Man claims new sleepless record - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Dion · 09-16-2007, 12:14 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6689999.stm

A Cornish man says he has broken the world record for sleep deprivation by staying awake for 11 days and nights.

Tony Wright, 42, from Penzance, was trying to beat the Guinness world record of 264 sleepless hours set by Randy Gardner in the US in 1964.

Language · 09-16-2007, 02:47 PM

For some reason I thought it'd be longer when I read the title of the thread, but now that I think about it, staying up for 11 straight days without any sort of sleep would be pretty frickin tough.

Flames_Gimp · 09-16-2007, 02:53 PM

thats sick..i remember staying up for 3 days straight when i was a teenager... couldn't imagine 11...

getbak · 09-16-2007, 02:57 PM

I think the most I've ever done was a little over 30, and I basically passed out by the end of that.

Weiser Wonder · 09-16-2007, 03:02 PM

Why would you ever do this to yourself?

Kipper is King · 09-16-2007, 03:24 PM

Oilers fans likely set the record for most time spent asleep...the entire 06/07 NHL season!

BlackArcher101 · 09-16-2007, 03:39 PM

Closest I've been was 5 days straight... also didn't eat for those days. Couldn't imagine 11.

Azure · 09-16-2007, 03:49 PM

I did 4 days once.....back when....

Last extended period was 30 hours straight....including driving from Brandon to Medicine Hat.

Hack&Lube · 09-16-2007, 04:19 PM

But I've read cases of people with brain damage or insomnia related disorders who have not slept for years. I guess Guiness is only for normal people.

There was that Vietnames farmer, after hitting his head, didn't sleep for the rest of his life, some 40 years and he was perfectly healthy. He just used the extra hours to make more money. I wish I could do that. Really, sleep doesn't seem that useful, seems more like a vestigal evolutionary adaptation to being inactive when it's dark and you can't do anything.

Barnes · 09-16-2007, 04:40 PM

Yeah there's a guy in Eastern Europe whoo hasn't slept in like 20 or so years.

Ch40s · 09-16-2007, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

But I've read cases of people with brain damage or insomnia related disorders who have not slept for years. I guess Guiness is only for normal people.

There was that Vietnames farmer, after hitting his head, didn't sleep for the rest of his life, some 40 years and he was perfectly healthy. He just used the extra hours to make more money. I wish I could do that. Really, sleep doesn't seem that useful, seems more like a vestigal evolutionary adaptation to being inactive when it's dark and you can't do anything.

I may have misinterpreted this, but are you discrediting sleep as simply a developed habit?

Your claim intrigues me, would you happen to know a name for this condition, or perhaps a link? I did a quick search of google but it seems I'd have to wade through a lot of unrelated links.

It seems a tad preposterous.

Azure · 09-16-2007, 05:22 PM

I think sleep is a developed need.

Like the guy in Europe....if for some reason his brain doesn't register that his body doesn't 'need' sleep....he can stay up for 20 plus years.

Hard to imagine living like that though.

Ch40s · 09-16-2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure

I think sleep is a developed need.

Like the guy in Europe....if for some reason his brain doesn't register that his body doesn't 'need' sleep....he can stay up for 20 plus years.

Hard to imagine living like that though.

I would think it would be more complicated than he simply "doesn't need to sleep anymore".

I imagine there must be, at the very least, some extreme side effects involved.

There are reasons we need to sleep, and just because the victim's body tells itself it doesn't need it anymore, doesn't mean he truly doesn't.

I'm finding this extremely hard to fathom.

Devils'Advocate · 09-16-2007, 08:06 PM

Wasn't this a House episode?

Hack&Lube · 09-16-2007, 08:16 PM

I'm saying that sleep is a vestigial evolutionary trait shared by many mammals and other creatures have enter into periods of dormancy or hibernation.

It has been seen in certain extreme cases that lack of sleep does not neccessarily lead to negative side effects or death provided you have the proper brain condition or structure to accomodate this. If you look into the ontological origin hypothesis of why sleep developed and what it is for, one hypothesis says that sleep is simply an adaptive function...for instance preserving the individual at night where more dangerous environmental conditions are prevalent and our sensory abilities are diminished...getting the individual to seek refuge and enter into dormancy until day because we don't need 24-hours to feed ourselves.

I found the Vietnamese farmer, his name is Thai Ngoc and hasn't slept for 33 years after suffering a severe bout of fever. He's been healthy since only reporting "grumpiness".

Dion · 09-16-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure

I did 4 days once.....back when....

Last extended period was 30 hours straight....including driving from Brandon to Medicine Hat.

The drive from Brandon to the Hat would put most people to sleep. Talk about boring.

Ch40s · 09-16-2007, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I'm saying that sleep is a vestigial evolutionary trait shared by many mammals and other creatures have enter into periods of dormancy or hibernation.

It has been seen in certain extreme cases that lack of sleep does not neccessarily lead to negative side effects or death provided you have the proper brain condition or structure to accomodate this. If you look into the ontological origin hypothesis of why sleep developed and what it is for, one hypothesis says that sleep is simply an adaptive function...for instance preserving the individual at night where more dangerous environmental conditions are prevalent and our sensory abilities are diminished...getting the individual to seek refuge and enter into dormancy until day because we don't need 24-hours to feed ourselves.

I found the Vietnamese farmer, his name is Thai Ngoc and hasn't slept for 33 years after suffering a severe bout of fever. He's been healthy since only reporting "grumpiness".

I looked into the cases and the articles are very skimpy on information.

As far as I'm concerned these are myths, at best.

I'm just fascinated that the body would be able to do that, despite any neurological consequences, seeing as we rely on sleep so much.

Interesting stuff, fictitious or not.

peter12 · 09-16-2007, 11:05 PM

I love sleep. Just love it. I enjoy a good 8+ hours a night and it feels good. I really feel for future generations of young people if the brain adapts to not needing sleep. What a terrible way to spend 24 hours.

Azure · 09-16-2007, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dion

The drive from Brandon to the Hat would put most people to sleep. Talk about boring.

No kidding.

Amazingly boring....yet I wasn't tired at all.

Think I was still running on adrenaline from the night before.

Azure · 09-16-2007, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter12

I love sleep. Just love it. I enjoy a good 8+ hours a night and it feels good. I really feel for future generations of young people if the brain adapts to not needing sleep. What a terrible way to spend 24 hours.

I don't think a normal person could ever survive without at least a decent amount each night.

Especially a relatively active person.