How long can a person last without sleep?

India
July 12, 2007 2:06am CST
How long can a person be sleep deprived for? So far for a week, i havent been sleeping well. At best I get a few hours every night. And the strangest thing is im not mentally or physically tired. This happened in the past, but it was due to my high coffee intake which i later realized. I drink less coffee now but this week is strange. Aside from prescription drugs (which ive tried but doesnt help), what methods can i use to sleep better or at least get me into my REM stage?
8 people like this
25 responses
@dpk262006 (58678)
• Delhi, India
12 Jul 07
Heartiest Congratulation, Priti, you touched the magical figure of '1000'. Now to your disussion - To not to get a proper sleep is really a matter of concern. Insufficient sleep can take a heavy toll on your health. I am of the opinion, that your diet has something to do with your sleep. Try to avoid 'coffee' or tea at all. ....and do not think too much ...about your 'sleep'...I think when you concentrate hard on anything....you get tensed and the desired results are not achieved. Take it easy! Be cool and calm....and do not think too much about getting sound sleep...let's see how long .....it will take to get a sound sleep. Best of Luck!
• India
12 Jul 07
Yeah .. finally I got the magical figure .. now .. ok I will take your advice for sleep :)
3 people like this
@dpk262006 (58678)
• Delhi, India
13 Jul 07
Best of Luck and wishes :) :) dpk
@sid556 (30959)
• United States
12 Jul 07
A few hours isn't so bad. I rarely get more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep and I feel fine. Some nights I am so tired, I sleep longer and just assume I needed it. I say if you feel fine than don't worry about it. We all have different metabolisms and sleep requirements. If I have trouble falling asleep and I know I have to get up in the morning, a warm relaxing bath helps alot. Then I cuddle up with a good book and usually will fall asleep still holding the book.
3 people like this
@dafnie (382)
• United States
12 Jul 07
I slept for 3 hours 5 days in a row (exam week, stayed up studying) and that was the WORSE thing in the world! my sleep cycle was ruined and i slept any time, any where, during the day because i was so tired and grouchy... yeah, sleep deprivation is also bad for ur brain i think...
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jul 07
i have chronic insomnia-my record is close to 4 days. i average about 2 to 4 hours per day,only getting 8 when i'm sick. the only thing i've found to burn off that extra energy is working out.allows me to sleep more often.
@lpetges (3036)
• United States
12 Jul 07
yes, i have to take pills to get to sleep.
1 person likes this
@dbhattji (2506)
• India
12 Jul 07
The best way is to form of habit of getting up early in the morning, after a few days you will be drowsy by 10 -11 PM and if you regularly sleep at that time it will become natural. our sleep disturbances are because our bedtime is not fixed.
@sugarfloss (2139)
• Malaysia
12 Jul 07
I think it's 72 hours.That's 3 days.You can try aromatherapy.That really puts you to sleep.Hope it helps!
3 people like this
• New Zealand
12 Jul 07
Sleep deprivation is not a good thing, which is why it is a favourite torture tool....it can cause fatigue,lack of concentration,memory impairment,depression,emotional mood swings,in the short term... Long term it can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), hormonal disfunctions, weight gain,& can damage your immune system..... Lab rats deprived of sleep, die within 2-3 weeks! There is a natural sleep aid called Melatonin....it is a naturally occurring substance in our bodies,that regulates your body into knowing when it needs to sleep.... but sometimes people dont have enough of it, or the levels lessen as we age, or thru illness etc..... Melatonin tablets balance out your levels & gets your body clock back in sync... It is great stuff!
3 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
13 Jul 07
i can never last for a week without a sleep... the most i can go is 1 day and that is when i am still in uni and that is because we are in the camp... but after that, i really collapse... now that i am already working, i have to put my life in order... so i always get a minimum of 6 hours sleep everyday...
2 people like this
@kaplya (1578)
• India
12 Jul 07
i think s/he couldn't last longer than 2 days without even a minute of sleep. personally i can't keep myself awake for more than 24 hours..if i do i would feel so dizzy all the time. my sister tried once to not to sleep for two days and in the end she said she started to see images and shadow before her!;) in your case i think if this deprivation is not causing you mental and physical problems then it seems you are having deep rounds of sleep..which is in my opinion okay:) because generally our body tells us what it needs. but of course we should not keep this track for long time..you could try listening slow rhythm songs on a low voice it helps a lot in sleeping, at least in my case..so you can try this method if you haven't already:)
@webbuff (926)
• Philippines
12 Jul 07
it depends on different people. Some people cant last 8 hours without sleep.. and most of us like me can stand more than 24 hours without sleep... i get into my REM stage at around 36 hours without sleep =) my advice.. get enough sleep..
2 people like this
@navtech (1773)
• India
12 Jul 07
Dear touchnshine, I used to sleep well without mental disturbance. Unfortunately few months back I could not sleep upto 3 PM. After 3 pm I slept. This continued for 2 weeks. I started sleeping in my office hours. Since this year ending, audit was going and I was facing hell of problem. My wife asked me to take oil bath (TIL OIL BATH). I put the TIL OIL on my head sufficient quantity and also all over the body. Of my own I messaged the whole head and body. After 1 hour I took bath. From that night onwards I started sleeping usual manner. I do not know whether you take my suggestion but it is a effective method to get sleep. Every week on Saturday I take TIL OIL bath like this.
@asahibza (388)
• Canada
12 Jul 07
I cannot understand whether the question is totally without sleep or with a few hours sleep. I have tried both. I think one cannot resist for more than 48 hours totally without sleep. I worked for 2-3 years some time back with just a few hours (4-5 hours) sleep a day. I know how I was feeling. At times due to exhaustion I was unable to stand on my legs. I used to sleep in my car while driving during night. I think I might have slept for a few seconds even on highways at numerous times. The above is scary. But I had no choice. I had to work. I think one should try to avoid that situation. Sleep is very important for health and one cannot get a second life.
2 people like this
@senthil2k (1500)
• India
12 Jul 07
I don’t know how long Human being can last without sleeping, but I cant even last for a day without a proper sleep. I feel very tired when I don’t have enough sleep . I cant properly concentrate on any job on that day and I feel my performance is totally down that day. One information that I read somewhere is that, Yogis ( People who practice Yoga) can stay without food, sleep, water etc ., even for Years !!!!!
2 people like this
• India
12 Jul 07
Enough sleep is really necessary for all of us
1 person likes this
@laridbz (1280)
• China
12 Jul 07
I've never had a problem with my sleep. Actually I think I sleep way too much. Hehehe! I think you should stop drinking coffee at all. If you're so active, you don't need it for anything. And don't you know what sort of activity makes you sleepy? Maybe watching those old boring movies, or soap operas... Well, for me they work more than fine. :D
2 people like this
• United Arab Emirates
12 Jul 07
Sleep is very essential. Without sleep we are really unhealthy. For me, i can manage without sleep for 1 day but i will feel very tired, drowsy etc. To get good sleep, (it works for me) get a warm body wash at night before going to bed or before food whichever you prefer, listening to good music remember not loud, or reading some good books, or drinking a cup of warm milk. One and the most important thing is that you should be stress free. Take care
2 people like this
@mayenskie (1307)
• Philippines
12 Jul 07
I managed to stay awake for 48 hours and after that i can't force my self to open my eyes..The moment my back hit the bed, i was knocked out. But i can do well not sleeping during the whole night for weeks as long as i get 2-3 hours of sleep during the day. But there is always a time when i reach my threshold that even if i jump and jump to stay awake.. i can no longer stay awake. need to take some tight sleep.
2 people like this
@rb200406 (1824)
• India
14 Jul 07
Dear Touchnshine.It is better to sleep without taking medicines than sleeping with them.Actually they really are very harmful.To sleep well first you should be free from all the tensions & worry.Never think of anything whlie sleeping.You may no feel now the effects of less sleeping but you require rest body as well as mind.Take rest & throw away all the tensions.Sleep at leats for 6 hours a day.
@liyan97 (2127)
• Northern Mariana Islands
13 Jul 07
Hello there touchshine! I have tried to be without sleep for a maximum of five days. This came at a time when my son was in the intensive care unit of the hospital after an accident. I refused to sleep! it felt like my body was going to shut down on me at any moment and my eyes were hurting with the shimmer if the lights but I had to force myself to stay awake so that I could be there when my son awoke. That is the longest I have went without sleep.
1 person likes this
@raychill (6525)
• United States
12 Jul 07
A few years back when I was maybe 14 or so I decided to see how many days I could stay up. It wasn't for a very specific reason that I can remember anymore. I made it about 4 days. It was pretty tough being I was a 14 year old so it's not like I did much with my life and it was summer time so no school work to do and avoid sleep. Not to mention that I didn't have cable back then so there were only about 8 channels available to me and at 3 am there's NOTHING on. Luckily I had a VCR in my bedroom. I cleaned my entire room. I did all sorts of crazy things. But finally I was just so tired and I was just so bored that after about 4 days I caved and went to sleep. I don't sleep well these days. I wake up about 4 or 5 times a night. No matter when I fall asleep I inevitably wake up between 4 am and 6 am for good. Even on days I don't have to be up for work. There's this thing by the makers of tylenol called "Simply Sleep"...it has no pain meds or anything and it's not prescription meds, just over the counter. I take them. Sometimes they work, but I'm not sure if they'd work for you since you tried prescriptions. I hope you get some sleep soon.
1 person likes this
• Canada
13 Jul 07
I don't know for sure...I think everyone has different sleep needs. Coffee definitely keeps me awake if I drink it past noon. I switch to green teas the rest of the day. What I am finding is that since I began Mylotting I am more sleep deprived. My brain loves the stimulation, but if I stay on line too late...I can't sleep. Besides my hubby is beginning to feel like a Mylot widow...so I need to sign off shortly. Hope the rest of you get some sleep soon.
• United States
13 Jul 07
i really dont know how long we can go with out sleep. how many hours exactly are you getting? i have always been told if you sleep to much you will be more tired. i kind of agree. the longest i have ever been up straight with no sleep at all was 3 whole days. i got tired a lil but not really. i guess i was slap happy or something. when i finally got some sleep i only slept for about foour hours and i was back up till that night.
1 person likes this