For the last few days I've been flicking through a really interesting book, now you are all expecting me to name a book of literature of some sort, no thanks I get enough of that everyday in class. This book is about answers to the weirdest questions that you have ever thought of. Well, this book is an answer guide to everything.. It’s great! For example, how many hours can a human being stay awake, wouldn't we all like to know as this could totally affect our lives in more ways then one. It was tested by a 17 year old high school student (round of applause for such courage and curiosity at a young age :) ) in 1965 named Randy- the answer? 264 hours! Which means 11 days!
Think of that, 11 whole days without sleeping, and it's physically possible. How he managed to stay awake for 11 days of course is another question, but the fact is he did. Though according to the book, everyday Randy’s concentration and reactions got weaker, meaning simply everyday he got dumber..and dumber ..and dumber..then finally the scientist watching him couldn't take it anymore and put him to bed and read him a story.
Nooot! However, lets not forget how courageous this fellow was , risking whatever may happen to him just to prove that it is possible (an inspiration to all of us maybe). Yet when the scientist tried this test on mice they died. Another reason to be happy that we are humans, we can stay awake and not die. Yeah, not die of staying awake but die because staying awake is a major factor for accidents occurring. So which ever way you look at it, not sleeping = death.
But there is also another interesting fact, people who have insomnia (a sleeping disorder) can go without sleeping for weeks, even months without serious problems. WOW =O! But that would be bad because as much as I despise it, sleeping is “enjoyable”, it's fun. There’s nothing like getting into your soft and comfy bed after a very tiresome day. As you close your eyes you can feel all your aching muscles relaxing ..sighh..it’s actually a great luxury..and it’s sad to know some people are deprived of such a natural pleasure.
My conclusion to all of this? With the help of caffein we could beat this record..how many days of sleep do you think one would need to recover from this? 2-3 days of non-disturbed sleep maybe? Would that mean not waking up at all in that time period? So then do you think there is a record for the most sleep, not being in a coma, but actually sleeping..hmmm.. Lets say “Randy” decides to test this as well, would he be able to sleep again 12 hours after he woke up? A-ha! I believe that’s where the actual mystery lies :)