What is the longest time anyone has ever gone without sleep?

Have you ever stayed up all night to cram for a test or finish a work project? What if you did it for 11 days straight?

In Cornwall, England, a man stayed awake for 11 consecutive days without sleep. On May 24, 2007, Tony Wright, a 42-year-old horticulturist, claimed to have broken the world record of 264 hours (exactly 11 days) set in 1964 by Randy Gardner.

Tony Wright's Preparation

Wright had extensive experience: having participated in over 100 sleep deprivation trials, the longest spanning eight days. Additionally, he adhered to a distinctive raw-food diet, consisting of salads, avocados, bananas, pineapples, nuts, seeds, carrot juice, and herbal teas. Wright asserts that this dietary regimen helped maintain his brain function despite the sleep deprivation. A Stanford University study even supports his claim, indicating that diet can mitigate the negative impacts of sleep loss [Source: Stanford Medicine].

He further suggests that his diet enabled him to "switch" between the hemispheres of his brain when fatigue set in. This process is similar to what whales and dolphins do, using alternate brain activity to allow one hemisphere to rest while the other stays engaged in vital functions like breathing.

Monitoring the Sleep Experiment

To document his experience, Wright isolated himself in a live music venue named Studio Bar in Penzance, Cornwall, where a Webcam continuously observed him. He also maintained a blog for the BBC, though he discontinued it on the tenth day, as writing became too challenging due to the effects of sleep deprivation. People either visited him at the venue or followed his progress through the Webcam.

Guinness World Records of Sleep Deprivation

Before Tony Wright claimed the title for the longest period of wakefulness, a 17-year-old from San Diego held the record. This remarkable story dates back to 1964 when two high school students, Bruce McAllister and his friend Randy, set out to surpass the existing world record for staying awake. At that time, a DJ from Honolulu had held the record, managing to stay awake for 260 hours (a little under 11 days) [Source: BBC].

According to Bruce McAllister, they wanted to study the effects of extreme sleep deprivation, particularly on the brain's cognitive functions. Ultimately, Randy Gardner stayed awake for an astonishing 11 days and 25 minutes. Since then, his record has been surpassed multiple times [Source: BBC].

Although it’s widely believed that Tony Wright surpassed Randy Gardner’s record, the Guinness World Records no longer tracks such feats due to their potential dangers. The last person to hold this record before the category was retired in 1989 was Robert McDonald, who stayed awake for 453 hours and 40 minutes (18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes) in 1986 [source: Guinness World Records].

The dangers of extended wakefulness are severe. For instance, after five days without sleep, Wright reported in his blog that he began seeing "giggling dancing pixies and elves" replacing the text on his computer screen. He struggled to comprehend speech and appeared to be experiencing vivid hallucinations [source: BBC].

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Tony Wright seemed to cope with 264-plus hours of sleeplessness without suffering major cognitive impairments, but medical professionals strongly advise against attempting such an extreme experiment. Chronic sleep deprivation can have serious consequences on mental and sensory functions. It can lead to vision disturbances, hallucinations, paranoia, mood fluctuations, difficulty communicating or understanding others, weakened immunity, and even depression.

Changing How The Brain Works

One might wonder why anyone would endure 11 days without sleep. Wright claims his motivation was to study the effects of sleep deprivation on the human body and to raise awareness about shifting factors in modern lifestyles [source: BBC]. However, some researchers have voiced criticism about the validity of his approach.

Dr. Chris Idzikowski, a sleep expert and director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, remarked, "It’s an interesting concept, but dolphins sleep on one side of the brain, while human biology doesn’t function that way." He further explained to the BBC that Wright's hypothesis of alternating brain hemispheres would need to be tested through brain activity monitoring. Dr. Idzikowski cautioned that during self-imposed sleep deprivation, individuals may fall asleep briefly without realizing it [source: BBC].

On the seventh day, Wright noted on his blog that some viewers of his live Webcam stream had expressed concern, fearing he had fallen asleep—or worse—since he appeared to be motionless. Wright explained that he was simply "pondering one's creative insights (or in this case lack of them)" [source: BBC]. Whether he had accidentally drifted off remains unverified.

Drunk with Tiredness

Even brief periods of sleep deprivation can lead to significant problems. A full 24 hours without sleep can impair your performance as much as being legally intoxicated. This kind of sleep loss is a major factor in car accidents and may have played a role in major catastrophes such as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

High Blood Pressure, Stress, and Low Oxygen Levels

Sleep deprivation poses serious risks for people with demanding jobs, such as doctors and night-shift workers, as well as for those suffering from sleep apnea. It can lead to high blood pressure, stress, and dangerously low oxygen levels in the bloodstream. Chronic sleep deprivation can also trigger an increase in appetite, which may contribute to weight gain.

Conquering the Effects of Sleep Deprivation

A new class of drugs, known as eugeroics, is being developed to counteract the negative effects of short-term sleep deprivation. These stimulants are designed to enhance cognitive performance after 36 hours or more of wakefulness. While some of these drugs are already used to treat narcolepsy, their manufacturers are hoping for FDA approval to adapt them for broader uses, like enabling people to function on only a few hours of sleep each night or extend their work shifts. However, whether these drugs will become a staple of modern life remains uncertain. It's important to note that they can't replace sleep, and their long-term impact needs to be carefully studied.

Sleep is a crucial biological function. During sleep, our muscles and cells recover, which helps the brain organize memories and enhances cognitive abilities when we are awake.

For most adults, aiming for seven to eight hours of sleep each night is ideal. While public figures like Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill famously claimed to sleep only four hours a night or less, all animals, including humans, require sleep. Some animals, like giraffes, rest for less than two hours a day, while pythons sleep for the majority of the day. In the end, the amount of sleep a person needs depends on individual factors. Babies may sleep up to 20 hours a day, but as we age, that number typically decreases to around six or seven hours.