Is it just luck when somebody makes it through a catastrophic accident or illness? Afterinterviewing hundreds of survivors and experts from around the world, I’ve found that overcomingadversity comes down to a combination of factors. Here’s how you can increase your own chances ofsurviving and thriving.



Could you live through a fall into icy water? Endure a bear attack?

Test your survival skills »

1. Escape a Plane Crash

No doubt the question has crossed your mind during a bumpy flight: If the plane goes down,where is the safest place to be? Is it in the front of the aircraft or the rear? On the aisle ornext to a window? After reviewing more than 100 plane crashes and their seating charts, ProfessorEd Galea of the University of Greenwich in England says to ignore the front and back rows andinstead follow the Rule of Five: The safest seats on a plane are within five rows of any exit.That’s the typical cutoff point between life and death in a crash, adds Galea. The No. 1 safestseats are in an exit row or one row away. But every seat is probably safer than you realize. Thesurvival rate for the most-serious plane crashes is surprisingly high–76.6%–according to aNational Transportation Safety Board analysis of all survivable commercial airline crashes between1983 and 2000.

2. Get Out of a Hotel Fire

The next time you stay in a hotel–or visit an office building–consider this fact: Most firedepartments use ladders that, at their maximum, can extend around 80 feet into the air. That meansin order to be able to climb out of your building’s window and onto a truck’s ladder, you should beon or below the seventh floor.

3. Leave the Hospital Alive…

If you need to go to the hospital, weekdays are much safer than weekends, according to Dr.Chaim Bell, a researcher in Toronto. After studying millions of hospital admissions, he found thatmore people died from serious illnesses if they were admitted on weekends rather than during theweek. Dr. Bell discovered that weekend admissions were associated with “significantly highermortality rates” for 23 of the 100 leading causes of death. Why? Possible explanations are lowerstaffing levels and the presence of workers who are less experienced and less familiar withprocedures and patients, according to the researcher.

And if you do end up getting admitted, try to put a temporary hold on any spiritualstruggles. Professor Kenneth Pargament of Bowling Green State University in Ohio studied a group ofpeople 55 and older who were hospitalized for a variety of illnesses. He sorted them into twogroups: those who had positive, unconflicted spiritual beliefs and those who felt unloved,abandoned, or punished by God. After following their outcomes, Pargament concluded that most of thepatients who experienced religious turmoil had a 6% to 10% greater risk of dying than those whosefaith in God remained steady.

4. …And Don’t Go Back

Beware of checking out of the hospital on a Friday. Friday is the most common hospitaldischarge day, because doctors try to send patients home for the weekend. But Canadian researchershave found that individuals released on that day show an “increased independent risk of death” orreadmission to the hospital within 30 days, according to a study of millions of discharge recordsover a decade. Why? In the rush to get patients out, people may be discharged with inadequateinstructions or before they’re fully stable. In addition, fewer health and home-support servicesare available on weekends.

5. Get an Initial Boost

In one intriguing study, California researchers analyzed death records to find out whetherthere was any correlation between people’s initials and how long they lived. They divided theirsubjects’ initials into positive and negative groups. The good-initial group included ACE, WIN,WOW, and VIP; the bad contained RAT, BUM, SAD, and DUD. Then they matched up initials withlifespans and looked for any correlation. The results were stunning (and also hotly debated): Aperson’s initials actually may influence the time and cause of his or her death. “A symbol assimple as one’s initials can add four years to life or subtract three years,” the researcherswrote. They speculated that bad initials were irritants, or stressors, which over the course of aperson’s life can add up and contribute to health problems.

In related news, last names that begin with letters occurring later in the alphabet can beassociated with a phenomenon that Scottish researchers call “alphabetical prejudice.” They foundthat when medical teams in a brain-injury rehabilitation center met to discuss patients, peoplewith surnames that came early in the alphabet tended to receive three to four minutes’ moreattention than people with names later in the alphabet. This difference may be critical. Said theinvestigators, “more time devoted to the early cases clearly results in a better quality of care.”

6. Outlive a Heart Attack

Going into cardiac arrest is never a good thing, but if it happens, one of the best places tobe is in a casino in Las Vegas. Whether or not you can survive depends on how fast rescuers canshock your heart back into normal rhythm through chest compression or defibrillation. In Vegas,security cameras and guards are constantly scanning casino floors in order to catch cheaters,thieves, and troublemakers. If a visitor collapses, someone will notice right away. Securitypersonnel are trained in the use of defibrillators and usually can administer the lifesaving shockswithin two to three minutes. As a result, the heart-attack survival rate in Las Vegas is 53%.Compare that to rates of 16% in Seattle (which has some of the nation’s best response systems) or2% in Chicago.

7. Walk Away From a Car Accident

The uncomfortable hump in the backseat of a car is the spot where no one wants to sit, butexperts say it’s actually the safest for passengers. University of Buffalo researchers examinedfatal automobile crashes in the United States between 2000 and 2003 when someone was riding in themiddle seat. Factoring in variables–including weather conditions and the age and type ofvehicle–they found that the rear middle seat was 16% safer than any other place in the vehicle.Overall, they discovered that riding in the back is 59% to 86% safer than riding in the front, andriding on the hump is 25% safer than riding in the rear window seats.

And for those people sitting in the driver’s seat: If you’re searching for the safestvehicle, you might want to avoid cars with dark paint colors. In a study of 17 years of automobilecrashes that resulted in death, injury, or serious damage, Australian researchers found that whitecars were less likely to be involved in accidents than those of any other color. Compared withwhite cars in daylight hours, black cars had a 12% higher crash risk; gray, 11%; silver, 10%; blueand red, 7%. At dawn or dusk, black cars had a 47% higher crash risk than white cars; gray, 25%;silver, 15%.

8. Cross the Street Safely

The three deadliest days for pedestrians are Jan. 1, Dec. 23, and Oct. 31.

9. Beware of Your Birthday

Women are more likely to die in the week after their birthdays than any other week of theyear, while men’s deaths peak before their birthdays, according to Professor David Phillips of UCSan Diego, who analyzed millions of death records. Birthdays, he theorizes, may function as a”lifeline” for many women, who prolong life for the occasion, but act as a literal “deadline” formen.

Success = Survival?

Researchers find that, in general, the higher your social status, the longer you will live.

One controversial study has shown that Academy Award winners lived 3.9 years longer thanother “less recognized” performers. However, a more recent analysis suggests that the Oscar”longevity bonus” may be only one year.

A new study of Nobel laureates found that winning the world’s most famous honor wasassociated with about two years of extra life. In the United States, Nobel Prize winners lived 2.08years longer than nominees. In Germany, recipients ended up living 1.3 years longer than nominees,while in other European countries, laureates had a .69-year boost.



Ben Sherwood’s book“The SurvivorsClub: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life” will be published later this month. Heis a former executive producer of “Good Morning America.”For more information, visitTheSurvivorsClub.org.

Is it just luck when somebody makes it through a catastrophic accident or illness? Afterinterviewing hundreds of survivors and experts from around the world, I’ve found that overcomingadversity comes down to a combination of factors. Here’s how you can increase your own chances ofsurviving and thriving.



Could you live through a fall into icy water? Endure a bear attack?

Test your survival skills »

1. Escape a Plane Crash

No doubt the question has crossed your mind during a bumpy flight: If the plane goes down,where is the safest place to be? Is it in the front of the aircraft or the rear? On the aisle ornext to a window? After reviewing more than 100 plane crashes and their seating charts, ProfessorEd Galea of the University of Greenwich in England says to ignore the front and back rows andinstead follow the Rule of Five: The safest seats on a plane are within five rows of any exit.That’s the typical cutoff point between life and death in a crash, adds Galea. The No. 1 safestseats are in an exit row or one row away. But every seat is probably safer than you realize. Thesurvival rate for the most-serious plane crashes is surprisingly high–76.6%–according to aNational Transportation Safety Board analysis of all survivable commercial airline crashes between1983 and 2000.

2. Get Out of a Hotel Fire

The next time you stay in a hotel–or visit an office building–consider this fact: Most firedepartments use ladders that, at their maximum, can extend around 80 feet into the air. That meansin order to be able to climb out of your building’s window and onto a truck’s ladder, you should beon or below the seventh floor.

3. Leave the Hospital Alive…

If you need to go to the hospital, weekdays are much safer than weekends, according to Dr.Chaim Bell, a researcher in Toronto. After studying millions of hospital admissions, he found thatmore people died from serious illnesses if they were admitted on weekends rather than during theweek. Dr. Bell discovered that weekend admissions were associated with “significantly highermortality rates” for 23 of the 100 leading causes of death. Why? Possible explanations are lowerstaffing levels and the presence of workers who are less experienced and less familiar withprocedures and patients, according to the researcher.

And if you do end up getting admitted, try to put a temporary hold on any spiritualstruggles. Professor Kenneth Pargament of Bowling Green State University in Ohio studied a group ofpeople 55 and older who were hospitalized for a variety of illnesses. He sorted them into twogroups: those who had positive, unconflicted spiritual beliefs and those who felt unloved,abandoned, or punished by God. After following their outcomes, Pargament concluded that most of thepatients who experienced religious turmoil had a 6% to 10% greater risk of dying than those whosefaith in God remained steady.

4. …And Don’t Go Back

Beware of checking out of the hospital on a Friday. Friday is the most common hospitaldischarge day, because doctors try to send patients home for the weekend. But Canadian researchershave found that individuals released on that day show an “increased independent risk of death” orreadmission to the hospital within 30 days, according to a study of millions of discharge recordsover a decade. Why? In the rush to get patients out, people may be discharged with inadequateinstructions or before they’re fully stable. In addition, fewer health and home-support servicesare available on weekends.

5. Get an Initial Boost

In one intriguing study, California researchers analyzed death records to find out whetherthere was any correlation between people’s initials and how long they lived. They divided theirsubjects’ initials into positive and negative groups. The good-initial group included ACE, WIN,WOW, and VIP; the bad contained RAT, BUM, SAD, and DUD. Then they matched up initials withlifespans and looked for any correlation. The results were stunning (and also hotly debated): Aperson’s initials actually may influence the time and cause of his or her death. “A symbol assimple as one’s initials can add four years to life or subtract three years,” the researcherswrote. They speculated that bad initials were irritants, or stressors, which over the course of aperson’s life can add up and contribute to health problems.

In related news, last names that begin with letters occurring later in the alphabet can beassociated with a phenomenon that Scottish researchers call “alphabetical prejudice.” They foundthat when medical teams in a brain-injury rehabilitation center met to discuss patients, peoplewith surnames that came early in the alphabet tended to receive three to four minutes’ moreattention than people with names later in the alphabet. This difference may be critical. Said theinvestigators, “more time devoted to the early cases clearly results in a better quality of care.”

6. Outlive a Heart Attack

Going into cardiac arrest is never a good thing, but if it happens, one of the best places tobe is in a casino in Las Vegas. Whether or not you can survive depends on how fast rescuers canshock your heart back into normal rhythm through chest compression or defibrillation. In Vegas,security cameras and guards are constantly scanning casino floors in order to catch cheaters,thieves, and troublemakers. If a visitor collapses, someone will notice right away. Securitypersonnel are trained in the use of defibrillators and usually can administer the lifesaving shockswithin two to three minutes. As a result, the heart-attack survival rate in Las Vegas is 53%.Compare that to rates of 16% in Seattle (which has some of the nation’s best response systems) or2% in Chicago.

7. Walk Away From a Car Accident

The uncomfortable hump in the backseat of a car is the spot where no one wants to sit, butexperts say it’s actually the safest for passengers. University of Buffalo researchers examinedfatal automobile crashes in the United States between 2000 and 2003 when someone was riding in themiddle seat. Factoring in variables–including weather conditions and the age and type ofvehicle–they found that the rear middle seat was 16% safer than any other place in the vehicle.Overall, they discovered that riding in the back is 59% to 86% safer than riding in the front, andriding on the hump is 25% safer than riding in the rear window seats.

And for those people sitting in the driver’s seat: If you’re searching for the safestvehicle, you might want to avoid cars with dark paint colors. In a study of 17 years of automobilecrashes that resulted in death, injury, or serious damage, Australian researchers found that whitecars were less likely to be involved in accidents than those of any other color. Compared withwhite cars in daylight hours, black cars had a 12% higher crash risk; gray, 11%; silver, 10%; blueand red, 7%. At dawn or dusk, black cars had a 47% higher crash risk than white cars; gray, 25%;silver, 15%.

8. Cross the Street Safely

The three deadliest days for pedestrians are Jan. 1, Dec. 23, and Oct. 31.

9. Beware of Your Birthday

Women are more likely to die in the week after their birthdays than any other week of theyear, while men’s deaths peak before their birthdays, according to Professor David Phillips of UCSan Diego, who analyzed millions of death records. Birthdays, he theorizes, may function as a”lifeline” for many women, who prolong life for the occasion, but act as a literal “deadline” formen.

Success = Survival?

Researchers find that, in general, the higher your social status, the longer you will live.

One controversial study has shown that Academy Award winners lived 3.9 years longer thanother “less recognized” performers. However, a more recent analysis suggests that the Oscar”longevity bonus” may be only one year.

A new study of Nobel laureates found that winning the world’s most famous honor wasassociated with about two years of extra life. In the United States, Nobel Prize winners lived 2.08years longer than nominees. In Germany, recipients ended up living 1.3 years longer than nominees,while in other European countries, laureates had a .69-year boost.



Ben Sherwood’s book“The SurvivorsClub: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life” will be published later this month. Heis a former executive producer of “Good Morning America.”For more information, visitTheSurvivorsClub.org.