I spotted the following statement on the UK Game Show Pages (http://www.qwertyuiop.co.uk/gs):
Any truth in this, or just a statement made without checking up?
I remember a study (don’t know where)that people were kept awake for about a week. They were tired, irritable and had great dificulity doing tasks - but none died yet.
[anecdote]I went about six days without sleep once, while exerting a quite lot of mental energy working on the project I was working on. By the end I was a few degrees past loopy, and moved in and out of mild delusions. Nothing like drug-induced hallucinations, more like just waking up and confusing a bit of dream for a bit of reality. It certainly felt like death was imminent, but I don’t think that I would have expired if I was awake one more day. It was a bit like fasting, in that except for moments you tend to forget that you are hungry / sleepy. YMMV. [/anecdote]
I’m sure POWs and cult members have undergone worse treatment and survived.
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na -
Leader!
(gotta love the Simpsons, there is a reference for everything)
Bah. In my Abnormal Psychology 405 Class, taught by Dr. Jason R. Dura…who I remain in love with to this day… we studied sleep deprivation and concluded that the greatest danger and “side effect” of going without sleep was … being sleepy
A student that voluntarily was kept awake for three days was then granted a four hour nap and she said she felt completely refreshed.
jarbaby
I saw something on the Discovery channel about a guy who has a sleeping disorder, that causes him to trash violently when entering REM sleep, thus waking him. He hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in over 20 years. He does get a little sleep, but no REM sleep, which is the good type of sleep. So, the dead within a week thing is not true.
I also remember something about a magician who tried to keep himself awake for a week straight. I forget his name, but after a couple days he started getting really cranky. He made it like 6 days before people started trying to convince him to sleep. By this time, he was hallucinating and was extremely irritable, but still alive.
I remember hearing that Science doesn’t know why we need sleep.
I always thought that was a silly idea - surely sleep is needed to rejuvenate the body, to allow it to store more energy…
But reading this thread, I think I can see more of what they mean. That without sleep, we may get cranky and sleepy, but it’s not quite as obvious why we need sleep.
Throwing “sleep” into the archive of Cecil’s columns brings up several articles. Here’s one about a lady who doesn’t sleep much at all:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_044b.html
There’s also an article that concludes that the exact reason we need sleep is unknown.
Sure, some medical conditions keep people awake, must keep them very productive.
Try these 
http://wrair-www.army.mil/depts/behavbio/s&plist.htm
Navy overview of sleep deprivation studies.
Those should help.
Cartooniverse
[Mad Scientist]
Of course! Why didn’t we see it before? We sleep because we’ll get cranky and irritate our friends if we don’t! BRILLIANT! [Sounds of insane laughter]
[/Mad Scientist]
[sub]Well, I suppose you can do better?[/sub]
Seriously, all I’ve heard is that we tend to perform better if we’re rested, but sleep deprivation doesn’t seem to pose a serious health threat. Of course, cranky people who are drowsy are more accident-prone, aren’t they?
~~Baloo
I know I’ve read about studies where lab animals were kept without sleep for 30 days or so. Some died.
But, there have been studies where otherwise healthy people have gone 13 or 14 days without sleep. They were trying for a month or so, but…they fell asleep.
I don’t think you’ll DIE, so much as you might just fall over in the middle of whatever you’re doing and sleep anyway.
I was watching a documentary on ABC TV, the Australian channel that is , about sleep deprivation, and it kind of refuted what is generally being stated here.
Apparently there is a genetically inherited condition called something like “…fatale aponeia/insomnia” in which a persons gland go a bit crazy, and prevent them from ever falling asleep again. They get tired…bloody tired, and after about six months they have degenerated to such an extent that they cant talk, move,eat or look after themselves, and they quietly die.
One such guy was observed throught the entire period and it was really bizzarre to see what happened to him.
Also, in the 50s I think it was, a radio DJ held a radiothon to get moeny for something, and he stayed awake for 8 days straight. They did tests on him at the time and apparently he was sleeping and being awake at the same time! He was having REM whilst talking to people. Everyone interviewed said he was never the same again, and that his personality had changed signifigantly…so be careful people!
Benno
I think I learned somewhere that many psychologists believe sleep is needed not because we need to rest, really (you can lay around all day not doing anything, and still feel “tired” at the end of the day), but because the brain needs to rest. We all know that during REM sleep neurons in the brain fire seemingly randomly and sporadically, creating weird images and recollections in our heads at night: dreams. This seems to be what is needed most, because studies and experiements such as the “magician” mentioned above (who IIRC was actually a DJ or something, trying to raise money for charity), have shown that even if a person does not close their eyes and go to sleep, the brain will eventually (after several days) take on the characteristics (brain waves, etc.) of a person in REM sleep. Remember, this seems to happen even if the person does not actually go to sleep. Now, think of some of the weird-ass dreams you have, and imagine seeing these kinds of images intermingled with the real images your eyes are seeing because you’re still awake. These are the hallucinations that these sleep-deprived people often report. I saw the Discovery program mentioned by nowalls99, and it said that that magician/DJ/whatever was awake for so long (I’m thinking it was actually about 10 or 12 days, but I don’t remember for sure) that he became extremely grouchy and experienced reportedly bizarre and terrifying hallucinations. When his ordeal was finally over, and his life resumed normally, those close to him said that he was never really the same again. Sleep deprivation is definitely an interesting area of study.
You posted while I was typing, Benno 8 days, ok.
Not sleeping won’t kill you; it’s what you might accidentally do to yourself out of of fatigue that might kill you.
I, too, have read of studies. No definite cite, but I think it was in Scientific American. Basically, there’s a researcher out there that kills rats by keeping them awake for 20 days straight. And since that’s about how long it takes a rat to die of starvation… Don’t try staying up a month.
Well no shit.
But being sleepy can cause all kinds of problems that are dangerous as hell.
I was once awake for nearly six days straight and started seeing things on the wall that weren’t there. Not the funnest experience I’ve ever had. I was jumping around and terrified for an afternoon because I was too scared to try and sleep. Kinda ironic, I know, but it happened.
I also heard that sleepy drivers are overtaking drunken drivers in terms of the total number of accidents each year in the US (If you need a site I’ll have to get back to you).
I’m sure there’s other problems out there that I can’t think of right now that are directly related to sleep deprivation.
So, saying that sleep deprivation is no big deal and the person is simply ‘sleepy’ is misleading.
Or so that’s my opinion.
Lack of sleep will kill you. If you can wait until I get home, I can reference a book called Sleep Thieves by Stanley Coren. This book is fascinating and very much to be recommended.
In the rat studies, it was found that death due to sleep deprivation was prefaced by a catastrophic drop in body temperature. This represents a point of no return.
Humans have died of sleep deprivation also, at the hands of torturers.
The evidence from studies of people who stayed awake voluntarily for a few days is often taken to show that we can do without sleep completely. This is very dangerous. You can’t actually die from voluntary sleep deprivation any more than you can kill yourself by holding your breath. But the psychological effects go well beyond “cranky and irritable”. A person who hasn’t slept for days is effectively insane and needs constant supervision so as not to endanger himself.
I don’t know how to find this reference or the guy’s name, but I do remember watching an episode of David Letterman back in the late 80’s where this guy came on and said he never slept. Ever. Said he was in the army and had a bet with the whole camp that he’d give the person who ever found him sleeping his paycheck for the month. Allegedly, nobody ever cashed in.
Then he went on to say that he and his wife would travel around the States in a Winnebago and he would drive at night while his wife slept. Drawbacks? Well, he said his eyes did get tired and he would have to close them from time to time when driving down long straight stretches - at which point David jumped in and said, “now that’s sound advice for you kids at home.” :eek:
Pretty funny but the guy seemed like a phony. Anyone else see that?