Uncovering the Limits of Sleep Deprivation

Sleepless nights are a reality for many of us: parents of newborns, students cramming for tests, and people struggling with insomnia. We all know that we need to sleep, but can’t we go without it for a while? The answer is yes, but it’s not pretty.

The world record for sleep deprivation is an impressive 19 days, set by stuntman Robert McDonald in 1986. However, this feat was accomplished under extreme conditions and is not recommended to be attempted by anyone. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records stopped monitoring sleeplessness records in 1997 due to the health risks associated with extreme sleep deprivation.

The effects of sleep deprivation can be severe and long-lasting. During his 264-hour sleepless stretch, Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old high school student, experienced hallucinations, delusions, and an extremely short attention span. Other record holders have reported similar symptoms, including nausea, irritability, and hallucinations that persisted even after the experiment was over.

But what happens when you’re extremely sleep deprived? A study by the StatPearls guide to sleep deprivation found that chronic sleep loss can lead to increased mortality and morbidity, poor performance on waking activities resulting in increased accidents and injuries, lower self-reported quality of life, decreased family well-being, and reduced use of health care.

The military has developed policies on sleep deprivation, defining ‘total sleep deprivation’ as 24 hours awake, or skipping your normal sleeping window, whenever that might be. They also consider ‘partial sleep deprivation’ to mean a time period in which you’re getting less than seven hours of sleep each night, because your sleep period was either shortened or interrupted.

According to the military, every 24 hours of total sleep deprivation comes with an estimated 25-35% degradation of cognitive task performance. Sleep deprivation can also increase the risk of traumatic brain injury, increase feelings of emotional exhaustion and ‘role overload’ (burnout), increase and worsen anxiety symptoms, exacerbate symptoms of PTSD, and increase depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and attempts.

So, how long can the average person go without sleep? The military recommends that members should be given duties that allow eight hours of sleep out of every 24 hours, if possible. Where that’s not possible, plan on ‘banking’ sleep ahead of that sleepless time, and allowing time for ‘recovery’ sleep afterward.

It’s worth noting that just because you think you’re not sleeping doesn’t mean you’ve actually had a sleepless night. Sleep experts often report that patients who swear they didn’t sleep at all have actually caught a few Z’s without realizing it. In fact, the Guinness book recognizes that people who seem to be awake may still be experiencing ‘microsleeps.’

Sleep specialists recommend that, instead of watching the clock and worrying about how much sleep you’re not getting, you should do your best to relax. Relaxation is almost as good as sleep, and often turns out to lead to sleep. If you still notice problems with daytime sleepiness, or if you have other concerns about your sleep, see a doctor.

Key Statistics:

• The world record for sleep deprivation is 19 days.
• Every 24 hours of total sleep deprivation comes with an estimated 25-35% degradation of cognitive task performance.
• Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of traumatic brain injury, increase feelings of emotional exhaustion and ‘role overload’ (burnout), increase and worsen anxiety symptoms, exacerbate symptoms of PTSD, and increase depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and attempts.