Randy Gardner (record holder)
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2008-06-29T13:14:07Z
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'''Randy Gardner''' holds the scientifically documented record for the longest period of time a human being has intentionally gone without [[sleep]] not using stimulants of any kind. In [[1964]]—as a 17-year-old [[high school]] student in San Diego, California—Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours (eleven days even), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by [[Tom Rounds]] of Honolulu.<ref>[http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p980301b.html ''Sleep Deprivation, Psychosis and Mental Efficiency''], Stanley Coren Ph.D., March 1998, Vol. XV, Issue 3</ref>
Gardner's record attempt was attended by Stanford sleep researcher Dr [[William C. Dement]]. His health was monitored by Lt. Cmdr. [[John J. Ross]]. Accounts of Gardner's sleep-deprivation experience and medical response became widely known among the sleep research community.<ref>[http://www.articlebrain.com/Article/Eleven-Days-Awake/412 ''Eleven days awake''], Extract from "Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments," by Alex Boese.</ref><ref>''Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments'', Alex Boese, ISBN 0156031353, Harvest Books, 5 Nov 2007</ref><ref>''Neurological Findings After Prolonged Sleep Deprivation'', Ross J. (1965), Archives of Neurology 12:399-403.</ref>
==Health effects==
It is often claimed that Gardner's experiment demonstrated that extreme sleep deprivation has little effect, other than the mood changes associated with tiredness (mood swings, short temper, loss of concentration).<ref>[http://www.benbest.com/health/sleep.html#health '' The Nature of Sleep and its Impact on Health''], Ben Best, life-extensionist homepage, undated article</ref> This is primarily due to a report by researcher [[William C. Dement|William Dement]], who stated that on the tenth day of the experiment, Gardner had been, among other things, able to beat Dement at pinball.
However, Lt. Cmdr. John J. Ross who monitored his health reported serious cognitive and behavioral changes. These included moodiness, problems with [[concentration]] and [[short term memory]], [[paranoia]], and [[hallucinations]]. On the fourth day he had a [[delusion]] that he was [[Paul Lowe]] winning the Rose Bowl, and that a street sign was a person. On the eleventh day, when he was asked to subtract seven repeatedly, starting with 100, he stopped at 65. When asked why he had stopped, he replied that he had forgotten what he was doing.<ref>[http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p980301b.html ''Sleep Deprivation, Psychosis and Mental Efficiency''], Stanley Coren Ph.D., March 1998, Vol. XV, Issue 3</ref>
On his final day without sleep, Gardner presided over a [[press conference]] where he spoke without slurring or stumbling his words and in general appeared to be in excellent health. "I wanted to prove that bad things didn't happen if you went without sleep," said Gardner. "I thought, 'I can break that ([[Peter Tripp]]'s [[1959]]) record and I don't think it would be a negative experience.'"<ref>[http://www.gelfmagazine.com/archives/sleeping_in.php ''Sleeping In''], David Goldenberg, Gelf Magazine, 31 May 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.benbest.com/health/sleep.html#health ''The Nature of Sleep and its Impact on Health''], Ben Best, life-extensionist homepage, undated article</ref>
==Recovery==
Gardner's sleep recovery was instrumented by sleep researchers who noted changes in sleep structure during postdeprivation recovery.<ref>''Psychiatric and EEG observations on a case of prolonged (264 hours) wakefulness'', G. Gulevich ''et al'', Arch Gen Psychiatry, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 29-35, 1 July 1966</ref><ref>[http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/reprint/32/2/189.pdf ''Sleep Patterns Following 205 Hours of Sleep Deprivation''], Anthony Kales ''et al'', Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol 32, No. 2, March-April 1970</ref> After completing his record, Gardner slept 14 hours and 40 minutes, awoke naturally around 10:00 p.m., stayed awake 24 hours, then slept a normal eight hours.<ref>http://science.jrank.org/pages/6176/Sleep.html, no author, undated, unsourced</ref>
==Subsequent record information==
[[Tony Wright (sleep deprivation)|Tony Wright]] on [[May 25]], [[2007]] exceeded Randy Gardner's feat<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6689999.stm ''Man claims new sleepless record''], BBC, unattributed author, 25 May 2007</ref> in the apparent belief that Gardner's record had not been beaten.
Other sources claims his record was broken two weeks later by another student, Jim Thomas, Fresno State College, who stayed awake for 266.5 hours, and states that the 1981 Guinness record is 449 hours (18 days, 17 hours) by Maureen Weston, of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire in April, 1977, as a rocking-chair marathon.<ref>[http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/242559/What_happens_when_you_stay_awake_for_eleven_days_ ''What happens when you stay awake for eleven days?''], psuedonymous contributor, Digital Journal, undated, '''with picture'''</ref>
According to the Australian National Sleep Research Project,<ref>[http://abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm ''40 Facts About Sleep You Probaby Didn't Know''], The National Sleep Research Project, undated, site (C) 2000</ref> the record for sleep deprivation is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes. However, few details are available for this claim.
In an internal sleep deprivation study of the Liverpool [[John Moores University]], UK among, it was claimed that a 20 year old student, Jonathan Daley, [[John Moores University]], Liverpool, broke the world record by being deprived of 502 hours and 6 minutes (20.91 days) within a non-[[zeitgeber]] context of a windowless [[chemistry laboratory]].
It is difficult to determine the accuracy of a sleep deprivation period unless the participant is carefully observed to detect short [[microsleep]]s, which the participant might not even notice.
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite journal | author= Sigrid Veasey, Raymond Rosen, Barbara Barzansky, Ilene Rosen, and Judith Owens | title= Sleep Loss and Fatigue in Residency Training| journal= JAMA| volume= 288| issue= 9| year= 2002| pages= 1116–1124 | doi= 10.1001/jama.288.9.1116 }}
* {{cite journal | author= McGrann, S et al | title= Sleep deprivation effects within a non zeitgeiber environment: A Grounded theory Analysis| journal= British Journal Of Psychology| volume= 14| issue= 3| year= 2008| pages= }}
==See also==
*[[Sleep deprivation]]
==External links==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/articles/whatissleep.shtml ''What is Sleep''], from BBC
* [http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p980301b.html Sleep Deprivation, Psychosis and Mental Efficiency] - article from ''Psychiatric Times'' noting Gardner and Tripp cases
* [http://ask.yahoo.com/20060920.html Ask Yahoo! article]
* [http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=0000F879-8E01-1CD1-B4A8809EC588EEDF How long can humans stay awake?] Scientific American, 25 Mar 2002
==Further reading==
* ''The Sleepwatchers'', William C. Dement, Nychthemeron Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0964933804
[[Category:Sleep]]
[[Category:Former world record holders|Gardner, Randy]]