Glossary
1-10-1 principle
A rough memory aid for cold water: about 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour. Experts warn it can understate the danger.
The 1-10-1 principle is a memory aid for the stages of falling into cold water. As the Canadian Safe Boating Council (opens in a new tab) describes it, it means roughly:
- 1 minute of cold shock, while you get your breathing under control;
- 10 minutes of meaningful movement to get yourself out or signal for help;
- possibly 1 hour before you lose consciousness from hypothermia.
The numbers are approximate, and some experts say they mislead. The National Center for Cold Water Safety (opens in a new tab) calls the 1-10-1 a myth and notes that the physiologist who introduced it wrote that in water near freezing, incapacitation can occur within 2 to 10 minutes, and that your strength declines the whole time you are in the water rather than stopping at a set point. In other words, 10 minutes is not a promise.
What both sides agree on: wear a life jacket before you go out, dress for the water temperature, and get out or get help as fast as possible. Without a life jacket, the first minute of gasping can be the most dangerous. See cold water shock and the 1-10-1 rule, the Cold water and the 1-10-1 and what to do if you fall into cold water.
What you can do today: treat 1-10-1 as a reason to wear a life jacket, not as a countdown.