A third of our whole life goes to sleep, provided that we get enough sleep. However, with the modern rhythm of life, few of us spend enough time sleeping. Many people mistakenly think that prolonged wakefulness provides many opportunities: there is more time for work, entertainment, outdoor activities. And some just for fun want to know how much you can live without sleep. But systematically replacing sleep time with other personal matters, one can encounter very unpleasant consequences. What will happen if you do not sleep for a long time? This will be discussed in this article.
Why does a person need a dream?
The exact answer to this question has not yet been found. However, scientists presented facts confirming that sleep is extremely important for humans. At this time, the work of all organs and systems of the body slows down. Even the heart rate slows down, which makes it possible to relax the heart muscle. During sleep, cell regeneration is most active. It is established that during this period there is an ordering of emotions and memories received during wakefulness.
The brain does not sleep!
In the human brain is a center that controls the biological clock. When the time of sleep approaches, this center is triggered, and the consciousness begins to gradually turn off. First of all, there is a slowdown in the work of neurons that are responsible for associative connections. The phase of deep sleep comes. Together with the disconnection of consciousness, the transmission paths are disconnected from the senses (vision, hearing, smell). All thought processes are regulated by a special mode of interaction and functioning of certain groups of neurons. Thus, when the period of sleep begins, the human brain begins to work in a different mode. Moreover, the intensity of these processes is different at different stages of sleep. So sleep is a fairly active and important process.
Why can't a man fall asleep?
It happens that a person does not have a dream not of his own free will. Sometimes it is impossible to force yourself to fall asleep for hours, or there is an awakening in the middle of the night, and wakefulness lasts until the morning. This insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. What triggers this phenomenon? A person cannot fall asleep for various reasons, the main ones are as follows:
fear;
emotional overstrain;
information overload;
increased irritability;
self-doubt;
physiological problems.
All causes are interconnected, one can be a consequence of the other, sometimes several of the above phenomena can disturb a person at once. Such conditions, lasting a long time, can provoke a complete lack of sleep. And this threatens with irreversible consequences. Until death.
Lack of sleep: consequences
On average, to feel good and to be able to work, a person needs to sleep at least 7-8 hours a day. Of course, there are people who are enough for 3 hours, but this is the exception. So what will happen if you don't sleep?
After one sleepless night, a person appears tired, his concentration of attention and memory decreases.
2-3 sleepless nights threaten impaired coordination of movements, impaired concentration of vision, speech, nausea and a nervous tic may appear.
After 4-5 nights without sleep, increased irritability and hallucinations appear.
If a person does not sleep for 6-8 nights, then memory gaps appear, trembling in the limbs, speech slows down.
What will happen if you do not sleep 11 nights in a row? In this case, a person becomes numb and indifferent to everything, fragmented thinking develops. Ultimately, death may occur.
Chronic lack of sleep is no less dangerous
A systematic lack of sleep adversely affects a person’s memory. Accelerated aging of the body occurs, the heart relaxes less and wears out faster. Disorders of the nervous system are observed and after 5-10 years of chronic lack of sleep, it becomes more difficult for a person to fall asleep. In addition, immunity is reduced. Due to the low duration of sleep, T-lymphocytes are not produced in sufficient quantities, with the help of which the body resists viruses and bacteria. It has also been found that people experiencing a constant lack of sleep become more irritable.
How long can I live without sleep? Interesting Facts
To get the answer to this question, a lot of experiments were carried out, both by scientists and simply by curious enthusiasts. The following are the most amazing facts.
To date, the officially recognized record is wakefulness for 19 days. That is how much time without sleep the American spent Robert McDonalds.
Also, an amazing record was set by schoolboy Randy Gardner, who was able to stay awake for 11 days.
After suffering a fever, Tai Ngok from Vietnam has not been sleeping for 38 years.
Vietnamese Nguyen Van Kha has not been sleeping for 27 years. According to him, it all began on the same day, after he closed his eyes, felt a strong burning sensation in his eyes. Moreover, he clearly saw the image of fire. Since then, he no longer sleeps.
Farmer Eustace Burnett from England has not been sleeping for 56 years. One night he just got sick of sleeping. Since then, instead of sleeping, he solves crosswords every night.
Yakov Tsiperovich is a person with phenomenal abilities, the cause of which is the clinical death he experienced. After that, he does not sleep, his body temperature does not rise above 33.5 º, and his body does not age at all.
Ukrainian Fedor Nesterchuk has been awake for about 20 years and reads books at night.
So how many days can a person live without sleep? A definite answer has not been found. Someone may not sleep for 5 days, someone - 19, and for someone and wakefulness for 20 years does not affect the state of health. Everything here is individual and depends on gender, age, physical condition of the body and many other factors. Without sleep, the average person can live from 7 to 14 days, provided that he will lead an inactive lifestyle.
The benefits of daytime sleep
Daytime sleep in the most positive way affects the well-being of a person. If for some reason the night’s sleep was short-lived, then an afternoon nap will help to improve well-being. Scientists have found that only 26 minutes of daytime sleep significantly increase ability to work and mindfulness. This effect can persist for 10 hours. Scientific studies have shown that daytime sleep only 2 times a week reduces the chances of developing coronary heart disease by 12%. If you devote time 3 times a week to daytime sleep, then the risk of this pathology is reduced by 37%.
The positive effect of short daytime sleep:
11% uplifting;
6% improves physical condition;
11% increase in productivity;
10% reduces drowsiness;
11% improves alertness;
increases brain activity by 9%;
by 14% reduces insomnia.
Note to motorists
With a prolonged absence of sleep, the driver's condition is equated with alcohol intoxication. If the driver did not sleep for 17-19 hours, his condition is similar to the condition when the level of alcohol in the blood is 0.5 ppm. 21 hours of wakefulness equates to an alcohol level of 0.8 ppm. This condition gives the right to recognize the driver drunk.
From this article, you learned about what will happen if you do not sleep for several days. Do not experiment. Take care of your health, despite the lack of free time, try to get enough sleep every day and have a good rest. Time spent on a sound sleep will surely pay off with interest. You will always be vigorous, cheerful and healthy.