A man has shared his experiences regarding the physical and mental impacts of staying awake for 11 days.
Back in 2007, Tony Wright from Cornwall, UK, attempted to set a new global record by refraining from sleep for as long as he could. It’s important to note, do not try this at home:
The 42-year-old horticulturist embarked on this challenging journey and succeeded in staying awake for an astounding 266 hours.
Unfortunately, his effort did not surpass the world record, even though he outlasted Randy Gardner, a teenager who managed to stay awake for 264 hours in 1964. It was later revealed that others had managed to stay awake for longer periods.
In 1964, Toimi Soini from Hamina, Finland, set the Guinness Record for sleep deprivation by staying awake for 276 hours – 11.5 days. Later, in 1986, Robert McDonald shattered this record by staying awake for 453 hours.
Regardless of the record, staying up for such a prolonged period is no small feat. Wright later discussed his motivations and the effects of his sleep deprivation.
“Basically, you’re starving the rational mind, the egotistical mind of sleep, and it’s battery’s running down,” he said. “And of course, it doesn’t feel very good, it feels tired. But if you push beyond that, its ability to stay in charge starts to break down as well. And that’s where you can start to get glimpses of access to the other side of the brain, the other self.”
He continued: “I’ve spoken to a lot of people about this. Most people have recollections where they’ve been partying, or they’ve been working hard, and sure they get tired, but within that, they get glimpses of something else. That kind of softness, or a more relaxed state – often more emotional, because again, there’s more access to that emotional side of the brain.
“Even feeling quite good, quite an altered state for brief windows, or getting a second wind even. You know, be really, really tired, no sleep, and then suddenly feeling fine for half an hour or an hour.
“So all I really did, or what I was interested in, is making sense of that. And is it possible to exploit that and bring in combining techniques to tie the left side of the brain up, which initially doesn’t feel great, but the reward on the other side of that makes it worth the effort.”
Despite Wright’s advocacy for sleeplessness, the Guinness World Records no longer tracks this record due to the health risks associated with sleep deprivation.
An article from Guinness World Records explains: “In 1997, we stopped monitoring the record for the longest time to stay awake. The record holder at the time was Robert McDonald, who went 453 hours 40 minutes (18 days 21 hours 40 minutes) without sleeping in 1986.
“Although we no longer monitor the record due to the inherent dangers associated with sleep deprivation, we can say that no one is known to have broken it since McDonald.”
After outlining the history of these record attempts, the article continued: “Although the effects suffered by these record breakers varied, both in terms of severity and length, their stories paint a clear picture: skipping sleep is harmful to the human body and mind.
“Scientific studies suggest that even small amounts of missed sleep can negatively impact our mental and physical health.
“However, there are also other reasons why we cannot monitor this record.
“Firstly, during the 1960-70s, sleep researchers discovered the existence of ‘microsleeps’; momentary lapses into sleep that last for just a few seconds.
These are impossible to accurately monitor without continuous physiological recording equipment. Even Dr Dement later accepted that Randy Gardner – who was under constant medical supervision – probably experienced microsleeps.”
“Another reason we no longer monitor this record is due to the existence of people who suffer fatal familial insomnia, an extremely rare genetic disorder,” the article explained.
“Victims initially experience trouble sleeping, and over time this evolves into total insomnia (agrypnia excitata), causing speech problems, hallucinations, dementia, and eventually death.
“It’s likely that one unfortunate victim of this condition would be the unwitting holder of the record if we still monitored it.”