how long can you survive without..

[sandyd]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8NoQmt9qtc
/me walks away...

[CharlesA]

I was awake for 48 hours back in college... it wasn't pretty. Nowadays I start getting touchy when I hit the 24 hour mark, but thankfully I haven't had to need to stay awake that long in a long, long time.

But yeah, sandyd wins the thread.

[Paqman]

Tbh, once you start pushing out beyond what is reasonable and aren't mentally propped up on pharmaceuticals you're probably sleeping and not even realising. Once you get into serious fatigue territory your brain starts taking microsleeps of a few seconds duration that you probably aren't even noticing.

However, getting to this point is not a good idea unless your life depends on it IMO. Staying awake for a very long time is not good for your brain or your body. I don't know if it does any lasting damage, but it sure ain't good for your health and wellbeing in the short term. There's a reason they use sleep deprivation as part of interrogation, you know.

[deadflowr]

When I was younger, I could do 48 hours without sleep, routinely.

Now that I'm older, just reading this thread makes me tired, and I want to sleep.

[jockyburns]

I once went just over 3 days without sleep. Started hallucinating on the 3rd day though and finally got to my bed. Surprisingly only slept about 8 hours before waking again and carrying on my usual routine of work, eat and sleep. Must admit I did feel rather rough for about a week afterwards, but hopefully didn't do any lasting damage. This was back in the mid 80's though, so I was a lot younger then. Couldn't do it these days.

[Linuxratty]

typical you nearly get hurt and some guys worried about how it's inconvenienced him
pain's been helping me stay awake too, my backs killing me. The doctor refused me pain killers because they're addictive

Because your pain and suffering do not matter. I bet if he was in the same situation,he'd be getting pain meds.

That being said,I think two weeks without sleep and you die.
There was a program on Nova (PBS) years ago about a man who could not sleep..he did not live long at all.

[coldcritter64]

...sleep. Think I'm into day 3 now. I'm talking no sleep at all, not like when you haven't slept very long and you tell people you haven't slept, I've been bouncing around for over 58 hours now.
I can barely type but my mind is wide awake, I'm having to google every other word because I can't turn my spell check on and nothing I type looks right, I just rolled a smoke with the sticky bit on the inside & when I speak words come out in the wrong order.

I left the title without sleep in it in case it turns into one of those game threads
That'll keep me entertained till I kick the bucket, new game. Same sort of deal as wish corruption except when someone asks 'survive without -insert comedy-' you can only answer with cold hard facts before you ask your question. Most interesting answer wins. A kind of forum version of QI...It's a TV program in case you haven't seen it

This thread should probably be in games now but I do still want an aswer to my question...Or some temazepam

I know that state extremely well. I'm a lifelong (49 years) FMS, ie Fibromyalgia syndrome, sufferer. A chronic neuropathic pain disorder/sensitivity magnification syndrome, amongst the many of its symptoms is insomnia. 2-3 days "wired" and "no sleep at all" is quite a regular occurence for me. My worst episode lasted 4 1/2 days ie about 110 hours, no sleep except the occasional microsleep of a second or two before snapping back hard into a fully "wired" conscious state. Not nice at all by that time, as well as the type of effects you mention I was getting auditory and visual disturbances. The last 24 hours I could barely get out of my chair I was that exhausted, but still found it near impossible to drop into sleep. I eventually dropped into sleep on that particular occasion naturally ie without any sedatives or muscle relaxants etc.

Due to having fibromyalgia taking sedatives or sleeping aids can actually triggerer widespread pain, even if insomnia occurs it is an extremely rare occasion I'll take such pills. However if I note any agitated/aggressive tendencies, temazapam is the first prescription I'll grab to do a forceable shutdown on an overfiring brain. I've used pills to shut off insomnia on maybe half a dozen occasions in my life; I have had many scores of such episodes over a 49 year period, possibly more than a hundred or so.

I seem to have adjusted to my condition over a very long time; however I get the feeling that going past about 48 hours of no sleep is of concern and past about 72 hours is getting into a danger zone. 90 + hours is insanity if done deliberately imo, the effects can get nasty both physically and mentally. This is my opinion only, I am not qualified medically and am not aware of current medical advice regarding time without sleep and its effects on health.

I've also had one particularly long 4 month period of insomnia in 2011 starting about 2 months after the town I was in was affected by a tropical cyclone. A delayed stress response from the cyclone triggered it. It was similar to what odiseo77 wrote, 1 to 1 1/2 hours a night, about once every 8 to 10 days I'd get a 5 to 6 hour night and wake up with exteme muscular pain all over due to having slept more than the usual 1 to 1.5 hours. As odiseo77 noted, consider consulting a doctor if conditions get anywhere near this bad.

Regards coldcritter64

[t0p]

I've stayed awake (with possible dozes of 1 minute or less) for 5 days. I did it a lot some years ago because of depression. It sometimes caused psychosis, paranoia, visual and audio hallucinations - not nice. I also "have a friend" who's stayed awake for 10 days with the assistance of pharmaceuticals. That usually causes psychosis too.

In the UK there are over-the-counter pills called "Nytol" and "Night Time" which are antihistamines which have a sedative side-effect. I advise (and I'm not a doctor or pharmacist) that you avoid the "herbal remedies" - Nytol has a herbal version, and it's a waste of time AFAIAC. The antihistamines are okay now and then, but if you suffer insomnia a lot you need to see a doctor - go see a different doctor for a second opinion, it sounds like your doctor thinks you're just drug-seeking, trying to get temazepam or some other benzo to get stoned on. You need to explain that you're not drug-seeking - it's also a good idea to avoid going into the doctor's office and saying "What's up doc, can you write me up for some temazzies?"

[greatsirkain]

I did start getting quite aggressive when I was at the doctors, there was a guy tapping both feet really quickly & there was just no need for it - had to tell him to stop it then I went bright red & started pouring with sweat. Like I'd gone into fight or flight over a minor confrontation & I wasn't leaving.
Slept like a baby over the weekend though, if babies were filled with whiskey haha

[Crusty Old Fart]

Back in college, I pulled about three stints that lasted between 60 and 65 hours. No drugs, other than coffee, Coca-Cola, and cigarettes. The first time was really weird. After that, I knew what to expect. It was always the same:

• At about 20 hours, I was pretty tired and sleepy. My body knew it was past its bedtime.
• At about 30 hours, I was even more tired, but not as sleepy and was beginning to enter the realm where my physical activity became somewhat automatic, almost robotic, without me consciously making any choices about where I was going to go and what I was going to do.
• After 40 hours, I was so robotic, it was almost like being a zombie. My body had pretty much become detached from my mind. It was as though it had been given a set of instructions two days prior and was still in the process of carrying them out. My mind was completely consumed with my studies. At this point, I was beginning to feel strange in the head, almost like being a little drunk, but without the loss of balance.
• From about 45 hours to a little over 60 hours, I was cooking on my own juices. I wasn't talking to anyone, looking at anyone, nor hearing anyone. My senses seemed to have shut down as much as possible to conserve enough energy to keep my brain from passing out. I walked from class to class as though I was an ambulatory manikin. If there's a weird kind of drug available that can simulate what was happening in my head, I've never had it. The feeling is of complete and utter detachment with everything: body, environment, other people, physical position, the whole enchilada.
• At the end of each one of these stints, after I had taken care of everything I needed to accomplish, I laid down on my bed and passed out in less than a minute. I didn't wake up until twelve to sixteen hours later and had no idea whether it was morning or evening.

I don't recommend this to anyone. In two words: it sucks.