When people don't sleep for a night, they notice significant differences in their energy levels and sometimes in the way they think or their mood. With that, it's interesting to learn just how long can a person last without sleep.
How Long Can You Go Without Sleep?
According to New Scientist, the record for the longest time without sleep a person achieved was 11 days and 25 minutes. This was accomplished in 1963 by Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old American; and since then, his record has remained hard to beat.
Although there were other claims of the record being beaten, none of them were closely studied just like how Gardner was. Because of that, it's hard to verify if their claims were valid and if the record of a little past 11 days was beaten.
The documentation of Gardner provided scientific data on the effects of being deprived of sleep, with the most obvious symptom being irritability and cognitive rigidity. Other things that happened were difficulty making decisions and less motivation.
Gardner also experienced other side effects of sleep deprivation including higher blood pressure, paranoia, hallucinations, visual problems, and apparently speech difficulty. The observation was done by William Dement, who highlighted the different side effects experienced by Gardner.
In total, Gardner had stayed awake for 264 hours and 25 minutes without being given any stimulant drugs to fall asleep. The only assistance that the 17-year-old received was having people around so that he would be distracted.
After falling asleep, it took Gardner 14 hours before he woke up to go to the bathroom.
In an interview with NPR, the 71-year-old Gardner described his experience, highlighting how he couldn't remember anything and that it was like having Alzheimer's. After the experiment, Gardner said that he went back to regular mode and didn't need extra sleep for the next few days.
Dangers of Sleep Deprivation
The Sleep Foundation reports that chronic sleep deprivation can lead to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, hormonal abnormalities, immunodeficiency, pain, and even mental health disorders.
As such, being chronically sleep deprived was linked to coronary heart disease and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. The bodies of sleep-deprived individuals were also found to struggle in regulating blood sugar, increasing the risk of diabetes and other metabolic conditions.
Researchers also discovered that there was a strong link between people who don't get enough sleep and consuming too many calories and carbohydrates. Over time, the lack of sleep also worsens the immune function, which could include poorer vaccine responses.
Sleep deprivation also increases the risk of hormonal problems and developing pain or perceiving pain. Poor sleep is also associated with bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that individuals get at least 7 hours of sleep. As such, they also said that one in three adults weren't able to get sufficient sleep.
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