World Record Of Sleeping And Staying Awake: Who Holds that?

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World record for sleeping and staying awake many people might wonder if such events exist or not. Well, you will be amazed to know such incidents have taken place where people went days without getting any sleep to hold the record for staying awake the longest.

Some people went to sleep for days (excluding any medical-related disease or coma) to set a record of the longest sleep. In this article, I’m going to cover these records that were made by individuals in order to set this world record.

 

World Record Of Sleeping – For Longest Sleep

Long Sleep

It is hard to imagine if anyone can sleep for more than 10, 12 or even 15 hours. Well but there have been cases where people didn’t just go to sleep for hours but for days.

Though in terms of the longest sleep of all time, it is extremely tough to measure the exact time of someone being actually asleep. Due to which the official title was not in the hands of the sleepers across the world.

However, this doesn’t mean there haven’t been any valiant attempts on the longest time being asleep. Some attempts by people for the longest time being asleep are here as follows:

 

Wyatt Shaw – 2017

In October 2017 seven years old Wyatt Shaw fell asleep for 11 days in Kentucky. On Sunday Wyatt Shaw went to sleep and the next day when his mother tried to wake him up he wasn’t able to wake up. The seven-year-old boy was rushed to hospital where doctors ran various tests on him with no conclusive explanations.

Several attempts of a test were made on Wyatt Shaw but all of them came back negative leaving the doctors and the parents shocked.  After being asleep for 10 more days Wyatt Shaw did wake up with cognitive impairment mainly when he was talking and walking.

After being in the hospital for 13 days Wyatt made a complete recovery after he got through with treatment using drugs that are usually used in the management of seizures. Wyatt Shaw still holds the record for longest sleep which is 11 days.

source: https://www.thenewsenterprise.com/

 

Peter Powers – 1959

Peter Powers holds the world record for longest hypnotic sleep. He stayed asleep for about eight days in 1959 this record was exclusively covered by the European media.

Peter Powers is one of the most popular hypnotists worldwide. He is known for performing several hypnosis experiments and has always been pushing the boundaries. He even performed the first online hypnosis in the world. Peter Powers and Wyatt Shaw are the most well-known names in the longest sleep of all time.

Source: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1960/medawar/facts/

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World Record For Staying Awake

Staying Awake

Randy Gardner at the age of 17 made a world record by staying awake for 11 days and 25 minutes in 1963. Randy Gardner didn’t use any substance which could help him stay awake due to which he also holds the world record for no sleep with stimulants

It seems surreal to imagine a 17-year-old kid making this record which no one can imagine would be possible. What would go on to become a world record started with two teenagers Randy Gardner and Bruce McAllister.

These two high school students came up with the idea for their science experiment.  In 1963 the world record was set by a DJ named Tom Rounds in Honolulu who stayed awake for 260 hours.

Bruce McAllister and Randy Gardner decide who will stay awake by flipping a coin. McAllister won the toss and Gardner had to stay awake.

Since Gardner was the one taking the experiment McAllister decided to monitor Gardner. However, after going three days without sleep McAllister tripped while writing notes against the wall. They realized they needed another to monitor the entire thing.

They brought in another friend to help them out named Joe Marciano. Shortly after the arrival of Marciano sleep researcher Dr William C. Dement from Stanford University. Randy Garner’s health was monitored by John J.Ross.

During the tenth day of the experiment, Randy Gardner was experiencing various hallucinations. He even wasn’t able to complete mathematics equations and was facing numerous confusions. He completed this experiment by staying awake after 11 days and 25 minutes.

Which made him the record holder of staying awake for the longest time around the world. Gardner’s name is even placed in the Guinness World record book.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180118-the-boy-who-stayed-awake-for-11-days

 

The Aftermath Of The Experiment

Once this experiment was over Gardner and McAllister were successful in winning the science project. Along with Randy Gardner placing his name in the Guinness book for his world record of staying awake for 11 days and 25 minutes.

Gardner was determined to break the previous record by DJ Tom Rounds and he did achieve that record. Though after completing the experiment Gardner slept for about 14 hours straight and is said to be woken up naturally after that. Back then it seemed he had recovered from this incident and was able to get his normal sleep back.

However, there were still some consequences that Gardner faced after a few years of this experiment. During the late 2000s, Randy Gardner started to face insomnia on a nightly basis. There was no confirmation the reason behind insomnia was due to his past occurrence.

But Gardner was somehow convinced it was due to his teenage experiment. He faced a recurring ability to sleep for countless years until making a reliable routine. Although he is still able to enjoy about 6 hours of sleep, it is expected he will be able to have a more sufficient amount of sleep with this routine.

The Guinness book doesn’t accept entries for experiments like longest duration without sleeping anymore.

The reason behind this is because they consider staying awake for days and hours as dangerous and unhealthy. This can cause major health issues and disease to an individual due to which they are considered anymore in the Guinness book of world record.

 

Several Other Records On Sleeping

Longest Time To Stay Awake In A Broadcast

Broadcast

Peter Tripp a radio presenter holds the record for longest Broadcast Without sleeping. He stayed awake for 201 hours straight in 1959 during a broadcast for raising funds, especially for a children’s foundation.

The event took place in times square various doctors, scientists and onlookers were present for the observation. He was made to sit inside a booth made of glass. In the first two days, he was extremely energetic but during the third day, he started having certain hallucinations.

He started cursing people who were around him at a point he even took off his shoe as he thought spiders were on them.  Scientists witness brainwaves of the trip to be similar to what occurs in the REM sleep cycle. The Dreams that we see in our sleep occurs in the REM sleep cycle.

 

Longest Duration To Stay Awake In A Reality Show

Reality Show

Clare Southern holds the record of staying awake the longest on a Reality Show which was made in 2004. This TV show was named Shattered where she stayed awake for 178 hours and completed all the tasks and challenges in the reality TV show.

About 10 contestants participated in this show. But Clare southern completed all the challenges without sleeping. Therefore, was able to hold the record of the longest time to stay awake in a reality show.

 

FAQs

How long can a human sleep?

Usually, for adults, the length of sleep during the night tends to go about 10 to 12 hours. However, for some people, the length of time might go even longer due to their biological clock.

 

Is oversleeping considered Healthy?

No, oversleeping is not considered as healthy as it can put you at risk of various diseases such as stroke, diabetes and more. Therefore, one should follow the normal requirement of sleep between 7 hours to 9 hours.

 

Is it OK to sleep about 2 hours every day?

No, every person needs at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep on an everyday basis. Not taking sleep seriously can cause major health issues to people which can lead to several heart diseases. Therefore, everyone should get enough sleep on a daily basis.

 

Does the Guinness book of world Records still consider more of these sleep records?

No, the Guinness book doesn’t consider any records like the longest duration of staying awake anymore. The reason is these experiments are extremely dangerous and can directly affect the health of the person. Due to which they are not accepted by the world record book.

 

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Conclusion

Sleeping is a big part of everyone’s life. In this article, we looked at some of the record-breaking experiments that people made from longest asleep duration to longest time staying awake.

Even though these records were added to the Guinness book still they did put the individuals at risk.

Therefore, the Guinness book also removed this category due to the risk factor.

Tell us in the comment section what is the longest you’ve gone without getting any sleep. Also your longest duration of sleeping in a free day.

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