# What is the longest you've gone without sleep?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 23, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747 "2002-03-23T20:53:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sandalfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandalfeet)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/1 "2002-03-23T20:53:17Z")
I mean NO sleep at all. not a wink. and what side affects did you have.
4 days for me, complete with hallucinations, migrane, tunnle vision, and a constant buzzing in my ears. yes, i have insomnia, much better now though š
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### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/2 "2002-03-23T21:07:46Z")
In summer 2000, I shot the Good Morning America concerts on Friday mornings. That typically meant that I awoke on Thursday morning, and was up all day, then drove into NYC for a midnight call time. We set up all night, prepped for the show, went on the air at 7am. Off the air at 9am. ( So, now weāre lookin at roughly 26-27 hours).
Wrap out the shoot, and drive home. By then Iād have a second wind, and would be safely awake to drive home. The longest I ever went was 41 hours nonstop. A few coffee cups- 2 or 3 really, Iām highly caffeine sensitive.
By the last few hours, I was long since home and safe, and figured, what the heck- could I stay awake longer? I was online, working, writing, talking to family. I was just not capable of focusing for more than a few moments at a time, Iād lose it. I was irritable, and sick to my stomache.
A little bit of tunnel vision,and a little bit of that buzzing. I can relate to that. It took me a few days to recover. Those days are over now, and I assume Iāll never again be awake for more than 24 hours nonstop.
Cartooniverse
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### Author:  [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/3 "2002-03-23T21:10:19Z")
The longest Iāve gone without sleep was 37.5 hours! I donāt think I had any side effects, reallyā¦ for some odd reason, I just didnāt feel like sleeping or crashing! (and thatās pretty damn good for me)
I woke up at 8:15 on a Sunday morning to go to church; afterwards, I had lunch and then went home for the afternoon. Then my friend picked me up to go to a friendās surprise birthday party. After he and my brother drove me home, I just simply stayed up all night just writing in my journal! (as I said, I didnāt really feel like sleeping!) I thought that at around maybe 7 the next morning, Iād feel like going to bed, but **NO!** So I went through my Monday: checking email, listening to music, going out to run errands, then going to my brotherās house for dinner. After my brother and his friend drove me home at around 8-ish, I **STILL** could not sleep! So I made a few phone calls, and finally decided to sleep at around 9:45 PM. Needless to say, I had about 12 hours of sleep after that marathon (done without caffeine, thank you very much!)! š
(One of my Australian friends has got me beat, thoughā¦ he once stayed up for 54 hours straight: partying, drinking lots, working on music, etc. Near the end, he said that he was hearing voices, so he turned his music equipment all the way down; he could STILL hear them! It was around then that he decided that 54 hours was too long awakeā¦ Iād say so! Of course, he had LOTS of caffeine to stay awake, whereas I had noneā¦ I donāt know whether this makes me better than him, or what!)
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### Author:  [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/4 "2002-03-23T21:11:00Z")
83 hours. One of the best long weekends Iāve ever had. At the end I think I slept for 22 hours.
DaLovinā Dj
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/5 "2002-03-23T21:13:07Z")
46 hours, back in '99 when I had some papers to get in, then a flight to catch, then a drive to my final destination before I could sleep. Funny thing is, I wasnāt feeling too bad at the end of it; I slept for about 10 hours and was fine.
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### Author:  [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/6 "2002-03-23T21:14:25Z")
:o
24 hours.
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### Author:  [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/7 "2002-03-23T21:16:49Z")
36 hours. This was back when I started working nights, and the change to night work did funny things to my circadian rhythm. I could stay up late for a good long bit. Now Iām on daywork. I still canāt get all the sleep I want.
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### Author:  [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/8 "2002-03-23T22:41:26Z")
While I was in university, I made extra money by volunteering for a number of different things and some were experiments that students in the psychology department were conducting. The money was generally good and they fed you.
One of the experiments that I took part in was a sleep deprivation study held appropriately enough at the local mental institution over a long weekend. Anyway, with the classes, my regular job and the experiment (at which they gave us these incredible tests and observed us through a one-way mirror [or is it two-way?]), I (and I imagine the other guinea pigs) were up for around 56 hours or so. Following that, I got six hours of sleep and was back at my classes and then my job.
I apparently was so out of it at classes that day one of my professors complained to the psych department that they shouldnāt use me for awhile. My girlfriend wasnāt too crazy about the whole thing either.
She claimed that my IQ dropped to something around that of fungi. When my friends heard this, they claimed if that were true, it was in fact a marked increase not a drop at all.
Honestly, I donāt remember too much about it.
By the way, I had weird dreams for weeks afterwards.
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### Author:  [@CrazyDiamond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyDiamond)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/9 "2002-03-23T22:56:17Z")
4 daysā¦ if i remember right
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### Author:  [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/10 "2002-03-24T00:28:45Z")
About 36 hours with the help of a lot of coffee and exercise. No real side effects, outside of just a general unfocused, very tired feeling. Slept for about 14 hours after that.
Never gonna do it again.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/11 "2002-03-24T00:50:01Z")
Seven days. It was a weird experience. I was alternatelycold and hot, I was always hungry and smoking a cigarette, and I felt like someone had given me a concussion.
Iāll never do that again.
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### Author:  [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/12 "2002-03-24T01:01:24Z")
I think it was around 48 hours or so. I was at a buddies cottage and hit my head pretty badly and they didnāt let me sleep until one of their dadās showed upā¦
The reason we couldnāt go to the hospital was due to the fact their cottage is on an island, had no power, and we were dropped off without the boat. In hindsight, that perhaps wasnāt the best idea everā¦
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### Author:  [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/13 "2002-03-24T01:50:35Z")
Close to a week. Mania, I think they call it. After the first day I actually felt alright. Energy level was up there, just a minor head ache, and boy did I get a lot of chores done. Started writing my second book, cleaned out the garage (gack, very dirty), organized
and ORGANIZED until I ran out of things to organize.
I donāt recommend it. I have terrible insomnia now, and it sucks. Last night I got about 1.5 hours and had to work today. I need to go have a sleep study, or maybe just drink heavily in the PM.
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### Author:  [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/14 "2002-03-24T02:02:35Z")
Right now, itās 24 hours. But Iām going to bed, and this threadās going to IMHO.
Gānight. š
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### Author:  [@Daowajan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daowajan)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/15 "2002-03-24T02:07:59Z")
Iāve hit the 40-hour mark quite frequently this semester. I donāt get side effects, but am trying not to push it any further than that.
Itās strange: Iāll be up at 2 AM reading the SDMB, and itāll occur to me āI havenāt slept in about 40 hours.ā
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### Author:  [@im\_a\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/im_a_loser)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/16 "2002-03-24T02:14:15Z")
Iām an insomniac I think. I donāt get close to records for duration, but I am consistenly awake for periods of 48-56 hours, followed by 12-14 hours of sleep. This has been going on for about a year and a half. No bad side effects, except the planning that this involves around exam time.
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### Author:  [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/17 "2002-03-24T02:46:48Z")
I thought it was longer at first, but upon re-adding I see the longest for me has been about 36 hours. I had no real odd effects, just a general feeling of ādisconnectednessā.
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### Author:  [@novacaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/novacaine)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/18 "2002-03-24T03:41:15Z")
12 days. I must say it was the longest 12 days of my life. By the end of that time I was hallucinating so bad that I was dodging imaginary images flying at my head. I also experianced audible hallucinations as well. I was constantly hearing things from all directions even when it was totally quiet. I still have a few planck spots in my memory of that time period due to the lack of sleep. I must say that being high on meth is a very strange way to spend two weeks. I dont recommend it.
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### Author:  [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/19 "2002-03-24T04:16:46Z")
About 40 hours. I hate final exams.
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### Author:  [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2002, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-longest-youve-gone-without-sleep/99747/20 "2002-03-24T05:17:51Z")
You people are amazing.
I donāt think Iāve ever gone more than about twenty hours. I need my sleep. Even when I was in my late teens and early twenties, I didnāt have the staying power of my peers. Maybe itās because I didnāt take the drugs -I dunno. Iām also a caffeine junkie with a high tolerance to the stuff: I can drink an espresso then go straight to bed.
I can go with two or three hoursā sleep per night for a week or so, but then I need a fourteen hour marathon sleep.
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