Science
Man Shares Terrifying Toll After 11 Days With No Sleep – Here’s What Happened
A guy has described the terrible toll that staying up for a startling 264 hours had on his body and mind.
In an attempt to take first place at their local yearly larger San Diego science fair, 17-year-old Randy Gardner and two buddies agreed to stay up for an unprecedented amount of time in 1963.
In an attempt to shatter the world record and learn more about the effects of the experiment on the human brain, the youngsters planned to go 260 hours, or little under 11 days, without sleep.
However, the attempt started to produce some alarming consequences in a matter of days.
One of the teenagers who participated in the schoolboy experiment has now disclosed the true events of the record-breaking stunt, which was judged to be so risky that Guinness World Records will no longer keep track of it.
“For years and years I’ve just hibernated,” admitted Mr Gardner, now 67, in a video posted to the Guinness World Records YouTube account. “I don’t know why I agreed to talk.”
In 1963, just after Christmas, Mr. Gardner enlisted Joe Marciano Jr. and Bruce McAllister to keep him awake.
Mr. Gardner was chosen to be the test subject after a coin toss.
Mr. Gardner had short-term memory loss, attention problems, mood swings, psychosis, and hallucinations after going 72 hours without sleep.
“About the forth or fifth day, I was like-are you kidding me, this is hard,” Mr Gardner said.
“By then it had gotten out to the newspapers and the wire services picked it up and it was too late, I couldn’t back out.”
“So there I was, stuck in this thing. So I thought, let’s do it, let’s do the 11 days.”
William Dement, a sleep researcher at Stanford University, chose to spend the final three days with the boys after learning about the experiment from the news.
Dr. Dement, who was later dubbed Dr. Sleep and recognised as the pioneer of sleep science, closely monitored Mr. Gardner’s condition while doing research on his physical and mental health.
He challenged the sleep-deprived 17-year-old to games of pinball while driving him around in a convertible with the radio blaring.
Despite not getting any sleep for ten days at that time, Mr. Gardner miraculously won the match.
“We did everything. We walked the beaches at all hours. We visited the county jail at three in the morning,” Mr Gardner said. “You name it, we did it.”
During the challenge, he solely used Coca-Cola, loud music, and hot and cold showers as stimulants.
In order to evaluate his mental health, his classmates Mr. McCallister and Mr. Marciano also gave him a series of 20 exams every six hours.
Mr. Gardner was suffering from hallucinations, slurred speech, and memory loss by the end of the experiment.
Additionally, he was experiencing difficulties with coordination.
However, the teenager won—finally surpassing the 260 hours of insomnia that Honolulu DJ Tom Rounds had previously reported in 1959.
For eleven days and twenty-five minutes, Mr. Gardner had been awake.
At the Naval Hospital in San Diego, he slept for 14 hours and 45 minutes while being watched by Dr. Dement and his staff, who kept an eye on his blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, muscular activity, and brain waves.
The teenager was judged well, though, and swiftly resumed a regular sleep routine in spite of the startlingly long period of time without sleep.
Up until 1997, when Guinness World Records ceased allowing fresh attempts for safety grounds, the record had been broken numerous times.
It was thereafter held by Robert McDonald, who remained awake for 18 days and 21 hours (453 hours and 40 minutes).
In the years following the experiment, Mr. Gardner has claimed to have endured decades of excruciating sleeplessness, which he attributes to his protracted sleep deprivation as a teenager.
Numerous health issues, including as cancer, stroke, and infertility, have been connected to inadequate sleep.
Experts have long warned that insomnia, which statistics indicate affects up to 14 million Britons, is not always the cause of nighttime awakenings.
However, lack of sleep has its own consequences, ranging from short-term anger and diminished focus to a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Nearly 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep issue, according to the American Sleep Association.
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