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Sleep Deprivation: How long have YOU stayed up? (1 Viewer)

Alex-C

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 18, 2000
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1,238
Mine comes nowhere near some of yours...especially you military ppl.

Speaking of natural highs, in 2000 I went to Vegas, but took a strange route. Got up for work at 6 am on Friday, worked, went to airpot for 9 pm flight, met buddies, flew to Ontario CA, met more buddies, drove to Vegas, arrived at 5 am, everyone went to sleep, I couldnt, too excited, played craps and shit all day and night, finally went to sleep for a couple of hours, then got up early and did it all again. By the time the weekend was over, starting from Friday morning to when i went to sleep Monday night, I had slept 11 hours the entire weekend. I guess thats
 

Alex Spindler

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2000
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I did somewhere between 40 and 50 duing my military days as well (AF for me, though). I don't know, but I generally fare pretty well at those points. I was running on coffee as usual, but I was able to put in some good troubleshooting at the time. The part that amazes me most was that a good 12 hours of that had some intense physical labor in it, so I would have expected to be destroyed.

I've pulled some all nighters recently, and it's kind of like working while you have a head cold. Just a little slow and harder to concentrate. I can still get some things done though.
 

PS Nystrom

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 27, 1999
Messages
444
Back in 8th grade I did my Science Fair project on the effects of sleep deprivation. My bro, my buddy, and I stayed up 36 hours while administering ourselves physical and mental tests. I think the most interesting thing I discovered was that my eyes hurt so bad from staying awake so long that shutting them was painful. It actually took me a little while to nod off even though I was begging for dreamland.
 

Sean Conklin

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 30, 2000
Messages
1,720
I basically grew up in Fontana, Ca. and in my teenage years there were certain substances that kept me up for 120 hours(5 days) and YES I saw mice running in corners, snakes, all kinds of things out of the corner of my eyes.

It's been more than 16 years and I have never touched the "substances" again!
 

Jon_B

Screenwriter
Joined
Nov 27, 2000
Messages
1,025
Hearing all of your stories reminds me of the "good days" I had in college. Study groups and All-nighters.
I'm not sure If I had insomnia back then, or developed it after. I sure do have it bad now. I'm lucky if I get 4 hours of sleep a night. :frowning: As a result, I'm always tired during the day.
Jon
 

Hugh M

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
324
I think the biggest side effect I have noticed is that it feels like there is an earthquake sometimes. I think after a couple of days, hearing voices becomes quite common. I've stayed up for 3 or 4 days at a time (at least) in the past. Usually though whatever sleep you don't get at that time, you get later all at once. Crash bam boom.

One of the hardest tests for this is driving. I have driven across country a bunch of times, and on two occasions I've driven for 20+ hours at a time. I stayed pretty alert, only stopping for food and pit stops.

Chicago-->Denver (took too long because of Snow Storms)

Denver--->Lake Havasu/Parker Arizona

its not really the safest thing to do. although on the second trip above, I almost got killed by someone going in the opposite direction coming into my lane. That kept me wide awake for another 3 or 4 hours. If you wear sunglasses during the day its alot easier to drive long distances.

that being said there are other factors which can bring someone who has been awake 12 hours into the same physical/mental shape. Not eating, sun exposure, substance abuse.

I do believe that there are a number of people who don't sleep at all. Whether it be from emotional distress or just plain insomnia.
 

SteveGon

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How many of you, after going without sleep for a day or more, have experienced hallucinations, white spots, bad circulation, trembling and an overall sense of being in a waking/dream state?
Damn, you just described my life with sleep! :D
 

JasenP

Screenwriter
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Jasen
In college 36 hours without sleep was fairly common, but there was ONE time I went 52 hours.

There is a local coffee shop that I used to frequent that made a coffee drink called "Walk the Plank". A Walk The Plank is a Pint glass of espresso. One evening I consumed four of them.

I had a horrible stomach ache, I was WIRED, AND all my friends went to bed and didn't want to entertain me anymore.

I still occasionally indulge in a Walk The Plank....
 

Thomas_Berg

Screenwriter
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Feb 28, 2001
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Location
Dallas
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Thomas
well i've been up all last night and all the night before with a little sleep between...my worst was when my first major paper was due for my history class last semester. 18 pages plus another 50 of research. turned it in 30 minutes late after staying up somewhere ~43 hours. i then proceeded to sleep for a FULL 20 hours!! felt good! :)
 

DanaA

Screenwriter
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Nov 21, 2001
Messages
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I remember one time when my friend Tim called one afternoon and asked if I wanted to climb Mt. Whitney with him the next day. We left my house at about 7:00 PM and arrived at Whitney at about 6:00 AM. We decided to start the 21 mile hike right away, so with flashlights in hand, we started up the mountain. When we were at the summit relaxing, I remembered that the next day was my anniversary, so we pretty much jogged the whole way down the mountain, getting down at around 6 PM. We got in the car and spent the night smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee to keep awake, arriving back at my house at 6 AM. We had a blast and yes this is a true story.
 

Jim_C

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Joined
Feb 6, 2001
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Talk about weird timing. I'm in the middle of a no sleep stretch. I've been up since 8:00 Tuesday morning and have yet to sleep. That's what, 39 hours now?

Why you ask? I'm a student at the Boston Architectural center. It's a co-op so I work in an office during the day and go to class at night. I then go home and do homework.

I'm in my last year and in Thesis. My schematic design review is Thursday and I'm behind. I may or may not sleep between now and Thursday night.

I've got the trembling hands right now. Typing this is a real chore but I had to respond. What were the odds that a thread like this would be posted right now?
 

Scott Burke

Supporting Actor
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Nov 27, 2000
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United States
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Scott B.
The longest I have ever gone was three days. However, I was so cranky, and irritating to my family they made me go to bed.

Super Mario 3 had just come out on the Nintendo, and I couldn't shut it off!!
 

Dennis Reno

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
862
In college all-nighters were the norm for me. My senior year I went over four days with five hours of sleep total. The longest stretch I went with no sleep was just over 40 hours. After that, I took a two hour nap, and continued onward.

I found that too much coffee gave me terrible heartburn along with the shakes, so I couldn't rely on it to get me through. The worst side effects for me were joint aches and visual hallucinations. I kept catching things moving out of the corner of my eye. After a while I just ignored it!
 

greggor

Second Unit
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Jan 6, 1999
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417
Real Name
Greg
As I write this I have been up for 21 hours working on another 8 or so. Just another day in the life of this still active duty Navy guy.

When I was stationed on my first ship I stayed up for nearly 72 hours straight while doing work ups of the coast.

Greg
 

PaulG

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
83
62 hours give or take a few minutes. Got up at 7:00am on Friday, worked, came home and just before going to bed, got called back to work. Problem was fixed and I left work at 7:00pm Sunday. Went home, ate and went to bed. My boss did not complain when I was late for work on Monday. My wife came and picked me up at work Sunday night, I refused to drive home.
 

Ken Wagner

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 21, 1999
Messages
84
Spent over 40 hours getting a rush job out. Most of this time was sitting in front of a computer. Talk about eye burn. I usually get 5 to 6 hours sleep a night. I'm kind of a night owl, must be from my days on graveyard shift (over 13 years). Sometimes I zone out during the day and just stare at my monitor for a while for a little cat nap.
 

Dax Scott

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 29, 2000
Messages
55
My longest stretch without any sleep at all is 93 hours, without the aid of excessive amounts of caffeine or other stimulants (I would drink a Coke when I got thirsty, so I can't say I was completely caffeine-free). I've gone longer than that a few times with the help of coffee or a couple of 15 minute naps, but I wouldn't count those as true "all nighters".
Going 48 hours without sleep is a pretty common thing for me. After the 48 hour mark I usually start having trouble with my digestive system, my eyes start burning, hands start shaking, etc.
On average, I get between two and three hours of sleep on weeknights. I catch up somewhat on the weekend with about 8-10 hours per day, but I'm still way behind on my sleep. Why do I get so little sleep? Because I am nocturnal by nature. It doesn't matter how long I have been awake, I just can't sleep at night. I have lots of energy until near sunrise, then I start to crash. My ideal sleep pattern would be between 6:00 AM and noon, but that isn't possible since I have to work during normal business hours.
The longest I have slept without waking up is just short of 20 hours. The phrase "I need to pee" takes on a whole new meaning after you wake up from a 20 hour sleep. :)
 

Joseph Howard

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 10, 1997
Messages
227
86 hours 32 minutes. College is such a grand adventure.

I finally passed out walking across the room as little

snow people (i.e. hallucinations) ran cirlces around me.

Woke up 12 hours later still on the floor completely

confused and wondering exactly who I was. Thankfully, I

was able to recall who I was after about 30 minutes. At

which point I went back to sleep. ....still on the floor.

My roomate thought the whole thing very hilarious.

--Dr. Joe

Hey! I'm working on 21 hours right NOW! I'm going to bed!
 

Keith_R

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Messages
1,184
Location
FL
Real Name
Kyle
I've had to get checked in to the hospital before for EEG tests and one of the things they do on you is Sleep Deprivation to bring out a seizure, and on occasion they have often made me stay up about 27-32 hours. It is very tiring and on occasion you can start going delirious.
 

Joseph Young

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
1,352
This just goes to show that different metabolisms denote different capacities for time without sleep. If I were to ride the initial discomfort that settles in after 17-20 hours, I would settle into that bemused zombification that kicks in past 40 hours. Of course I have never taken the plunge past 50, but I suspect I would also enter a netherworld of snow people. :)
I would also probably become quite lucid and sensitive to sound (as I tend to do when I don't sleep for long periods of time).
I have a friend who is constantly in a state of perpetual sleep deprivation. He's a college radio DJ, a student and works full time. He can do an early morning show from midnight to 4 AM, get to work by 6 AM, then go to class... 'hardest workin' man in show business.'
It's understandable that most of the stories on this thread are either related to college or the military, both demanding to be sure. In retrospect my petty complaints about the roomate's bass-heavy rituals seem rather unimportant next to getting that Masters or keeping the country safe. Kudos to all of you! :D
Joseph
 

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