What will happen if you stop sleeping?

The United Nations views sleep deprivation as a form of torture, as not getting enough sleep not only makes you irritable, but can kill you in some cases.

The longer the sleep deprivation period, the worse. Lack of sleep affects individuals differently, but in general the effects increase over time. Just 48 hours without sleep can be considered severe sleep deprivation, but before this stage is reached, you may experience the first symptoms.

After 18 hours without sleep, you may feel a little drunk. And staying awake for a long time equates to a blood alcohol content of 0.05%, which is what you get with three or four drinks in two hours.

After 24 hours without sleep, the blood alcohol concentration comparison jumps to 0.1%, above the legal limit for driving in the United States. You may find yourself battling “brain fog” and being less alert, including double or blurry vision, as if you are extremely drunk. This is because sleep deprivation slows the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other.

And while caffeine can make you feel more alert for several hours, it will only work at some point.

By a day and a half, this could all get worse and your chances of getting sick are higher than usual because your body cannot fight as usual, and by this time your mind and body are so tired that you start experimenting. narcolepsy, which are periods of extreme sleepiness of very short duration. It can reach around 30 seconds and you may not even notice it. And surely this would be annoying and dangerous if you were doing something like driving a car.

And then there is the possibility of hallucinations and the most common visual distortions. You may also experience sensory or auditory hallucinations, such as the feeling that someone isn’t there tapping your shoulder or that you hear your name calling (a ghostly voice that whispers inaudibly).

Once you reach 48 hours of sleep deprivation, this is the real torture, which is why severe sleep deprivation studies are prohibited by law in most countries.

Two days without sleep can cause you to lose control of everything, make hallucinations worse, and you may feel that reality is slipping away. And you will face extreme anxiety, irritability, tension and fatigue.

After 72 hours, you won’t be able to think about anything, you’ll even forget to do simple tasks, like getting dressed or getting a snack, and you’ll feel overwhelmed because your ability to regulate emotions is fundamentally out of control. And your hallucinations can become more complex, creating fully formed images around you like a person, a bear, or perhaps a car.

And in at least four historical sleep studies, participants reported shared hallucinations, the so-called hat phenomenon, which is essentially a feeling of pressure around the head as if you were wearing a hat. All of this opens the door to insanity, depression and disappointment.

And if you reach 96 hours or more without sleep. Say goodbye to reality, as there will be more hallucinations and paranoia (paranoia) and can lead to sleep deprivation psychosis, which is a surprising and complete picture from the real world.

As for the fifth day, it is sometimes called the tipping point, being the danger zone, where mental health deteriorates abruptly, which strengthens your illusions as a new reality. Eventually, your brain will stop functioning properly in a way that could lead to organ failure and, in rare cases, death.

Fortunately, recovering from sleep deprivation can be as simple as compensating for sleep, but if you are regularly sleep deprived, you need to research the underlying causes to address it. It could take weeks to get back on track. According to one study, it takes four days to recover from the loss of an hour of sleep.

Source: Business Insider