Whats the longest you have gone without sleep.

[bloodhound]

the most i have gone through is 36 hours. that was during my exams.

[Solaris]

46 hours. The time my cousin came to me and we sat day and night on the internet!

[YT2095]

4 days and 3 nights (I was out drinking on the second night too) at the end of this time, I started to have mild hallucinations, nothing scary, just weird. when I finaly went to sleep, I still only had 6 hours and was back up again feeling quite normal.

I couldn`t do it now though, I was only early 20`s back then.

[TheProphet]

around 70-80 hours (donät remember exactly).. after i had a nice sleep of 24 too.. Realy weird to sleep that long.. it spined my head much worse than being upp so long!

[atinymonkey]

I suppose it was 70 odd hours when I was younger. I go 38 hours sometimes, twice in the past 30 days, it's really not that hard if you have some reason for staying awake. The hard part is between 2 and 4 am, as your body expects sleep around then. So long as you keep up you’re energy levels, and are moving around, your going to be fine. In the US marines, they make them go 6 days without sleep in hell week (so they say).

 

It's something you have to get used to doing, otherwise it throws out your body clock. I can exist on 3 hours every 48 for a week or so, but I become really mechanical after a while and constantly feel sick.

[admiral_ju00]

51 hours - was stuck in a damn game

[Sayonara]

Same as YT.

 

Oh the fun.

[LucidDreamer]

I've actually gone about 7 days without sleeping during a period of insomnia. I too experienced visual hallucinations. It's really not possible for your body to go that long so your body makes you microsleep. Microsleep is a brief period of semi-consciousness (maybe five minutes) where your mind keeps itself from going insane. Insomniacs that say they have gone weeks without sleeping are really just microsleeping. Otherwise, after about 5 days they will experience severe sleep deprivation with strong hallucinations and other problems.

[TheProphet]

I've actually gone about 7 days without sleeping during a period of insomnia. I too experienced visual hallucinations. It's really not possible for your body to go that long so your body makes you microsleep. Microsleep is a brief period of semi-consciousness (maybe five minutes) where your mind keeps itself from going insane. Insomniacs that say they have gone weeks without sleeping are really just microsleeping. Otherwise, after about 5 days they will experience severe sleep deprivation with strong hallucinations and other problems.

 

Hehe.. well the most hallucinogenic experience i had was when i couldn't sleep though taking goin to sleep helping pills.. damn that was weird....

 

But the record i belive is 40 years.. a man that lives on an pacific isleand. And yes he's got some severe defunct since he just wan't fall asleep.

[Edward]

During this past summer my sleep has been really weird I think I have done 30 hours of being awake (without microsleep) that was extreme I didn't have hallusnitions. (pardon spelling. I have been awake for very long times with microsleep 7 days is my record. I love micro sleep because I feels so strange

[Glider]

63 hours. I was working as security at a large hospital, and there was an arsonist. Fires kept starting up all over the place. They said to us, "stay as long as you can; we need all the cover we can get until this person is caught". It was funny in a way. after the first two days, ward sisters put up signs to the nurses saying "If you lose your locker key, do not call security. They have lost their sense of humour". We caught all the fires befor they got a grip, but patrolling carrying extinguishers was tiring.

 

We caught the person after a fire in the doctors' office on the renal unit. The person was very clever. Whilst in the sisters' office with police and fire officers, discussing ways of reducing risk to patients, the person lit a fire in the doctors' office and covered it with a blanket so it would burn through slowly and by the time oxygen got to it and it flared up, they would be in company and have an alibi. However, this person was the only one to have left the sisters' officce during the meeting (ostensibly to make tea) and no other member of staff had left the ward during that period. Setting fire to a building you know contains people counts as attempted murder. Hospitals always contain people. This person went to jail and is still there as far as I know.

[atinymonkey]

That sounds like the story for interesting film, the English antithesis of Die Hard. Normal people dealing with the typical Hollywood situation, with no sleep for days until the jobs done.

 

Someone go make that into a film. Obviously with Tom Baker in a supporting role, for the little touch of class.

[Glider]

Oh yeah. Tom Baker, sweaty, stinking of smoke, unshaven and very, very tetchy. lol. Be worth watching I think.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Hmmm.... maybe 20 hours.

 

I obviously haven't had many of the experiences you people had.

[jordan]

I haven't hit college either, Cap'n so mine would be somewhere between 1 and 2 days, probably closer to 1 than 2. That will change soon enough though.

[inamorata]

On any given weekend I could easily go for almost 48 hours without sleep. EASY.

 

Helps when your friends are party animals, and you live in a city littered with recovery parties every sunday morning.

 

This very weekend I didnt sleep from 7:30 am friday morning until 11pm sunday night. Worked at trance club fri night, went to a recovery party saturday morning, clubbed saturday night and all day sunday until sunday night. Although, I wasn't exactly unassisted, either.

 

And yeah. Im pretty sure there were periods of microsleep in there too.... or at least i THINK it was microsleep ......

[drz]

I've been up close to 96 hours. I passed out shortly before the 96th, and slept for about 14 hours.

 

I was doing vinyl siding installation in hilton head SC at the time, while living in North Carolina, some 600 mile drive. I was working in a resturaunt on the weekends. Had to make it to work by 8 am saturday, had put in 16 hours friday (woke up at 5 am, then drove home that evening. By the time I got there I decided to stay up instead of sleeping 2 or 3 hours.

 

Worked saturday, got off work at 8:30 pm, met up with some friends, went camping. Ended up staying up all night drinking and, well, stuff, and decided to stay up sunday. Sunday was spent fishing, hanging out, etc. Was a total robot that evening. I had to leave for Hilton head around 11 pm to be there early in the morning, so I drove back, arrived at hilton head, worked about 8 hours, went to the hotel, ate, watched tv and passed out sometime monday night. I then overslept for work tuesday.

 

Of recent, I haven't stayed up no more then about 36 hours, and I try to aviod that. On average though, I only sleep about 5 or 6 hours/day.

[palebluehuh]

Thirty-seven hours. During the night, I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. In the early morning hours, I microslept through bits and pieces of a class, but fortunately enough, I didn't miss anything. When I went to get some breakfast, I saw a lady across the room; an instant later, she was standing right there next to me, as if she had teleported. Definitely microsleep, or just a temporary lack of awareness on my part.

 

When I got out of class, I went to take a nap, but I couldn't fall completely to sleep; I was still aware of my surroundings and still thinking consciously. My roommate was moving around and talking to his friends, and though it felt like I was sleeping for moments at a time, I still followed along with what was going on.

 

That was weird.

 

Seven hours of sleep later that night, and I was as fit as a fiddle. Weird dreams, though.

[SleepLessONE]

I have been looking for answers as to why I am unable to sleep for years now.

 

I have read that the longest sleep record for a person is about a week or so.

 

And the longest that a person has been unconcious is someone who's

been in a coma for 44 years.

 

My situation is different. In 1993 I contracted Lyme Disease. I was misdiagnosed several times and my condition became chronic.

 

In late 1993 I woke up one morning two days after removing an engorged

deer tick from my leg. I had the typical flu-like symptoms many Lyme patients

describe as their first symptoms, which only got worse in the days ahead.

 

From that day on, the minute that I would start to fall asleep I would immediately stop breathing and get what I would refer to as jolted.

 

Over the years and much long-term treatment for chronic Lyme I would get to the point where I would rarely ever even approach the state of starting to doze off. I would just rest in nap like fashion, without ever falling into a state of unconsciousness.

 

I can rest in this way, but never fall asleep. This has been going everyday

for 12 and a half years.

 

I have given up even trying to figure out why my brain will no longer allow

me to fall asleep. Although I do suffer from neurolgical damage from refractory illness. All I know is that I am never in an unconcsious state.

I go to bed at night like everyone else, except I lay awake all night long.

 

To those who say this is impossible, I say it is not. I am living proof that you can exist without sleep for years on end as long as you give your heart a rest by getting off your feet.

 

I am looking for any other people who have had similar experiences, even if they are now able to fall asleep again.

 

It's exhausting and very frustrating not to be able to fall into a state of unconsciousness.

 

Over the years I have actually had family test me to see if this was true,

by coming over to me as I appear to be sleeping. One night I heard one of them say "you see I told you that it was impossible for anyone to not fall asleep for that long."

 

And then I answered them saying but I am not asleep and can hear every word you just said..

 

They were surprised to say the least.

 

I have no doubt that at this time I have stayed awake longer than any person on this planet. I would just like to find others who have had to deal with this.

 

I have also taken sleep meds in the past and while they make me very groggy

have yet to enable me to reach an unconscious state..

[insane_alien]

6 days and 3 hours. NEVER again. unless its the end of the world or something srious like that.

[ecoli]

probably 20 hours... If I get less than 7 hours of sleep, my body refuses to get out of bed.

[ydoaPs]

about a week.

[[Tycho?]]

I have been looking for answers as to why I am unable to sleep for years now.

 

I have read that the longest sleep record for a person is about a week or so.

 

And the longest that a person has been unconcious is someone who's

been in a coma for 44 years.

 

My situation is different. In 1993 I contracted Lyme Disease. I was misdiagnosed several times and my condition became chronic.

 

In late 1993 I woke up one morning two days after removing an engorged

deer tick from my leg. I had the typical flu-like symptoms many Lyme patients

describe as their first symptoms' date=' which only got worse in the days ahead.

 

From that day on, the minute that I would start to fall asleep I would immediately stop breathing and get what I would refer to as jolted.

 

Over the years and much long-term treatment for chronic Lyme I would get to the point where I would rarely ever even approach the state of starting to doze off. I would just rest in nap like fashion, without ever falling into a state of unconsciousness.

 

I can rest in this way, but never fall asleep. This has been going everyday

for 12 and a half years.

 

I have given up even trying to figure out why my brain will no longer allow

me to fall asleep. Although I do suffer from neurolgical damage from refractory illness. All I know is that I am never in an unconcsious state.

I go to bed at night like everyone else, except I lay awake all night long.

 

To those who say this is impossible, I say it is not. I am living proof that you can exist without sleep for years on end as long as you give your heart a rest by getting off your feet.

 

I am looking for any other people who have had similar experiences, even if they are now able to fall asleep again.

 

It's exhausting and very frustrating not to be able to fall into a state of unconsciousness.

 

Over the years I have actually had family test me to see if this was true,

by coming over to me as I appear to be sleeping. One night I heard one of them say "you see I told you that it was impossible for anyone to not fall asleep for that long."

 

And then I answered them saying but I am not asleep and can hear every word you just said..

 

They were surprised to say the least.

 

I have no doubt that at this time I have stayed awake longer than any person on this planet. I would just like to find others who have had to deal with this.

 

I have also taken sleep meds in the past and while they make me very groggy

have yet to enable me to reach an unconscious state..[/quote']

 

If this is true, which I doubt, visit the psychology department of a university near you. I'm sure they'd love to study someone who doesn't sleep.

 

I think your perception is a bit skewed. All mamals require sleep to live; without sleep basic body functions shut down. As has been mentioned humans who stay up for too long experience microsleep, where the brain will shut down for a few seconds at a time. It should be noted that people who experience microsleep are not aware of it; people will claim they have not fallen asleep even though observers see that they did.

 

So while I dont believe you when you say you havn't slept for 12 years, I would instead propose that you have a serious sleeping disorder which gives this appearence. Perhaps you only sleep for a few minutes at a time and just dont realize it, and wake up very easily when for example people come in the room.

 

Either way as I mentioned psychology departments would love to study you if what you say is true, if you actually do not sleep or if its just a wierd sleeping disorder like I propose. Your doctor should be able to help you get in contact with these people, since chronic lack of sleep is definately a medical condition.

[SleepLessONE]

I think your perception is a bit skewed. All mamals require sleep to live; without sleep basic body functions shut down.

 

Ordinarily I would agree with your statement since it is based on common sense. However, I can assure you that I do not sleep at all.. never an unconscious state. This is also not something that occured without any

apparent cause. As I have stated, I have suffered from chronic Lyme disease

since 1993 and experienced more then 30 different symptoms, many of them

simultaneously. Given the horror of this illness I am grateful just to be able

to rest comfortably at night, since I was unable to do so for nearly 9 consecutive years.

 

If I were to doze off like you do, I would have the sensation of coming to.

However that never happens. I just lay in bed at night listening to the sounds

in the house -- the creaking the planes overhead, cars passing through etc..

 

I truly wish that I could fall asleep since it is an extremely frustrating experience.

 

I do appreciate your considerate post though.

 

Thank you...

[CharonY]

That's very unusual. Such prolonged sleep deprivation should lead to severe health problems. I get around 4h sleep a day (do to a lousy stess-full job) for something more than two years now. And apparently getting some symptoms already (including migraine, slight cardiovascular problems etc.). I should learn to sleep again.

On topic: the longest time frame completely without sleep was around 71-76 hours (thrice) due to a lab-experiment that required constant supervision.