Here's the longest anyone's ever survived without essentials like food, sleep, and more (2024)

FAQs

What's the longest someone has survived without food? ›

Hunger strike doctors estimate that a well-nourished individual can survive without medical consequences on a diet of sugar and water for 30 days or more. The longest period for which anyone has gone without solid food is 382 days in the case of Angus Barbieri (UK) (b.

In January 1964, American student Randy Gardner sits on a bed next to various household objects he will later have to identify by memory as part of a sleep deprivation experiment in San Diego, Calif. Gardner set the world record during the experiment, staying awake for over 264 hours.

Information about life expectancy is based on real world contexts, such as hunger strikes and serious medical conditions. With no food and no water, the maximum time the body can survive is thought to be about one week . With water only, but no food, survival time may extend up to 2 to 3 months.

Professional breath hold diver Budimir Šobat's world record of 24 minutes and 37 seconds holding his breath underwater. During a breath hold, the level of blood CO2 rises, and the O2 declines.

Researchers believe that a person can live for up to three weeks without food as long as they have water to drink. Without both water and food, a person cannot survive for more than four days. The body often finds alternate ways to generate energy during starvation and prolong life.

Although it is a well-known term in dieting culture, true starvation mode occurs only after several consecutive days or weeks without food. So, for those breaking their fast after 24 hours, it is generally safe to go without eating for a day unless other health conditions are present.

Based on the small number of studies in which participants stayed awake for more than three days, it appears that after 72 hours without sleep, a person may begin to slur their speech or walk unsteadily. Hallucinations become increasingly frequent and complex past this point.

The longest recorded time without sleep is approximately 264 hours, or just over 11 consecutive days. Although it's unclear exactly how long humans can survive without sleep, it isn't long before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show. After only three or four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate.

The record for the world's longest sleep is 11 days. What kind of sleep is that?

You can survive three minutes without breathable air (unconsciousness), or in icy water. You can survive three hours in a harsh environment (extreme heat or cold). You can survive three days without drinkable water. You can survive three weeks without food.

What single food can you survive on the longest? ›

It is argued that the single, most complete food a human needs to survive is human breast milk. Other foods may be nutritious but inevitably lack certain vitamins, minerals, etc.

In general, the human body can survive around three days without water. However, this estimate varies significantly when we talk about hospice patients. People nearing the end of their lives expend very little energy and require less water to survive.

We need oxygen to live, yet there's always too much of a good thing. Pure oxygen can be deadly. Our blood has evolved to capture the oxygen we breathe in and bind it safely to the transport molecule called haemoglobin.

Tom Cruise held the record for holding his breath underwater (6 minutes) while shooting this scene in 'Rogue Nation' (2015)... until Kate Winslet broke it for 'Avatar: The Way of Water' (2022) at 7 minutes and 14 seconds. ⁠ VIDEO: How stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood shot the stunts of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Other whales can also hold their breath for a very long time. A sperm whale can spend around 90 minutes hunting underwater before it has to come back to the surface to breathe.

Altogether, it seems possible to survive without food and drink within a time span of 8 to 21 days. If a person is only deprived of food, the survival time may even go up to about two months, although this is influenced by many factors.

Angus Barbieri was a Scottish man who fasted for 382 days, from June 1965 to July 1966. He lived on tea, coffee, soda water and vitamins while living at home in Tayport, Scotland. He lost 276 pounds (125 kg) and set a record for the length of a fast. During this fast, he never got hypoglycemic (low blood sugar).

To keep yourself safe, especially if you are new to fasting, consider limiting your fast periods to 24 hours or fewer and keeping a snack on hand in case you start to feel faint or ill. If you do become ill or are concerned about your health, make sure you stop fasting straight away.