Contents (click to enlarge) What is dead weight? The difference between carrying a conscious and an unconscious person People gain weight when they are unconscious because their bodies have become limp.
This limp means that the person’s weight is unbalanced and constantly changing.
So one would have to exert more effort to hold a person so that their weight remains the same.
When a person is awake, they can control their muscles and maintain their center of gravity.
If you have ever tried to pick up or lift an unconscious person, you will have noticed one very important thing.
Apart from the task being a bit annoying, you also feel like the person is heavier than usual.
It doesn’t seem to make physical sense, and yet the evidence and the experience of millions of people seem to say otherwise….
so why do unconscious people feel heavier?
It’s a term you’ve probably heard before, when someone or something is “dead weight.”
This phrase seems a bit morbid, but it stems from the experience of this very phenomenon.
When someone is “dead” or “unconscious” the person appears to weigh more, but in reality this apparent change in weight has very little to do with the presence of life or consciousness and much more to do with the location of the weight.
This is probably not as easy as it looks (Photo Credit: KostaKostov / Fotolia) Center of mass is an important consideration when lifting something; picking up a 100 pound box would be much easier than picking up a 100 pound pile of assorted metal junk, because balancing that unevenly distributed weight would affect your own balance and stability.
Instead, you would be compensating for the variable portion of the pile, adjusting your grip and balance with each step and change in weight distribution.
This would require more effort and strain on your part, making it appear heavier than a compact 100 pound pack.
Also Read: Should You Relax Your Body Completely Before Impact While Falling Down? The Difference Between Carrying a Conscious and Unconscious Person In answer to our main question in this article, when a conscious person is carried or picked up, their core often contracts and their muscles tense in an effort to make them a more “manageable package.”
Even if you’re injured or being rescued by someone (say, Superman or a SWAT officer), you’ll probably wrap your arms around their neck and try to stay as still as possible.
This is not a conscious decision by most to maintain their center of mass; it’s simply a more convenient and safer way to join for everyone involved.
If you are unconscious, this concept of dead weight comes into play.
Your limbs will probably go limp and sway back and forth without any effort to stop them, and your head will roll from side to side.
You’ll be much more likely to slip out of someone’s grasp when your body doesn’t react to bumps, jumps, and even simple steps taken by your carrier.
The center of mass becomes a dynamic element in the individual’s body and ceases to be directly in the hands.
Some of this mass moves below the body, where the swinging limbs are, making it much more difficult to control.
Furthermore, all responsibility falls on the arms and back of the carrier.
No center of mass or muscle control (Photo: David Crockett / Fotolia) When a conscious person wraps their arms around the wearer’s neck, some of their weight is controlled by the muscles in the neck and shoulders, taking the strain off the arms and back.
Dead weight, on the other hand, doesn’t take that into account, and just floats around like a sack of potatoes, weighing us down.
Even if someone being carried doesn’t wrap their arms around the person’s neck to hold on, they will still unconsciously tighten their core and other muscle groups to make the ride as comfortable and manageable as possible.
In other words, for any of those people who are worried about gaining weight as they die, or about mysterious mass gain when they fall asleep, stop worrying!
Or will your tests be as low and heavy as an unconscious person?
References (click to enlarge) Biology in safe lifting.
Cornell University Proper Lifting Technique – Safety – www.csustan.edu Share this article Suggested Reading Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Check out AmazonHappierCheck on AmazonThe Body Keeps Up: Brain, Mind, and Body in Healing TraumaCheck on AmazonWas this article helpful? Yes No
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People feel heavier when they are unconscious because their body structure has long since relaxed.
This frailty is the person’s weight being unbalanced and constantly changing.
So one would have to exert more effort to preserve a man or woman in such a way that their weight remains in an even balance.
Dead weight What to do in an emergency
It’s a term you’ve probably heard before when someone or something is “dead weight.”
When someone is “dead” or “unconscious” the character comes to weigh more, but in reality this apparent weight substitute has very little to do with the existence of a lifestyle or consciousness and a lot more to do with the location of the weight.
If you are unconscious, then this thought of useless weight comes into play.
Your limbs will likely be limp and swing from side to side in any effort to give up on them, and your head will roll from side to side.
You become much more likely to escape from someone’s custody when your physique doesn’t respond to bumps, jumps, and even easy steps taken through your carrier.
The center of mass becomes a dynamic part of the individual’s body structure and ceases to be in the hands at the same time.
Some of this mass moves under the body, the place where the limbs swing, making it much more difficult to control.
Furthermore, all the responsibility lands directly on the hands and back of the carrier.
Is dead weight actually heavier
While in the embrace, the character loses focus and suddenly turns into “dead weight”. Why is the man or woman now so much heavier?
The character is now not truly heavier; he is simply particularly difficult in the bearing because he is no longer using his muscle mass to maintain himself collectively or to preserve his helper to keep from falling.
In humans, the essence of gravity changes is based on age, body weight, height and the role of the body structure.
A typical new baby’s center of gravity is regularly closer to their chest than their legs, but as they mature into adults, their center of gravity drops to a reduced belly.
However, a standing character will nevertheless have a reduced core of gravity in contrast to anyone sitting; in the case of the latter, their center of gravity is closer to their chest.
Live weight vs.
Dead weight
Dead weight
Dead weight
Unlike “dead weight” which cannot be shed or gained on its own, maintaining weight achieves by adjusting one’s mid-weight weight accordingly.
Part of their education is learning how to stabilize by placing the center mass in the correct position.
Thus, it is possible for the resting weight (or at least “not dead” weight) to change according to their scenario and adapt.
In contrast, inanimate weight cannot adapt to change.
If a field is placed next to a desk and now does not help its center of gravity, it will tip over and fall instead of shifting so that most of its weight falls on the table and can prevent it from falling.
According to Firefighter Scott Finazzo, unless you have a younger baby or child, it’s impractical and unsafe to cradle a full grown adult in the palms of your hands if you want to lift them more than a few feet away.
And if they’re both conscious but unable to walk or unconscious, using the “Firefighter Carry” approach is high-quality—though only if you outnumber the person who wants help.
In many different cases or when you cannot use this technique, Finazzo offers different methods that require countless equipment or an extra person to help.
Physics applies to everyday things to do such as carrying a companion for excitement or in an emergency.
Therefore, you will find that it is much less difficult to arouse someone aware than someone who is not, even though each event has the same weight.
Hopefully you will in no way have to witness a match that requires you to lift anyone unconscious.
But if you do, you’ll understand why raising them is especially difficult and how to raise them safely.