# Would you never sleep if you could? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469 "2017-05-26T13:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/21 "2017-05-26T16:19:54Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Never! Often during the day I think about how later I’ll crawl into bed, get all snuggled in and comfy and read for an hour or so. It’s the best part of my day! > [@Not\_Carlson](#): > > But this way you’d get several more hours of snuggly book time. Omg, you know what? When I wrote that I was embarrassed to say how long I actually lay awake to read for so I said “an hour or so”. The truth is that I can barely keep my eyes open for 15 minutes and it annoys me to no end 😃 You’re right! I could lay in bed and read for hours this way! Consider my answer changed to “yes!”. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/22 "2017-05-26T16:22:04Z")
What _kind_ of sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/23 "2017-05-26T16:28:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What _kind_ of sandwich? For that response you win two more wishes. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/24 "2017-05-26T16:41:22Z")
The need that sleep fills in my life (other than whatever biological need it fills) is subtle but real. Sometimes when life seems like a treadmill, sleep is a break from the treadmill. Nobody’s expecting anything out of me between the time I go to bed, and the time I wake up the next morning. Also, sometimes the _feeling_ of easing into sleep, or coming out of a really good afternoon nap, is just unbeatable. No, I’m not giving that up. Not to mention, I simply don’t want to be conscious 24/7. I just don’t. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/25 "2017-05-26T16:43:18Z")
No way, no how. I love sleepytime. There is little I look forward to more at the end of a day. I’m not one who sleeps in for 12 hours or anything like that. About 7-8 hours is what I like. But I can’t see a life without it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/26 "2017-05-26T16:56:06Z")
I worked the overnight shift for many years and I’m still more awake after dark than I ever am during the day. I wouldn’t go back to that job because it was awful, but I enjoyed the hours. You see a lot of really strange shit super late at night. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/27 "2017-05-26T17:09:51Z")
I’d take the deal in a heartbeat. After a lifetime of chronic insomnia and having a circadian rhythm that seems so far off from most of the normal world, it would be a blessing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/28 "2017-05-26T17:12:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > No. You can try, but without chemical sedation, you will never, ever sleep. Okay, but that’s not what your OP said: > [@DCnDC](#): > > You will remain physically capable of sleep; … on your own you will never, ever get tired enough to **have to** sleep (bolding mine). My response to that original interpretation would have been “Hell, yeah! I still can sleep, but I don’t have to? Where’s the downside?” As amended, I’d still lean towards yes, but it’s a lot harder decision. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/29 "2017-05-26T17:14:13Z")
There’s just stuff I don’t want to think about all the time. I vote no. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/30 "2017-05-26T17:17:05Z")
I often suffer from insomnia. There’s absolutely nothing to do between 2AM until 6. Nothing on TV except infomercials. No stores are open. We have a 24 hour IHop but it’s 15 miles away. Getting through that 4 hours is difficult. I much rather be asleep. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/31 "2017-05-26T17:26:16Z")
There is something so aesthetically pleasing about snuggling down under the covers and then waking up all warm and cozy that I wouldn’t want to give up sleep entirely. But, if I could be physically programmed to get by on a 1-hour nap per day instead of 8 hours sleep (which I rarely get anyway, but do often suffer from its lack), I would be at the head of the line. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/32 "2017-05-26T18:49:04Z")
As someone with industrial-strength insomnia, I’d jump at the chance to never have to sleep. I’m up all night anyway, so it’d be a welcome change to not be sleep-deprived. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/33 "2017-05-26T19:00:47Z")
No way. There’s nothing like curling up under a pile of heavy quilts when it’s cold outside and being all warm and snuggly. Plus my cat likes to sleep on my pillow and purr. Sleep rules. And dreams are cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/34 "2017-05-26T19:01:10Z")
Tempting. I’d love for sleep to be entirely voluntary, you’d effectively dramatically increase your lifespan, but I’d seriously miss it if I was physically incapable of it. I don’t think medically induced sleep is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/35 "2017-05-26T19:38:21Z")
If it weren’t for sleep, I would have never gotten to take a shower with Barbara Eden in her prime. So no thanks. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/36 "2017-05-26T19:57:56Z")
Yes. I would like the ability to sleep occasionally, but for the most part, it’s a massive inconvenience to waste all that time. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/37 "2017-05-26T20:09:53Z")
I’m a musician with a day job: I could go to shows and jam sessions during the week and still get able to get to work at a decent time each morning (and put in a full day)? Yes, please! Nothing in the OP says I can’t still get all cozy comfortable on the couch or in bed with my dog, and I’d get the wee small hours – when everyone else is asleep – to myself. As long as there are truly no adverse physical or psychological effects, I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/38 "2017-05-26T21:25:32Z")
It seems like you’d be really tired around 3 am considering you’d been awake 23 hours and still have another hour to go. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/39 "2017-05-26T22:52:07Z")
I’d quit sleeping. As it stands I spend about 10 hours a day at work, prepping for work or commuting to/from work. So if I didn’t have to sleep, that means I’d have 14 hours a day of free time. That would be great. I would double the amount of free time I have on weekdays. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469/40 "2017-05-26T22:56:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I often suffer from insomnia. > > There’s absolutely nothing to do between 2AM until 6. Nothing on TV except infomercials. No stores are open. We have a 24 hour IHop but it’s 15 miles away. > > Getting through that 4 hours is difficult. I much rather be asleep. I used to have that kind of insomnia, I wouldn’t fall asleep until 5-6am and would sleep until 1-2pm. There was stuff to do. Plus it all felt very private. Not much on antenna or cable TV, but there is always DVR, DVDs, streaming, etc. You could also read a book or engage in some other hobby at home. However aside from grocery stores and gas stations, not much else is open at night (a handful of restaurants and gyms). You are right about that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-never-sleep-if-you-could/787469.md?page=3)