The London Times reports that Tony Wright of Cornwall recently stayed awake for 266 hours. He was attempting to break the world record of 264 hours awake set by Randy Gardner of San Diego in 1964. Wright was also attempting to demonstrate that, thanks to his "caveman diet" of raw food, he was able to "train his mind in such a way as to stay awake for 11 days and remain coherent and aware of what was going on around him."
The Times then goes on to report the bad news. Gardner didn't actually hold the world record for staying awake. Gardner's record had long since been surpassed by others. So Wright didn't set a new record.
The Times reports that: "The Guinness previous record was for 11½ days, or 276 hours, and was set by Toimi Soini in Hamina, Finland, between February 5 to 15, 1964." However, Soini's record was removed from the Guinness Book of Records in 1989. "It was deleted on the grounds that it could encourage records harmful to health and was unverifiable because of the claims of insomnia sufferers."
Actually, the question of who holds the world record for staying awake is a little more complicated than that, which I know because Gardner's sleep deprivation experiment is one of the experiments I discuss in
Elephants On Acid: and Other Bizarre Experiments
. I even interviewed Randy Gardner, who still lives in San Diego.
Gardner set his record on January 8, 1964. Two weeks later newspapers reported that Jim Thomas, a student at Fresno State College, beat Gardner's record by staying awake for 266.5 hours. And a month later Soini set the new record. 1964 was a banner year for sleep-deprivation trials.
However, subsequent issues of the Guinness Book of Records report far longer periods of sleep deprivation. The 1978 edition, for instance, states that:
The longest recorded period for which a person has voluntarily gone without sleep is 449 hr (14 days 13 hours) by Mrs. Maureen Weston of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in a rocking chair marathon on 14 Apr.-2 May 1977. Though she tended to hallucinate toward the end of this surely ill-advised test, she surprisingly suffered no lasting ill effects.
Ironically, I don't believe Randy Gardner's record ever did make it into Guinness. Gardner reports that "I did not get listed in Guiness as I missed the publication date." However, Gardner's record is the most frequently cited because it was (and probably still is) the most scientifically rigorous long-term human sleep-deprivation study, since Gardner was monitored by Dr. William Dement of Stanford University.
The overall problem with determining the record for the longest a person has stayed awake is that people take "microsleeps" without being aware of it. To really determine if a person has been constantly awake you'd need to record their brainwaves throughout the experiment. As far as I know, such a study has never been done.
Comments
watch this vid 😛 hilarious
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lgKiOIMj2PU&feature=related
Now I can sleep thanks to meds and marijuana.
Only downside for me was hallucinations, like a ufo and a flying sheep...well not flying but hovering.
Anyway does guiness have any regulations regarding the use of stimulants to achieve the goal? Hell I partied on amphetamines & alcohol for 11 days straight and anyone who's partied like we used to will know that the next 3 days were hellish. Mdma, speed and alcohol comedown, there's only 1 cure. 5-htp or prozac(they're not the same, 5-htp is like a serotonin supplement) and more substances. But I wouldn't recommend sleep deprivation nor drugs. But hey, as bill hicks once said, "I took drugs, and I had a great time!" Well bill, so did I =)
I haven't made it past the 2 day mark myself, but then again, I haven't tried to.
I worked out at the gym for an hour of that in the afternoon
I have now walked and run around my block (about 600m) 4 times
I have now consumed 8 Pepsi max cans
And I have completed 4 assessments for school
I have also spent a total time of 14 hours on blog sites and chats, such as MSN Myspace Twitter Facebook
If this post contains any errors, it is because i am tired
typing this was hard
Aplogizes for the bad English
To the person above me, I couldn't understand what you meant in your post. Sorry buddy, no offense meant.
Seriously though, obviously sleep is needed, otherwise we wouldn't be programmed towards it.
My religious education teacher tried to tell us, among other bullshit, that we would die without sleep. I don't doubt we would go insane or have our bodies slow down, but not die.
Correct me if I'm wrong though folks, but make sure and give evidence.
Oh, and to the person who said people exaggerate the effects: of course they do, human beings exaggerate everything. But I mean look at drugs, people often emphasize the effects of drugs through mental ability. Its called placebo effect =)
Peace...
DS
Without my good doctor's prescriptions to get me to put me to sleep by force every night, I would be awake from between 24 - 30 hours before getting 'sleepy' enough to finally drop off. You do have a point though, Robert. After 3 days I think my brain had reached even its stupid limit. I was basically just walking around doing things (most of which I can't recall), and I don't think my brain was in a state of conciousness in the normal sense. I don't really think that anyone, after three (or at the very maximum five) days having gone without sleep can really be said to be awake.
And so, in my humble opinion, there is no record. Any so-called record of more than 5 days is void, because basic functions of the brain will be operating with priority and intellectual capabilities will be limited to such an extent one may as well be asleep.
-David L. Richardson, age 14
Im 21 and I live alone and im very intersted in this record...
I have started testing myself to see how far I could go with out sleep.
The longest I've gotten is 6 days, and the only side affect I had what random words that made no sence comeing out of my mouth...LOL
Im trying again as we speek, This is my 2 day, and Im hopeing to get to day 9 or 10 with out dieing.....
I have friends checking up on me offten, to make sure I dont try to kill myself...
But I think this record is awsome and I want to break it...
Dont know how long it will be for me to attempt this record in front of the jugdes.
But I love to stay awake and I would love to break this record, Wish me luck!
I'm going to try for 14 days 14 houra sometime though 😊
sleep deprivation is like a drug,
you need to be physically and mentally ready to experience it or else it could cause you some major harm.
you could end up with serious mental difficulties.
i suffer from heavy anxiety and depression, both a symptom AND cause of my insomnia.
i never used to choose when i slept, it used to just be once or twice a week for sutainance and nothing more. now thanks to many pharmaceuticals i can sleep when i want.
i actually NEED sleep nowadays, even without the pills, although without my meds i find it very difficult.
this is nothing to take lightly.
alot of people dont see it as anything major but i assure you that sleep deprivation is no laughing matter.
that said, you COULD have alot of fun and attain a valuable experience.
just dont say i didnt warn you when you are locked up in a padded cell, chained to the ground getting fed mashed potatoes with crushed valium through it...though that doesnt sound COMPLETELY bad =P
14 days? Your trained to do a fortnight? Wow...
Okay so basically this proves that with correct state of mind, body & spirit, one can achieve a high level of efficiency withough sleep?
Very interesting...
I may try training for the world record =P
Going to get zopiclone 3.75mg tablets tomorrow as I haven't slept in 5 days now, and I'm beginning to have a tight, sore chest with a little bit of what can be classed as psychoses =/ (hallucinations at a very small degree, high blood pressure, heart palpitations[I have a faulty heart valve from other things that are...not good...to say the least] and the main one is lethargy and an apathetic view on everything, which isn't abnormal for me but is worse than usual, and usual for me is feeling like nothing is worthwhile, like a total feeling of unimportance and inferiority)
Anyways thanks for the input, please continue to comment as at least I am always reading the new posts =) (I am alerted by email)
Peace all
Billy Ross
A.k.a darksider/lonewaster/psychostoner/l0ser
Jerry
Ryanb Silbough: its spelled RECORD, maybe try learning to check your typing would be a good start, as Jerry pointed out you must be prepared for this otherwise you just wouldn't cope with it. Try working your way up, because the record is a lot to just jump in and try. Train your body to be awake without sleep. Don't use drugs like caffeine or amphetamines to force it otherwise it wouldn't count (obviously).
Cam: 256 hours? I find it hard to believe because you didn't give much detail, that's over 10 days and nights without sleep. And, whilst I have done just over a week on many occasions, I have provided information such as the fact I have recurrent insomnia and have used drugs and I also provided a list of side effects that I had, and I have suggested some that can happen.
People, take a leaf out of Jerry & My book. We contributed detailed information on our own part and opinion, rather than just "omg I stayed up for two weeks then went to sleep".
The internet used to be a place of intellect (and pornography).
...now its just pornography, illiteracy and pointless rantings. NOW it is contributing to the dumbing down of society, the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what, in my and many other's opinion, it was initially intended for.
Iam however all for freedom of speech and expression, but that kind of malarky is hardly expression. More mindless shite.
Thanks all and please, continue to post regardless of what I've just said. Just think when your posting and put some effort in. Hell, I typed this out on a tiny keyboard on my G1 mobile phone.
Peace
Darksider
as for longest time awake, id have to be honest and say I have no idea of the exact hours, but id say around the 4 day mark before i finally collapsed...
so, my suggestions to anyone attempting to complete this record.
-keep well fueled, ie eat well and rink plenty of water. your body chews more energy the longer your awake.
- keep your mind active. when your not able to do interactive "hands on" things, start singing. when that gets boring, try mixing the lyrics of songs with tunes from other songs. it all helps.
-dont just sit at home. get into the sunshine, go for a walk, the vitamin e you absorb from the sunlight releases endorphins, which relax the mind and make you happy, without putting you to sleep.
- after 2 days, get a friend to check you every few hours. after 3, have someone at least in the same house. after 4, id suggest have someone keep an eye on you at all times.
I this all helps, and remember, this is not somthing I would recommend doing- I only did it because I had no choice in the matter.
And i like passed out haha
jezzzzz u can never get lost sleep back!
After that i slept all day and night and was still Exhausted!!!
Theres no point!
As for unintentional lack of sleep, I watched a video on YouTube about a man who had some disease where a part of his brain wasn't functioning properly so that there was no way his body could fall asleep. He was awake for multitudes of month. I can't remember, but maybe it was 6 months. Of course, his body deteriorated, he couldn't think, speak, eat...no function whatsoever. It's such a sad way to die. You should search it.
I watched a video on Peter Tripp's experiment with a sleepless spree. Search that on YouTube. His body was noted to have been asleep although we was still actively on air talking and responding logically to those speaking to him. He actually experienced lasting effects, though. His personality was forever altered and because of it was forced to resign from his job as a radio personality...and that was just a little over one week. I cannot believe someone could go without it much longer and still function normally. Wow.
and for the record i will not go for the record i spent the last 4 years deeling with the cravings for the drug and finaly got a handl on the sycosis i dont want to relive hell and most ppl that reech evan day 7 will understan wut dark matter is