Quality sleep is the key to physical and psychological health. Every day an adult needs to sleep on average 7-8 hours, these indicators will be individual for everyone, but it is impossible to completely do without night rest. While we are dreaming, our body is recovering from working day, processes the information received, renews spent energy. However, there are cases when people could do without sleep for a long time. Let's consider how harmful this is and how dangerous it is to life.

Indicators in numbers

How long can a person live without sleep? This indicator will be different for everyone, as well as daily norm night's rest. Scientists have found that on average you can last no more than 3-5 days without sleep. Even if you manage to achieve greater results, it will not pass without damage to your health.

Let's consider what happens in the body when it is completely deprived of night rest:

• The first day: the body’s tone drops, labor productivity decreases by 30%, health worsens, irritability appears, and blood pressure rises.
• Second day: labor productivity drops by 60%, the person’s strength leaves him, it becomes difficult for him to think and express his thoughts.
• Third day: the person begins to develop a depressive state, neurotic disorders, vision and hearing deteriorate, coordination of movements is impaired.
• Fourth day: significantly worsen chronic diseases, auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations appear, the person reacts inadequately to variegated colors, they irritate him and seem brighter than they really are.
• Fifth day: brain cells gradually die, you can die from so many sleepless nights.

Research issue

Scientists test how long a person can live without sleep on laboratory rats. However, there are also volunteers who are not averse to testing their body’s strength. Some of them were able to withstand more than 5 days without rest. Scientists believe that if a person does not die, then most likely his body adapts to emergency conditions and may occasionally enter a phase REM sleep.

Outwardly, you cannot understand that a person is sleeping, he is performing certain tasks, reacting to speech, his eyes are open. However, certain areas of the brain rest at this time, otherwise the body simply will not be able to tolerate the experiment.

There is evidence of people who were able to live without sleep not just for a few days for the sake of an experiment, but for many years in a row. Vietnamese Thai Ngoc has not slept for more than 38 years; his insomnia began after he suffered from a fever.

His compatriot Nguyen Van Kha has been awake for almost 28 years, one day he closed his eyelids and felt strong burning sensation. According to the man, he saw eyes closed a flame that burned, and decided never to close his eyelids again. The Englishman Eustace Burnett is far ahead of his competitors; he has not rested at night for more than 56 years; instead of sleeping, he prefers to solve crossword puzzles. No pathologies that could provoke this state, Eustace doesn’t, he just decided one evening that he didn’t want to sleep.

World record holders

The Guinness Book of Records also has data on how many days a person can live without sleep. The Americans were able to withstand the longest period of time without a night's rest. The first was Randy Gardner, he was able to last 11 days without any stimulants or sleep. Later, Randy's compatriot, Robert McDonald, broke the record - his result was 19 days.

Now the testimony is no longer entered into the book; this decision of the administration is connected with high risk mortality during such experiments on oneself.

It is worth noting that the record holders who decided to test how long they could stay awake did not suffer at all during the experiment. They were both completely back in shape after renewing their strength. The men needed 14-15 hours of sleep after such a grueling ordeal. Doctors did not record any serious pathologies or changes in their body.

The dangers of insomnia

Finding out personally how long a person can go without sleep is very dangerous and fraught with serious consequences. A person can do without various benefits, but food, air, water and nutritious night rest- this is what we vitally need. In no case should you check the amount of time that is possible for you in continuous wakefulness, since an unprepared person can simply die.

Having gotten out of my own way regular schedule just for a day, you will get very tired. The risk of death increases every day.

It is also possible to develop the following disorders:

• disruptions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
• hand tremors;
• symptoms of Alzheimer's disease;
• disruption of the functioning of any organs and systems;
• mental disorders.

Especially impressionable people can remember how many tears and sleepless nights there were in their lives, and how this affected their health. Most often, a person who lives without proper rest for several months in a row faces problems such as obesity, diabetes mellitus second type, increased irritability, drop in body tone and others nervous disorders. To avoid such a sad outcome, you need to get proper rest.

In conclusion

You can live without sleep for only a few days, but damage to your health will be caused even for so long. short term. Only a few people go without a night's rest for several years and feel great.

Under no circumstances should you check how long your body can remain awake. Lack of night rest leads not only to serious physical and psychological disorders, but also to death.

Take care of yourself, sleep soundly and as much as your body requires for full recovery strength

One story is wandering around the Internet, but it is still unknown whether it is true or just a horror story...

As they say knowledgeable people, this terrible story happened in the late 1940s, Soviet researchers decided to conduct an experiment to find out how lack of sleep would affect a person during long period time. 30 days without sleep - that was the goal of the experiment.

It is clear that only volunteers were invited to participate in the experiment - five prisoners gave their consent to participate in the project in exchange for the possibility of early release. They then went into a sealed and tightly closed chamber, where stimulating gas was supplied - this is how the study of the effects of long-term sleep deprivation began. scary story.

Volunteers were observed through two-way mirrors, and conversations were monitored using microphones. It must be said that the first couple of days of the experiment passed without any comments. – Experience, freedom in exchange for 30 days without sleep got off to a pretty decent start.

On the fifth day, the situation in the cell changed, the subjects began to show signs of stress, they started complaining about damn life and cursing about the current circumstances. The experimental prisoners increasingly froze in front of microphones, whispering incriminating information about each other, apparently in an effort to gain the favor of the researchers.

On the ninth day, one of the prisoners could not stand it, his nerves burst - he began to scream wildly for no apparent reason. First one, then another, and now the whole cell was engulfed in rushing and screaming people. For several hours, the participants in this terrible story experienced their vocal cords and lightweight for durability.

Serious mental problems in a cell for five people began at the end of the second week - people spent all this time without sleep! Someone started tearing books into pieces (there were plenty of books and magazines), another was quietly crying and howling in the corner, and the third prisoner figured out how to get rid of the observers behind the two-way mirror - grabbing magazine pages, smiling, he covered the glass with feces!

There was no visual observation after the trick with the glass, but the microphones worked. The moaning and howling suddenly died down in the cell, and the crying stopped. Silence, the subjects stopped communicating altogether. Three long days passed without sound inside the camera. Fearing the worst, the researchers addressed the prisoners of the “30 days without sleep” idea with the words: We open the cell. Everyone move away from the door and lie down on the floor. In case of disobedience we will shoot. - A voice from inside answered: we can’t do it anymore, let us out! - So we managed to find out that there were still living people in the cell.

Two more days passed without contact of any kind as the scientists discussed what to do next. Finally, they decided to stop the experiment, because screams of pain and guttural growls were suddenly heard in the chamber. At midnight on the fifteenth day, the stimulant gas was released from the chamber.

A terrible picture opened the moment the door opened. The scary thing is not that one of the prisoners was dead - his body was torn to pieces, and pieces of flesh were stuffed into a drain in the floor. Four other bloody study subjects were screaming and hysterical, begging the soldiers to leave them in the cell and release the gas again! They were afraid to fall asleep!

Meanwhile, the shocked soldiers looked in shock at the mutilated bodies of people. Torn flesh, rags of hanging skin - all the prisoners were terribly mutilated lacerations, but alive.

Only the man sitting under the mirror did not scream; he did not ask to be left in the cell. In general, he silently and busily fumbled in his torn stomach, tearing off a piece of flesh from the wound and putting it in his mouth.

The four who were still alive, but were terrified of falling asleep and refused to leave the cell, had to be removed by force by the guards. However, crippled and seemingly exhausted people, suddenly it was as if they had received a good dose of combat stimulant and threw the guards out of the cell themselves! They resisted so fiercely that it is impossible to believe.

One of the prisoners suffered a ruptured spleen, lost so much blood that his heart barely had anything to pump, but, nevertheless, he continued to hammer with his fists for several more minutes until his lifeless body collapsed on the floor!

The remaining subjects were shackled and taken to medical institution for treatment. But damn it, hobbled doesn’t mean calmed down! One of the three survivors, seeing that he was being put to sleep, showed such power of berserker rage that he tore his muscles and tendons, and broke bones while struggling with the belts. As soon as the painkiller took effect, his heart stopped and he gave up the ghost.

The remaining two underwent the operation more calmly - so to speak in this case. Apparently not feeling any pain at all, they laughed and laughed at operating table- so hysterical that doctors began to fear for their own sanity.

After treatment, the survivors were asked why they mutilated themselves, why they were so desperate to return to the cell? Each one in turn gave the following answer: “I must never sleep again.”

What happens if you remove one of the phases from sleep? Studies were carried out on animals, depriving them of certain phases of sleep.

If you wake an animal during slow-wave sleep, in the first days of the experiment the animal becomes lethargic and disoriented. When the brain adapts to new conditions, an interesting thing happens: different areas the brain begins to sleep in different times, slow sleep is broken down into short sections. And the animal continues to live peacefully.

But if you wake up the animal at the onset of the REM sleep phase, then the sleep cycle starts over again each time and therefore the REM sleep phase completely falls out of the cycle. After 40 days of such abuse, the animal dies. This is how we found out that deprivation of REM sleep is fatal for any organism.

Deprivation - sleep deprivation: treatment, or torture

Depriving a person of sleep is called deprivation. Some people consciously practice sleep deprivation techniques to achieve an altered state of consciousness similar to the effects of drugs. Deprivation is used to treat depression (in short, the method is to skip one night of sleep without a single minute of sleep). But long-term deprivation is not only dangerous because it leads to various violations in the body, but is also the most severe torture, known since ancient times and used to this day in closed prisons. A person begins to suffer from severe headaches, fatigue and a feeling of a compressed head increases. Hallucinations, unnecessary movements, fussiness, unrealistic ideas appear, and contact with reality is lost. During the process of torture, a person becomes susceptible to any influence, is ready to confess to any crime, gradually goes crazy and dies in agony.

Sleep deprivation torture has been used countless times throughout human history to obtain a confession of guilt in a particular crime. The accused, confused, poorly understanding the questions, agrees with the accuser, answers affirmatively to all questions, and ascribes to himself crimes that he did not commit. During medieval witch hunts, deprivation was used to "awaken" the witch. After several days of continuous wakefulness, the accused woman began to hallucinate, she talked about flying and other fantastic scenes, and this was more than enough to be accused of witchcraft.

Some people are doomed to the torture of deprivation because they suffer hereditary disease called fatal familial insomnia. The disease is rare, but incurable -

How long can you live without sleep?

A person can live without sleep for no more than 2-2.5 weeks.

Experiments on dogs have shown that when they are deprived of sleep, death occurs on days 9-17 of sleep deprivation; rats subjected to complete sleep deprivation died on days 11-32.

In 1959, 32-year-old Englishman Peter Trap spent 200 hours without sleep. His record without sleep in 1965, he was beaten by 17-year-old Randy Gardner, who was awake for 264 hours (11 days). They probably experienced the symptoms described above, but sleep for 12-14 hours relieved these pathological manifestations. Latest record was installed in 2007 by 42-year-old Briton Tony Wright.

Increased release of stress hormones
weakens significantly immune system
reaction time increases
decreased ability to concentrate
appears headache, dizziness, memory loss, hallucinations
blood pressure increases
speech becomes unclear or incoherent
tremor of the limbs appears
the risk of type 2 diabetes increases
the risk of fibromyalgia increases
intestinal upset appears
weight loss or gain occurs
paranoia develops
delirium (dementia)
violated heart rate increases the risk of heart disease

But I long ago came to the conclusion that drowsiness and the fatigue that accompanies it (if there was no hard physical labor) are rather psychological feelings. Not at all as a doctor, but solely from personal observations, I can say that the body consciously puts itself into sleepy state so as not to get damaged. And if you find yourself a sufficiently exciting task at this moment, you can get out of drowsiness without any stimulants. In particular, this practice helped me several times to spend 24 hours behind the wheel of a car on long hauls, of which the longest, in the rhythm of “almost without lifting my butt off the seat,” was about 2,500 kilometers. I’ll tell you separately about the method of many hours of hauling.

And so, my personal record - four days no sleep. God knows what compared to the record holders, but it’s interesting. As far as I understand from discussions in forums, not many people have even tried this, but they tell plenty of horror stories. The reason was simple - several years ago there were a lot of urgent matters related to THG, and they had to be done as a force majeure. The sensations were very interesting. I'll try to remember how it was.

Later 24 hours I wanted to pass out terribly without sleep. General coma, slight aches in the muscles, a slightly airy feeling of abstraction from the surroundings. I had to keep myself in good shape by smoking and green tea, hot showers every couple of hours, tingling in the spine. By the way, I managed to work quite productively - the effect of high self-motivation was triggered.

Through 48 hours the aches in the muscles turned into a kind of general weakness. Same green tea and coffee, it seemed, no longer had any effect on tone. Hot shower brought me into a state of some cheerfulness. But overall, I felt like a zombie with hot and heavy eyes. I could think and talk as usual. The joints of my hands also hurt a little from long work at the computer.

Through 72 hours I stopped wanting to sleep without sleep. The general wobbly feeling in the body has intensified, but any painful sensations. The feeling was similar to general physical fatigue of the body. The first speech disorders appeared against the background of completely coherent thoughts and the understanding that you were not saying exactly what you wanted. For example, you could say something like “pass me a glass of window” instead of “a glass of tea”. The desire to smoke and drink some tonic drinks completely disappeared.

On the brink of 96 hours without sleep I approached in a very confused state oral speech, but without any desire to sleep. Physical fatigue did not prevent me from performing basic, even routine actions with a heavy load, while I would characterize the state of thought as “carrying” - I’m sure you could sit down and type a couple of non-trivial stories in a day, endure a snowstorm for several hours, etc. Many actions have become reflexes. For example, I could go onto the balcony during the day and reflexively turn on the light, as if it were night outside.

With this the affairs were completed, and in this in a strange state I got with my things through all of Moscow to the train, drank a glass of vodka, forced (I didn’t want to sleep!) myself to climb onto the shelf and close my eyes. I slept in a second (as if I blinked), without dreams or memories for 32 hours. Let me emphasize that going to bed was precisely a conscious and volitional decision, because I no longer wanted to sleep at all and I understood that this was no longer normal. And I woke up absolutely fresh, rested and sane again.

I wonder how many days without sleep and in what situation have you ever lived?

Everyone will give a different answer to the question of what they cannot live without. Some will remember their favorite dish or gadget, while for others their priority will be their loved ones or pets. At the same time, no one even thinks about how long a person can live without sleep. It is known that correct mode day and the proper number of hours for rest is the key to vigor and wellness. Prolonged wakefulness can lead to serious consequences.

What is sleep for?

The body is designed in such a way that it needs to constantly change the phases of wakefulness and sleep. About a third of life is spent in a state of rest and rest. This time is needed to restore vitality and wasted energy.

It is extremely important for all people to get rest at night. Sleep is considered the main indicator of psycho-emotional state. If a person sleeps about eight hours a day, then he feels like a full-fledged member of society. There is a norm deep sleep and fast. All phases must pass overnight. Only then will a surge of vivacity appear.

Many people know what happens to the body without food. It's hard for a person to get by for a long time without food. Within three days, severe exhaustion sets in. At the same time, lack of sleep can lead to decreased performance and deterioration mental health.

Complete absence sleep entails serious consequences for the body.

How many days can a person go without sleep - experiments

Scientists have scientifically proven that people cannot die if they restrain themselves from falling asleep. Typically for a working person maximum quantity time in a state of wakefulness does not exceed several days. After this, a short-term sleep occurs, during which brain activity temporarily stops and it is possible to relax.

In the sixties of the last century, a schoolboy was able to set a record without falling asleep for eleven days. During the first days his condition did not worsen. On the third day, a headache appeared and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease began to appear. On the last day, he already experienced severe hallucinations and hand tremors. The child was unable to perform basic tasks. The experiment was stopped at this stage.

Robert McDonald managed to set a world record. He lasted for 18 days and 21 hours without rest. According to scientists, this case is an exception to the rule. The maximum a person can do without sleep and causing harm to the body is five days.

Impact of lack of sleep

The Guinness Book of Records included a man who managed to stay awake for 453 hours. This is the maximum amount of time that scientists were able to record. To an ordinary person However, it will not be possible to hold out for such a long time.

The number of days without sleep does not exceed five. A longer absence of rest can lead to irreversible consequences and even death.

It has been scientifically proven that you can remain awake for no more than 20 hours without causing harm to the body. The body needs good rest daily.

Myths

There are several myths about sleeping at night. Among the most common of them are the following:

1. Night rest should last eight hours. Actually this is not true. For some people, less time will be enough, while others will need up to twelve hours.
2. Elderly people don't need to sleep. A fairly common misconception is that as you get older you can live without sleep. However, in old age, problems with night rest do not arise because there is no longer a need for it. In fact, there are obstacles to getting enough sleep. Such violations often indicate the development serious illnesses.
3. It was enough for Napoleon to sleep a couple of hours a day. Scientists say that a person can live for several days at this rhythm. After this, serious disturbances will begin to appear, including memory loss.
4. Lack of sleep can be made up for on the weekends. As a rule, working people get used to getting up early. In addition, on weekends they go to bed much later. For this reason, waking up late will not solve the problem and will lead to insomnia before the work week.

In addition, many, having seen an unusual dream, immediately turn to the dream book. In fact, dreams do not always promise any changes in life. Often dreams appear in fast phase sleep, when brain activity is still very active. And what we see in a dream has nothing to do with predictions.

There are people who are able to stay awake for a long time without causing harm to their health. They do not experience fatigue or other unwanted complications.

Morvan's disease is characterized by the fact that insomnia appears against the background of its development. A person suffering from this disease can maximum time survive without falling asleep. Sometimes such people do not sleep for several months. At the same time, deviations in brain activity they are not observed. Perception and memory remain in good condition.

There are also several phenomena that manage to stay awake not due to the development of pathology. For example, Yakov Tsiperovich survived clinical death, and after that he no longer needed a night's rest. Initially, he suffered greatly from insomnia, but then his body managed to adapt to such an unusual rhythm of life. Among the disorders identified in this person, only low temperature bodies.

A native of Vietnam, Ngoc Thai has been awake for 44 years, but he and Yakov Tsiperovich are the exception to the rule. For the rest of the planet's inhabitants, night rest is vital.

Violate normal sleep snoring may also occur. People suffering from it often wake up during the night, which has a negative impact on their well-being.

How long can you live without sleep?

Already after the first sleepless night there is a deterioration in general condition, change blood pressure and the appearance of irritability. After the second day, headaches appear, the person perceives information poorly and feels very weakened.

Three sleepless days lead to depressive state and psychoemotional disorders. In the future, hallucinations appear, memory suffers, diseases that occur in the chronic form. There is shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat.

After five days, brain cells begin to break down. If the experiment is not stopped, death will soon occur.

The dream is playing important in the life of every person. If it is not enough, the body’s condition worsens. There is a feeling of fatigue, weakness, and emotional exhaustion. If you stay awake for too long, irreversible changes will begin, and it’s even possible death. Therefore, doctors recommend not resorting to such experiments.