Sleep deprivation is an issue faced by many in this fast-paced competitive and stressful world. Working late into the night and having to get up early for work again has become the norm for many people. Sleep deprivation, after a point, has not just adverse effects on the body but also psychological effects that can affect sanity. It is not recommended to go day after day without sleep. Do you know years ago, in 1964, a teenage boy experimented with his sleep schedule and made a record of going without sleep for the longest period?
In December 1963, 17-year-old Randy Gardner from San Diego (US) stayed awake for 11 days and 24 minutes (264.4 hours), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by Tom Rounds. While brainstorming for their science project, Bruce McAllister and Randy Gardner came up with the idea to experiment on sleep. Like all young people, the young guys considered accepting a risky venture. They aimed to break the world record of going without sleep. After looking for techniques to determine how sleeplessness affected paranormal ability, they decided to investigate the impact of sleep loss on cognitive abilities. It was decided that Gardner will participate in the experiment and stay awake to beat the record.
Gardner had started it off with great motivation, but sleep deprivation had taken a toll on his cognitive skills. Gardner reportedly experienced irritability, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss, paranoia, and even hallucinations after three days without sleep, according to a BBC report. The scans of his brain were fascinating. His brain was seen to have both sleeping and awake areas. He was doing catnaps. When he was instructed to repeatedly deduct seven starting at 100 on the eleventh day, he stopped at 65. He explained that he had forgotten what he was doing when asked why he had stopped.
Gardner was brought to a hospital after the experiment was over, where he slept for 14 hours before waking up on his own, without any external intervention.
Years after the experiment, its after-effects still haunt Gardner. Around 2000, he began to have problems with insomnia, which he is still battling. Doctors have attributed this to his teenage experiment.
His name is also recorded in the Guinness World Record. Since then, the Guinness World Record has also refused to register such a record because of the ill effects of sleep deprivation.
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