# I've been awake for 22 hours. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747 "2003-11-28T18:07:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/21 "2003-11-29T01:07:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyla \* > \*\*… I’m actually feeling more awake and … sane … now than I was a few hours ago … \*\* heh heh heh … sane … that’s what _you_ think. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/22 "2003-11-29T01:44:35Z")
Long term memory becomes nonexistent. Short term memory, however, is excellent. Also, you should have started thinking in two simultaneous trains of thought about now. Have you started unconsciously rhyming when you talk yet? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/23 "2003-11-29T02:02:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cletus \* > \*\*Long term memory becomes nonexistent. Short term memory, however, is excellent. Also, you should have started thinking in two simultaneous trains of thought about now. > > Have you started unconsciously rhyming when you talk yet? \*\* Gosh no! I honestly feel fine, just tired. I felt kind of frantic earlier, when I started this thread, but I’ve gotten better since. And now I’m going to bed. Yay! Good night, kids, see you in the morning! ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/24 "2003-11-29T02:07:00Z")
Aww, c’mon, you can hold out a bit longer! Try for 48 hours! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/25 "2003-11-29T04:43:40Z")
Ha, what a lightweight. Stayed up for 3 days (72 hours) straight WITHOUT caffeine. No other stimulants, either, just sheer force of will. And I suppose the ass-clenching terror of not handing in the paper that could pass or fail me also helped. And I didn’t get hallucinations, which is kind of disappointing. None of that fun-sounding rhyming, either. But I did sleep for 14 hours on day 4. Then I went to the bathroom and went back to bed. Nothing like waking up and realizing your breakfast is everyone else’s dinner. ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/26 "2003-11-29T06:45:12Z")
Did she or didn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/27 "2003-11-29T07:22:21Z")
> [@](#): > > I felt kind of frantic earlier, when I started this thread [quote] but I’ve gotten better since. And now I’m going to bed [quote] Nothing to see here. Move along. \<~In hour 31 for no particular reason ---
**Author:** ![Chavardz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Chavardz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chavardz)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/28 "2003-11-29T07:29:34Z")
Hour 35 for me, final exams are a bitch. When I feel I’m about to fall asleep, I just go on the SDMB (say it outloud, it rhymes!). My personal best has been 53… during a marathon session of exames followed by a trip to Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/29 "2003-11-29T09:21:47Z")
Looking at the responses above, I think I may have the record here, at 71 hours. I was pretty normal through to about 30 hours, then I got very tired. I actually attempted to sleep, but was unable to due to shivering. Somewhere around 36-42 hours, the tiredness subsided and I got my “second wind”, so to speak. Was good through about 52 hours, and then my thought processes started to become very strange. My behaviour resembled that of being intoxicated, only my motor skills weren’t really affected - I was just having major judgement errors. I never experienced any hallucinations (except possibly auditory), but I did experience some sort of sensory fatigue - I had injured myself and not felt it, despite the fact that the injury would have otherwise been quite obviously painful - bleeding and everything. Beyond 60 hours, once I had warmed up, I again attempted to sleep, but couldn’t. I’m not entirely sure why - it was very much like one of those nights when you can’t sleep due to excessive thought activity, or fatigue being so overwhelming that it causes physical pain which prevents sleep from starting. I was completely incoherent at this point. I had a vague awareness of where I was and who I was, but I couldn’t think effectively. Finally, at 71 hours (as recorded by witnesses) I succumbed to sleep, awaking some 16 hours later without feeling rested. ---
**Author:** ![Chavardz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Chavardz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chavardz)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/30 "2003-11-29T09:26:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Peritochid originally wrote:_ > \*\*Once you make it past the 24 hour mark, the tiredness is replaced with surreal visions. I once pulled a 72 hour stint with no sleep, back in architecture school, to complete a project. After 24 hours, I felt detached from my body, almost like I was watching myself from the outside. > > Kinda cool, in a weird, self-abusive sorta way.\*\* I thnk you’re beat Fuji Kitakyusho. For the record, 30 hour days are normal for me… ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/31 "2003-11-29T11:24:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyla \* > \*\*And I’m beginning to fall apart at the seams. > . \*\* Welcome to my world. I’m up for 24 + hours at least once a week. I’ve been doing the graveyard shift for years and still haven’t gotton the hang of napping. ---
**Author:** ![Jonmarzie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jonmarzie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonmarzie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/32 "2003-11-29T13:52:11Z")
Well, I’m on hour 18, and I don’t think I’ll be going to sleep anytime today when the sun’s up. However, I think I’ll be able to make it to 33 hours at least. My internal clock’s all messed up because I’ve been getting too much sleep the last few days and I haven’t been doing anything. Thanksgiving break when you don’t go home from college does weird things to you, especially when everyone else goes home. I haven’t spoken to a real life person in at least 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/33 "2003-11-29T16:01:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by essvee \* > \*\*Lobsang, that’s pretty normal for the first few months after quitting drinking. In rehab, they gave us trazadone so we could sleep. > > The person who still sleeps like that after quitting 15 years ago, wow. Try Calm’s Forte. It’s a homeopathic remedy that works for me. \*\* I’ve never been a good sleeper, partly why I started drinking. But I am glad I’ve stopped. Getting no sleep is better than killing my liver and brain. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/34 "2003-11-29T17:11:25Z")
**Kyla** , Roll over. You’re snoring. Hey, what the hell is that she’s wearing? It’s really wrinkled and spotty. Good grief. Look at those cobwebs on the ceiling and the mess in her closet. Cheap shoes. Run down heels. You get what you pay for. Would you take a look at this?..I didn’t think she was old enough to have any clothes from the 1980’s. Oh, Geez. See-through? On _her_? Pul-e-e-e-a-s-e spare us! Who’s that in the picture? Little bitty head. Beady eyes. Pinched face. New duckheads. Man? Woman? Beast? Wesley Clark? How old is Kyla? The Hanson posters and the 1980’s clothes are giving me mixed signals here. Let’s see what she likes to read: _Little Women, Stephen King, Babysitter’s Club, Tuck Everlasting, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Anne Rice, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, The Book of Common Prayer, the Wind in the Willows, Sex Secrets of the Sleep Disordered._ Rollover, Kyla. You’re drooling. ---
**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/35 "2003-11-29T17:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fuji Kitakyusho \* > **Looking at the responses above, I think I may have the record here, at 71 hours.** Sorry pal, but there are at least two of us here who beat you. Anyway, why are so many people breaking down after just a few days without sleep? Sure, I felt a bit jittery, but I never got wacked out like you others. By the way, know what’s really funky? Going to the gym after staying up for more than 24 hours. I was hoping it would wake me up. It did, but I sure didn’t get that nice afterglow from a spot of exercise. In fact, I got the junky jitters. Really weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/36 "2003-11-29T17:16:50Z")
Hey! **Zoe** , my imaginary room is creeping me out… Any of my clothes from the 80s would be a little small on me, considering I was eleven in 1989. I’m awake! I slept for waaaaayyyy too long. But I woke up in the morning instead of 3 pm, which is much, much better than I had been doing. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/37 "2003-11-29T17:20:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sinungaling \* > **Anyway, why are so many people breaking down after just a few days without sleep? Sure, I felt a bit jittery, but I never got wacked out like you others.** For me it likely had more to do with the scorched homasote, gesso, and glue fumes in the studio. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/38 "2003-11-29T17:20:49Z")
Oh, and I made it to 30 hours. I could have stayed up longer but…there wasn’t a reason to. So I went to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/39 "2003-11-29T17:59:35Z")
Hope you’re feeling better, **Kyla** , and that your sleep patterns return to normal soon. During a bout of unemployment in 2002, my sleep patterns were severely wacky, so I understand completely what you’ve had to put up with lately. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747/40 "2003-11-29T18:32:00Z")
Let’s see… 9:00 a.m. Saturday until 1:00 a.m. Monday. I went on a fun road trip to Arkansas this past summer, and the weekend schedule went: 9 a.m. wake up, run over and force one of my best friends into her wedding dress, get myself and the other bridesmaid ready, get her married off, go to reception, go home and do housework, pack, get picked up at 1 in the morning. Then drive straight to Little Rock with four other people in a small car. We got to Little Rock at 10 on Sunday night, and my husband and I stayed up talking until 1. How many hours is that? 39? I didn’t hallucinated, but I almost missed my mouth with my fork at Sunday dinner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-awake-for-22-hours/215747.md?page=3)