264 Hours is officially recorded as the longest time without sleep.
The Guinness Book of Records no longer recognises sleeplessness records. There’s a very good reason for this, as not sleeping can have a negative effect on your health and the nice people at Guinness understandably don’t want that on their conscience.
Before they stopped, their officially recognised longest time without sleep was 264 hours (just over 11 days), achieved by 17-year-old American student Randy Gardner in 1964 as part of a school science project.
Others have tried to make an unofficial claim to the record, such as Jim Thomas, who claimed to have gone 266 hours without sleep just two weeks after Gardner. British woman Maureen Weston also laid claim to the record in 1977, reportedly shunning sleep for a massive 449 hours (18 days).
However, Gardner’s is still regarded as the longest scientifically-observed feat and, given that official records are no longer held, it’s unlikely to be beaten. It’s definitely not recommended that you try!
n example of the worst-case scenario occurred in 2012, when a Chinese man died after staying awake for 11 days to watch the European Football Championships. He had reportedly worked during the day and stayed up all night to watch the matches, which due to the time difference kicked off overnight in China.
It’s thought that his habit of smoking and drinking during matches may have contributed, gradually damaging his immune system to a fatal level.
The symptoms caused by not sleeping are well-documented. Scientists observing Gardner claimed that after four days he became paranoid and delusional. By day six, he could barely form a complete sentence and his concentration span was almost non-existent, although he is reported to have beaten one of the scientists at pinball some time around day 10.
We all have the odd night where we find it hard to drop off, and while you’ll probably feel a bit grumpy the next day, it won’t harm your health.
There are things you can do throughout the day that will help you enjoy a good night’s sleep, particularly as you get closer to bedtime:
We all have the odd night where we find it hard to drop off, and while you’ll probably feel a bit grumpy the next day, it won’t harm your health.
