Leash self to kayak?

I consider the kayak to be your most important life line when out on open water. Even if it's taking on water it should somewhat float enough to crawl back on and call for safety. I don't leash myself to my kayak but I do have a leash to my paddle. Ive told myself over and over that if I overturn, do not let go of the paddle. There have been times, where if I fell out, there was no way I'd be able to catch up to the kayak from wind, waves, and current. I would recommend some form of being able to stay attached in the case you fall out.

... I also carry a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) securely attached to my PFD.

When you tether yourself to a boat you need something that is fairly strong so it won't break under your weight. ...

+1 on the PLB. I never take my kayak out without it.

But wrt the tether, I don’t think you need something all that heavy duty for a kayak. Yes, if you’re sailing a real boat solo to Hawaii, say, then a serious tether is necessary. But how strong of a tether do you really need to stop a plastic boat from drifting away? Even on my AI, it wouldn’t take much.

A little insight on the surfers, kiteboarders, windsurfers, and the like.

Surfers and others with similar gear have lightweight foam core boards covered in epoxy or fiberglass. They're light enough that they will blow away in the wind really quickly, even tumble on the water in enough wind. They're gone!

Windsurfers have similar boards, but the sail acts as a brake in the water. They never wear leashes as they would tangle with their rigs.  Kiters are different, because they have a kite and can't just swim for a board as easily. They have to keep the kite up and running, so having the board leashed helps. It's been a few years but I think most still do.

I've been lucky in a kayak, [knocks on wood] but I would imagine having all of the gear associated with a fishing kayak gpoing overboard would anchor it in the water if you flipped. I for one would rather get free and then start working to sort it out. Others here have undoubtedly had that experience. I already have 4 leashed gear items to worry about getting tangled in. Not sure if I'd want another. I carry two knives, both on my person, one clipped to my pfd. Any insight or correction to that logic is welcome.

As a surfer of 20+yr and kiter since 2006 kiters DON'T use leashes.. shouldn't at least.. many stories of board slingshotting into people's faces. guess not applicable to kayaking. I tether my important gear that can't float on its. Definitely not myself. Its just something to get tangled on. Guess there's some personal preference, personal abilities and amount/cost of gear too. Balance it, no need to go.. overboard!