Can we survive without sleeping?

[Sks_Burns 730]

*excuse me if this post is nonsensical and poorly written. im tired*

 

active study time: ive been awake since about 1pm yesterday (the 27th) and its currently 7:21am on the 28th. i just working 10 hours ontop of the 9 or so that i was already concious, that combined with not sleeping much the night before equals some bad side effects, apparently in as little as 24 hours.

 

my joints ache from being mobile for so long, i think im a bit giddy right now, if not slightly delerious. everything feels slower, and my short term memory isnt too good right now. slight headache, my eyes feel heavy, and i can barely focus. this is all after less then 24 hours, with caffeine usage. imagine the effects in 48 hours if you didnt sleep. everything would be twice as bad, if not 3x as bad. 

[SilverStarApple 849]

Is anybody or anypony going to try that only-2-hours-of-sleep-needed brain-hacking technique? I really want to know if it'll work or not!

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

Trust me: it does NOT work!  All it does is let you a low-energy, lethargic fool of yourself.  The reason why someponies are bronies is that they decided to be bronies, not staying up late to hack their brains, which is another reason why I like bronies.

[Retro*Derpy 3,181]

Not as I could see no. Even if we managed to somehow keep your brain from shutting you down, you would eventually run out of ATP and you will lay paralyzed. Possible heart failure. But, without sleep, mankind would also progress technology and new inventions a LOT slower, because most ideas come from dreams and you need sleep to dream...

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

I agree with you, Retro_Derpy.  That's another reason why sleep is important, even though not everypony agrees.  So let me stress this so that everypony understands: without sleep, your energy will drain due to you forcing your body not to recover lost energy, and without energy, you will die.  Also, you'll go stupid, crazy, or whatever else!

[Zink 80]

I can survive without sleep.

I've gone a week without sleeping. Yeah, It's hell, but it was worth the challenge.

I don't recommend you try it.

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

Umm, I'm going to say "no" to this.

 

Trust me, I've tried burning the candle at both ends enough times in my life. I guess you could survive with little sleep, but it's not a pleasant way to live. No sleep? You're gonna die.

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

I agree with StratoPegasus that without sleep, you will die.

 

 

Trust me, I've tried burning the candle at both ends enough times in my life. I guess you could survive with little sleep, but it's not a pleasant way to live. No sleep? You're gonna die.

 

I think I had stressed the effects of sleep-deprivation enough, but it's not enough to keep them from telling their little stories.

[XrosOver 613]

I don't believe so. Don't quote me on this but I think that after awhile we either go into a coma like state or we just keel over from exaustion. I personally know I wouldn't survive without sleep because when I am tired I tend to do stupid things and have not a care about it.

[TwilightSparkle42 37]

I totally agree with XrosOver.  Nopony can survive without sleep.  I would say it's a unanimous decision if the decision is unanimous, but it isn't so I have to stress the importance.

[qqq 217]

One thing I have read is that 5-7 days without sleep is enough to kill you. One day without makes you drowsy and lethargic. 2 days makes you stroppy and 3 days reduces brain power to a sluggish rate.

 

One thing I have read is that 5-7 days without sleep is enough to kill you. One day without makes you drowsy and lethargic. 2 days makes you stroppy and 3 days reduces brain power to a sluggish rate.

[khaine21x3 789]

I'll just add something that no poster did - sleeping also relives stress as it gives you dream of alternate reality where everything is going the way you want to or relives sexual stress by having erotic dream and releasing all that built up...

 

I would choose to sleep 20 hours per day if I could but I'm kinda insomniac.

[Lunas Husband 2,777]

No! 

 

 

I'm sorry.... but NO! We need sleep are body needs time to just shut down and chill out for a bit. Same with are brain, it needs time to just sit down and chill. 

 

It would be cool if we didn't need sleep, I could do a lot more with my time..

[Onylex 2,837]

Well, just going off of what I have herd about people being sleep deprived Id say no.

 

People need sleep other wise it screws with your mind and your health. 

[Torrent505 370]

Nope we can't survive without it most I've gone without sleeping is 3 and a half days or around 90 hours give or take. Believe me once you get past 48 hours without any sort of rest at all it starts to get weird. And by it I mean just your perception and feelings in general begin to change, it's almost painful. I really don't ever want to go that long without sleep again...

[Starbound 150]

No. Too little sleep could kill you quicker than most venom will.

 

I have gone 3 days without sleep. It was horrible. Going a week without sleep? Pfft, that's a white lie. Being up one night will bring up serious issues. When I collapsed that 3rd day of no sleep, I was hallucinating, having violent moodswings, was in a bad depression, and was hearing voices like a dying snake-human.

 

It was not pleasant, let me tell you that. No one should put themselves in so much pain.

[Neon Fire 473]

No. And as much as I'd love to stay awake all the time, I don't think it's at all possible. It would be awesome though to never be tired.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

No, you will die. Your body can go about 5 days without sleep on average. some can push longer, but anything past a week is rumored to have roots in insanity(I can't confirm that) Science cannot explain why we need sleep. We need a recharge, but a cellular level and conscious level, we aren't sure.

I only have gone 2 full days without sleep.

 

In college it involved scheduling and class picking wars. I had to wait in line for 5 hours. I couldn't stay up. I passed out and slept for 14 hours.

[Best Username Ever 211]

Well i know without it some guy went completely delusional and insane then had a stroke and passed away so i'm gonna have to say no

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

No. Too little sleep could kill you quicker than most venom will.

 

I have gone 3 days without sleep. It was horrible. Going a week without sleep? Pfft, that's a white lie. Being up one night will bring up serious issues. When I collapsed that 3rd day of no sleep, I was hallucinating, having violent moodswings, was in a bad depression, and was hearing voices like a dying snake-human.

 

It was not pleasant, let me tell you that. No one should put themselves in so much pain.

I don't believe in hallucinations in terms of physicality issues. I believe they're metaphysical, fourth and fifth dimensional.

 

I have been held down on my bed by a force I couldn't escape. I got the shakes and scared. I also heard voices even with sufficient sleep.

 

Also had astral project(NOT DMT) where I had out of body experiences in my room as it was when I was awake......

 

Back to the topic =3

Edited January 24, 2014 by TheMarkz0ne

[Best Username Ever 211]

No, you will die. Your body can go about 5 days without sleep on average. some can push longer, but anything past a week is rumored to have roots in insanity(I can't confirm that) Science cannot explain why we need sleep. We need a recharge, but a cellular level and conscious level, we aren't sure.

I only have gone 2 full days without sleep.

 

In college it involved scheduling and class picking wars. I had to wait in line for 5 hours. I couldn't stay up. I passed out and slept for 14 hours.

I have gone a bit over two days without sleep as well even though it was simply because i was to

busy playing games and watching ponies and i slept after that for 16 hours straight

Edited January 24, 2014 by Best Username Ever

[Treble Bolt 1,122]

Not sure what you mean by "survive"....it's blatantly obvious that if you don't sleep AT ALL...yes you will die.

 

If you are talking about not sleeping for one or more nights in a row, it's quite debatable. One night without sleep will make you tired for sure, but most people can 'half-way' manage to get through their day, and they're ability to cope with the tiredness can be helped with caffine.

Two days without sleep, you really start going downhill mentally (and physically because your body is tired). People tend to be more easily agitated, short on words, and overall just grumpy people. By the end of day two, most people get blurry vision and really start having symptoms akin to being completely drunk...

Day three...yeah, by this time, depending on who your are and how well you normally care for yourself, your body will force rest upon itself, meaning unless there's a medical condition going on preventing you from sleeping, you cannot consciously fight your body.  So by the end of the day, you will have napped or something akin to sleep because you can no longer choose to stay awake.

 

Now, in any case, lacking sleep does have negative effects on your body.  Normally it's short term, but doing this often will take its toll.  Of course anything unhealthy, even in small quantities, will affect you long term down the road (such as second hand smoke). So overall, don't choose to do it for the heck of it.  I've had to pull a few all nighter's during college finals, and believe me, it's not worth it health wise, especially if you have a job and a life outside of your schoolwork.

If you do ever pull all nighter's DO NOT consume too much caffine at once (i.e. chug a Monster). Coffee is the safest thing to consume, minding that you sip it and equal your coffee intake with water so you do not get dehydrated. Energy drinks and soda have their place if you need a few hours of a burst.  But the tons sugar in them will mess up your glycemic index, making you more apt to fall asleep because your body is working harder to do what should be natural on top of you denying it rest.  In other words, consume caffine slowly, avoid sugar and carbs (protein keeps you awake), and keep yourself hydrated, and after any all nighter, make sure you get plenty of rest afterwards.  You cannot "make up" lost sleep, but you can reset your body clock and allow your body to recuperate after the stress you put it under.... 

[Castle Bleck 19,326]

See picture below for my answer:

 

Edited January 24, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Clover Heart 978]

You need sleep. Have you ever stayed up for over 24 hours? It's physically uncomfortable, isn't it? You're weaker, less coordinated, irritable and you have trouble gathering your thoughts and speaking coherently. The brain, as well as the body, need rest. When you sleep, your body and mind both recuperate. Y'know how when you do too much stuff with your computer, it gets to be too much to handle, and it runs slowly, so you have to restart it? That's sorta what sleeping does. It's a reset. If I were to fathom a guess, I'd say it mostly has to do with your heart and brain. Your heart has to constantly pump blood. It can't stop. Your waking self requires more oxygen than your sleeping self, meaning the heart must work harder when you're awake than when you're asleep. When you sleep, your functions slow significantly, allowing the heart to beat slower. However, if your heart is constantly beating at a waking pace, even if you're not doing anything strenuous, you're wearing out your heart by not giving it an opportunity to rest. Same with your brain. The amount of neurons your brain utilizes, again, is far less when you're sleeping than when you're awake. Over utilization of these neurons, especially the ones that have to repeatedly do the same thing, results in your brain becoming exhausted. This can result in a number of cognitive, judgmental and/or psychological issues. 

 

Have you ever heard of fatal familial insomnia? It's a condition where the person is unable to sleep at all. The prognosis is an onslaught of major psychological problems ending in death in 7-18 months. So you will die without sleep. You can go a time without it, but you will prematurely die eventually. Aside from that, however, if you don't have an insomniac condition or any drugs which would chemically keep you awake, you'll eventually fall asleep. After a certain point, it won't matter what you try to do. You'll  eventually get to a point where you'll just sleep. So while you could keep yourself awake for a certain amount of time and be fine, after enough time has passed, there's not really anything you can do to avoid sleep.

 

*edit*

Also, this. So if you don't have FFI, you've got about a week to survive without sleep. Either way, if you don't sleep, you die.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Clover Heart

[HawkeyeNate 0]

From what I understand, your body actually uses sleep to do a lot of things. First off is running out of energy and you just need to give yourself more (you do a lot with turning food into energy during sleep, from what I understand). Our brains are also only designed to work at capacity for so long- weird things happen when you sleep to rejuvinate your brain (I have a cousin studying stuff like this in college right now, he could explain it a ton better)