# Would you give up sleep permanently if you could? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870 "2009-02-08T01:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/61 "2009-02-08T17:36:54Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I’m always amazed by people who would give up something like sleep or food or sex. Not saying there’s anything \*wrong \*with it, we all take our pleasures in different things, but I can’t imagine it. Reverse polarity, and you’re in my place. It’s simply inconceivable to me that one _wouldn’t_ take this pill…and yes, that word means what I think it means. 🙂 > [@](#): > > I’m a sensualist through and through. My life would be hell without creamy sauces, warm blankets with silk edging, and full-body skin-to-skin contact. What I really don’t get about people who wouldn’t give up sleep is: is that the **only** way you can relax? The **only** time your mind wanders, is given free reign? Are you saying that you **couldn’t** climb into bed and curl up in the warm sheets? That you **wouldn’t** snuggle with others? That somehow, the sensation of doing any/all of these would be irreplacably lost if sleep wasn’t an end result? It’s just so strange to me…the only times I’ve ever truly wanted to sleep – as an imperative, not just as “something to do” – are: (1) during bouts of depression, (2) when suffering physical exhaustion or pain, or (3) due to drug-induced effects. In none of those is sleeping anything but a temporary treatment of symptom; a brief respite, but not a goal in and of itself. And if it’s not imperative…then something else could, by definition, take its place. Obviously, some feel differently. Nothing wrong with that, but nonetheless…I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/62 "2009-02-08T17:41:13Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > What I really don’t get about people who wouldn’t give up sleep is: is that the **only** way you can relax? The **only** time your mind wanders, is given free reign? Are you saying that you **couldn’t** climb into bed and curl up in the warm sheets? That you **wouldn’t** snuggle with others? **That somehow, the sensation of doing any/all of these would be irreplacably lost if sleep wasn’t an end result**? For me, yes. Of course I can relax, let my mind wander, and snuggle without sleeping. But you lose that _drift_. And that drift is _awesome_. On both the falling asleep and the waking sides of it. There’s nothing in the world, for instance, that could possibly replace the feeling of waking up next to someone I love. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/63 "2009-02-08T18:05:01Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > For me, yes. That’s just flat-out _weird_…to **me**. Sure, the progression to/from awake and asleep is great, as are other elements of sleeping. Are these things **uniquely** tied to the act of sleeping? For me, not so much. “_More things in heaven and earth_”, one might say. So, let us celebrate our differences – I’ll continue work on a puzzler of a programming problem, and you can go back to bed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/64 "2009-02-08T18:29:23Z")
**Rubystreak** , it sounds as though rather than giving up sleep permanently, you would really like to get a good night’s sleep. I don’t see the logical connection from “I can’t get a good night’s sleep” to “I wish I never had to sleep.” ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/65 "2009-02-08T18:56:24Z")
It’s not so much the sleeping for me as the waking up. That moment when I realize that I’m awake but don’t have to get up and that I have another whole day in front of me to do whatever I want with is priceless. That and waking up to a pile of purring cats make for a great way to start the day. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/66 "2009-02-08T19:17:48Z")
Without hesitation. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/67 "2009-02-08T19:47:16Z")
Not a chance, sleep is a enjoyable, plus it really helps when there is nothing to do. And not to mention it is a function of eternal torment: [QUOTE=Revelation 14:11] And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." [/QUOTE] So just be careful what you ask for, just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/68 "2009-02-08T19:48:09Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Well, no, she’s not, considering that she framed her entire statement in terms of what she enjoys, what she would choose, and what she can understand. In fact she explicitly said ‘we all take our pleasures in different things.’ Well, yes, she is, since she says she’s “amazed by people who would give up” sleep. Sure, it would be amazing that I am willing to give up sleep if it were as pleasurable for me as it is for her. It’s not amazing if you consider that other people’s experience of sleep is miserable. Sleep is not enjoyable for me. Even on the nights when I get OK sleep, I wake up feeling like crap because the act of laying down for that long screws up my joints and back. I also have bad dreams, and could definitely use the extra 8 hours in the day. I would give it up and not miss it. What’s illogical about that? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/69 "2009-02-08T19:50:21Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > No freakin’ way. I looooooooooooooove to sleep. My bed is my favorite place! I have fabulous dreams, and I do some of my best thinking in that half-asleep place. And there’s no more decadent feeling in the world than waking up on a Saturday, realizing that I don’t actually have to get up, rolling over, snuggling into my warm happy cocoon, and going back to sleep. This is the perfect answer. There is just so much MORE to sleep than merely charging up. And I wouldn’t want to give that up. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/70 "2009-02-08T23:32:25Z")
I’d probably take it, but with a tiny pang of regret. On the whole, I find sleep a bit of an inconvenience, so I spend as little time as possible doing it . A pill to make that easier does sound pretty tempting. On the other hand, there are times, after a physically and mentally tiring day, that sinking into contented sleep is indeed a pleasant sensation - I’d miss that. But pragmatism would probably win out - an extra few hours in the day would be quite useful. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/71 "2009-02-08T23:59:03Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > **The Second Stone** brings up a good point: how society would, and would have to, adjust for people who took the pill. > > Could very well be humanity’s worst nightmare (pun intended). /hijack Those books I mentioned actually explore some of this societal adjustment, if you’re interested. /end hijack ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/72 "2009-02-09T00:17:44Z")
I don’t think the societal adjustments would be fundamentally all that different to the ones that accompanied the relaxation of Sunday Trading restrictions. People don’t start doing new things, they just do the same things in new time slots. Thing would change, but I don’t think it would cause real upheaval - In the stories by Nancy Kress, it did, but I think that was mostly because only a very select few became sleepless and the contrast did cause societal imbalance. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/73 "2009-02-09T00:19:03Z")
I love sleeping. More importantly, I love dreaming. So I would never give that up. If there was a pill to give up eating, I’d do that. But not sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/74 "2009-02-09T00:21:56Z")
> [@Vox\_Imperatoris](#): > > I brought it up in the OP; just sayin’. Ah, you did. Well, consider it more for the benefit of those who unhesitatingly said “yes.” Like those who voted to take themselves and everyone they knew back to the Sixties for a large amount of money, I suspect they really didn’t think it through (or, at least, consider the points **I** thought were relevant). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/75 "2009-02-09T00:47:29Z")
I’d definitely take the pill. I hate having to sleep; it uses up time I could be doing something else. And while you’re at it get me one of those magic pocketwatches that stops time; I could catch up on my reading, without having to take time from things that involve the outside world. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/76 "2009-02-09T02:59:33Z")
Hmmm. I hate \*going \*to sleep, the transition between consciousness and dozing, but that’s because I’m never sure if it’s happening. I might get bored being awake all the time or when the majority of people are asleep. On the other hand, I would have more time, and I do find myself sometimes desiring to continue doing things all night. I’d probably do it. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/77 "2009-02-09T06:13:13Z")
Sure, I’d do it. I’ve often been short on sleep because I’m doing something and don’t want to go to bed. I’ve stayed up for a couple of days before, because I hate sleeping on flights and going from Japan back to the US, day and night are basically flip-flopped. I’ve also indulged in some party behavior where I was up for pretty much the whole weekend. I like sleeping, but I also don’t like having to sleep when I’ve got more interesting things to do. There’s nothing that says you can’t rest or zone out. I’ve entered interesting states of consciousness when I’ve had insomnia and instead of worrying about it I just drift somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. You can still relax, cuddle, laze around in bed if you feel like it, so yeah, I’d take the pill. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/78 "2009-02-09T06:18:12Z")
My instant response is to say yes. But I don’t think I’d say yes without thinking long and hard about it. It seems like the kind of thing that could hold some unexpected miseries. Now, if I could somehow make it so 3 hours was all I ever actually needed, and I was refreshed and healthy and mentally fit, absolutely!! ---
**Author:** ![Incref](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@Incref](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incref)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/79 "2009-02-10T04:11:49Z")
I’m surprised no one had mentioned it but I couldn’t comprehend life being one long, monotonous, narrative. Sleep cuts life down into bite sized snacks with interesting bits, difficult bits and lovely bits. I love sleep and dream vividly every night so perhaps my opinion is a bit coloured by that, but I couldn’t imagine going a month without sleep let alone the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870/80 "2009-02-10T17:52:35Z")
Oh gawd no, I love dreaming way too much. I have some favorite recurring dreams, and some favorite recurring dream locations. I could never spend as much time at the beach in real life as I do in my dreams 😃 Plus often I have dream encounters with people from my past, both alive and dead people, just people I miss, and when I wake up after these it has the same emotional impact on me as if the visit was real. I just really love sleeping. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-give-up-sleep-permanently-if-you-could/484870.md?page=5)