# If you could eliminate your need for sleep, would you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430 "2015-08-30T20:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/41 "2015-08-31T16:07:11Z")
More time? Excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/42 "2015-08-31T19:10:36Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > There’s no such thing as a free ride. There’s always a price to pay. > > From what I’ve read, sleep is a time for your body to repair itself without having to take on the struggle to maintain daily operations. And since your brain uses so much energy, it has to go into a state of somnolence too, in order to repair itself. > > Personally, I think if you had no sleep, you’d lose your creativity and become a machine (metaphorically). I think the OP’S hypothetical is that the pill would solve these problems so that they aren’t a concern. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/43 "2015-08-31T19:10:56Z")
I read a comic about a world where this is the standard, actually. The thing is, of course, just like with any other advancement, work demanded we take that freed-up time and use it for the industrial machine bit by bit (Mark is staying late, why can’t you? Aren’t you a\* team player\*?) And in that world, there wasn’t a worker’s movement to stop it. The people who end up royally screwed are the folks who are allergic to the pill but are still expected to work 80 hours a week. A scenario just like **Mr Shine** said. Anyway. I like sleeping. It’s also a “reset” button so to speak. I am emotionally normal after going to sleep. I could be super anxious the night before but in the morning I’ll feel good again. So it’s emotionally necessary for me to have this time available. I don’t usually need it (and this is now, where I sleep every day, but could be different if I don’t sleep every day) but the ideal would be a pill I have to regularly take to keep the effects going. And if I didn’t take it, I’d sleep that day. I would like to have that time to do hobbies, but if it’s a permanent pill I’d be too wary of my mental health taking a nosedive after a stressful period in my life. I also enjoy sleeping and taking a nap is just luxurious. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/44 "2015-08-31T19:13:05Z")
I need a break from thinking. The only really happens when I’m asleep. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/45 "2015-08-31T19:25:50Z")
I’d take it. Not sleeping is almost like increasing your lifespan by 50%. No contest. > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I need a break from thinking. The only really happens when I’m asleep. I might take up meditation, though, for this reason. Question: If you take this pill, can you still be rendered unconscious via medication? Because it would suck to have to be awake and alert through surgery, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/46 "2015-08-31T19:52:06Z")
Under the premise that I’m the only person in the world with this option, yes I’d take it. I could get so much more stuff done. And I wouldn’t feel like I have to drag ass out of bed at 6AM. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/47 "2015-08-31T20:17:21Z")
I probably would - I’ve often thought about how much of our lives we waste unconscious. If you’re 90, you’ve only actually _experienced_ 60 years. The world is enormous - you’ll never see all it has to offer in one lifetime. Why waste precious hours snoring? My ideal, however, would be to get tired, experience the sensation of slowly dozing off (which I enjoy), then wake up a few minutes later, completely refreshed. That way, you get the physical pleasure associated with sleep, while not wasting so much time. If NOONE had to sleep, though, you’d end up with a 100 hour workweek. No thanks. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Love sleeping, hate eating. Do you have a pill for that? Food pills would be awesome, too. I love cooking and eating good food, but it would be nice if meals were a once-in-a-while activity, and day-to-day nutrition didn’t require so much . . . brain space. Yeah, I’m lazy, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/48 "2015-08-31T20:23:14Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I read a comic about a world where this is the standard, actually. The thing is, of course, just like with any other advancement, work demanded we take that freed-up time and use it for the industrial machine bit by bit (Mark is staying late, why can’t you? Aren’t you a\* team player\*?) And in that world, there wasn’t a worker’s movement to stop it. The people who end up royally screwed are the folks who are allergic to the pill but are still expected to work 80 hours a week. [Powernap!](http://www.powernapcomic.com/d/20110617.html) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/49 "2015-08-31T20:23:29Z")
For those who say you enjoy sleeping: Would you enjoy sleeping, do you think, if you didn’t get sleepy? For me, sleeping is only enjoyable because sleeping after being sleepy is like drinking a cold drink when you are thirsty—a relief from the previous condition. But if I never got thirsty, I wouldn’t care that I lost that sensation. ETA: Beggars in Spain is a book that deals with one potential scenario if some people suddenly become able to function without sleeping. It doesn’t feel realistic, but it’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/50 "2015-08-31T22:48:43Z")
> [@TheSeaOtter](#): > > Question: If you take this pill, can you still be rendered unconscious via medication? Because it would suck to have to be awake and alert through surgery, for instance. I think you’ve got the seed for a pretty good Twilght-Zonish horror story there. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/51 "2015-08-31T22:54:13Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Leave the house for work at 7:30 in the morning get back at 6:15 PM. I commute by train, so I can read and it’s not that bad. > > I have a two year old that needs more or less constant attention until 8, and I really need 7-8 hours of sleep to feel my best, which puts me asleep around 10:30. > > That gives me 2.5 hours in a weekday to maintain my home, do stuff like laundry and bills, spend time with my husband and wind down. Usually at that point I’m too tired to even think about doing things I enjoy. I remember my 2 year olds. I get it. As I’m sure you know - it gets easier as they age. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430/52 "2015-08-31T23:38:27Z")
4 hour commute. Leave house around 7:45, lucky be home 12 hours later. Try to get the kids in bed by 9. Myself in bed by 11. Most of the at home on weekdays is spent getting kids ready for school, feeding kids, nagging about homework, getting kids ready for bed. Then being tired and stressed and doing work email. I’d take the pill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-eliminate-your-need-for-sleep-would-you-do-it/729430.md?page=2)