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Do you know what happens to your body if you deprive it of sleep? States such as hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and even visions!
Each of us has certainly experienced a sleepless night. But have you ever wondered what happens to our body in such a moment?
And do you know what happens when there are several such nights in a row?
Randy Gardner, a student from San Diego, decided to try it.
He deprived himself of sleep for a long 11 days and these are the results he reached.
6 hours after a night without sleep
To cope with the lack of sleep, the body begins to produce an excessive amount of cortisol. Because of this hormone we may not feel completely exhausted, but we are more irritable and anxious. We feel tense and confused.
12 hours after a sleepless night
The brain “shuts off” those functions that are not strictly necessary. Reaction time slows and decision-making ability is impaired. You can still manage everyday tasks, but you feel drained and tired.
24 hours after a sleepless night
It’s paradoxical, but after 24 hours fatigue suddenly leaves you. On the contrary, you feel full of energy and are more productive than usual. Your senses sharpen and you feel comfortable. You probably smile and do everything with joy.
36 hours after a sleepless night
You begin to notice problems with memory. Your reaction time lengthens. The brain conserves energy wherever it can. Immune system functions decrease and metabolism slows down. You feel very tired.
45 hours after a sleepless night
After such a period you may start to feel frightened. Hallucinations may begin to appear. You are paranoid. You see and hear things that are not real: for example a strange whisper, peculiar sounds, and you begin to have visions.
After 11 days you stop speaking coherently
You tremble, you lose all motor skills.
The only person who managed to stay awake for 11 days was Randy Gardner himself.
This seventeen-year-old student carried out an experiment in 1964, to uncover what happens to the human body if we deprive it of sleep. He lasted 264 hours without sleep, which is roughly 11 days.
Strangely, on the 11th day of the experiment Randy was no longer able to speak coherently, yet he was still able to beat his collaborator, scientist William Dement, at pinball. And he did so 100 times in a row, so it certainly wasn’t a coincidence! It seems that while lack of sleep leads to deterioration of certain bodily functions, it improves others instead.
No one has yet managed to break this record, nor even to repeat it.
