
The average person will be fine. If you are a (remarkably) heavy sleeper, if there are drugs or alcohol involved, if you have any neurogenic disorders or have difficulty protecting your airway, you have a much higher risk of a negative, potentially lethal outcome.