STAYING AWAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Failure to sleep results in progressively severe psychological and physical distress. In 1965, California teenager Randy Gardner attempted to resist sleep in an uncontrolled "experiment". As his ordeal progressed he fell into a silent stupor, bringing into doubt whether he was actually awake in any practical sense. There are occasional stories of people who are able to function with a small or no amount of sleep, in many cases due to brain damage brought on by an accident, but these cases do not appear to hold up under controlled conditions.

A study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine showed that poor sleep and sleep deprivation in older adults can lead to earlier death, but another survey of more than a million people in the 1980s found that those who slept more than seven and a half hours tended to die a little earlier. It is difficult to perform such studies as controlled experiments, since persons with various physical and psychological problems may be inclined to sleep longer as a result of these illnesses. Long sleepers do tend to have a higher than average rate of sleep disorders, possibly artificially increasing their reported sleep time, and providing a statistical selection effect that undermines the validity of many such studies.

A 1999 University of Chicago team led by Eve Van Cauter limited a group of lean young men to four hours of sleep for 16 days. The subjects showed decreased levels of leptin and increased levels of cortisol. The subjects also increased their daily caloric intake by 1,000 calories. The team discovered that the subjects' insulin and blood sugar levels resembled the impaired glucose tolerance of prediabetics, an indication that they were no longer properly processing carbohydrates. Studies have also linked sleep deprivation to an increased incidence of obesity.

At Harvard Medical School, researchers have identified associations between sleep deprivation and illnesses ranging from hypertension and heart attacks to cancer. Poor sleepers generate increased levels of stress hormones and show more inflammatory changes in the walls of their small blood vessels, both of which contribute to elevated blood pressure. Because of their exposure to light at night, night-shift workers produce less melatonin, a hormone which not only promotes sleep but has been shown to have cancer-prevention benefits as well.

Despite the risks, sleeping less is attractive to some because of the additional time made available, and many people feel they have to sleep less to maintain their lifestyle. They may resort to trying polyphasic sleep, a method for minimizing the time spent asleep, while maximizing its effects. This is done by sleeping in short naps throughout the day, minimizing the time spent awake between each period of sleep and thus decreasing the workload of the brain while sleeping. People who take so-called power naps during the day are practicing a variation of polyphasic sleeping. In this regard, cultures where the siesta is customary are also taking advantage of alternative means of obtaining sufficient sleep.

Experiments with rats have been designed to measure the effects of severe sleep deprivation. In one, a pair of rats were placed on a platform, separated by a movable wall. Both were instrumented with electroencephalograms. Whenever the "subject" rat began to show signs of sleep the partition was moved, forcing both rats to move. The "control" rat, however, could sleep in between movements. After several weeks the "subject" rat became unable to regulate body temperature; even if allowed to sleep at this point, it died shortly afterward from septic shock.

Some recent studies concluded the cause of death in the rat experiments to be more closely related to REM deprivation, but also found the rats died in about a week less time. It is believed this is because, unlike non-REM sleep that repairs parts of the brain damaged by metabolism and free radicals, REM sleep repairs the repair center. It is unclear the degree to which the results of sleep deprivation in rats can be generalized to humans.

In sleep-deprived states less extreme than that suffered by Randy Gardner, humans display irritability, impaired cognitive function, and poor judgment. Experiments on sleep-deprived medical trainees, for example, have shown them less able to interpret EKGs and x-rays than their well rested peers. As late as early 21st century people thought that too little sleep could be negated by "paying back the sleep debt". However, recent studies have shown this to be false. After extensively prolonged period of awareness, average humans can sleep comfortably for as long as 14 hours in row, but any amount over that has no effect for health. Sleeping over it causes dizziness, lack of muscular control, numbness and several other symptoms often confronted with too little sleep.

That one major function of sleep is consolidation and optimization of memories (including "unlearning") is evidenced by studies showing that mental functions are impaired by sleep deprivation and that sleep deprivation can even be lethal. Adequate rest and a properly functioning immune system are closely related. Sleep deprivation compromises the immune system by altering the blood levels of specialized immune cells and important proteins called cytokines, resulting in an increased chance of infection. We may begin to understand why sleep deprivation is lethal if we understand sleep as a necessary period of anabolic activity for all animals, and the basic need for anabolic activity as a prerequisite for life itself.

losing sleep is really bad for you, its when ur body repairs itself. its called beauty sleep for a reason!

and ya spent the whole time peeping through the curtains didnt ya Jimbo hahahah

:lol:  nah mate that was a bender from the ol days. i sleep quite well now got a loaded sawn off next to my bed.

I find hiding in the roof works for me. Dunno who 'they' are exactly but theyve been after me for years now hahahahah  :lol:

ohh you meen "THEY" i can tell you who they are .the peolpe who drive past (in any car) evan if you dont know them ......the postman........the kid next door retrieving his football from your yard.......the avon lady.......you mum.....or anyone else who comes over after day 4 :lol:

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T SLEEP?

What if you don’t sleep? The simple answer is that you die. Sleep is a necessity for all mammals, just like eating and breathing. To stay awake long enough to cause damage to yourself is extraordinarily difficult...............and you just can’t do it without help.

BREAKING THE WORLD RECORD

In January 1959, the hottest DJ in New York wanted to break the world record for not sleeping. Peter Tripp wanted to break the record to raise money for charity. His doctors knew that it was extremely dangerous to stay awake overly long, and they tried to persuade Peter not to do it.

Peter was determined, so a group of sleep psychologists and doctors eventually agreed to help him stay awake for 200 hours.
we all know if you say more than about 36 hours unassisted, your full of shit.  The damage it does to your body is crazy.

I sleep fuck all (about 20 hours a week with insomnia)
I haven't been ill all year and feel fanfuckingtastic :thumbsup:

i thought you were going to say that you'd hadn't slept since 1984 ;) 

me, i love my sleep  :blush:

I love my sleep too Bill.. just that I get fuck all of it  :cool: