Sleep Deprivation: Days Until Death, Know The Facts

Sleep is essential for human health and can affect your mood and well-being. While sleep deprivation may not directly cause death, it can impair your judgment and increase your risk of fatal accidents. It can also affect hormones and cell metabolism, increasing the risk of potentially fatal health conditions, especially heart attacks and strokes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sleep deprivation was responsible for 90,000 motor vehicle crashes in 2015, resulting in 795 deaths in 2017. Sleep deprivation has also been implicated in several significant industrial accidents, including the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to severe health issues and even death. An extreme example is fatal familial insomnia (FFI), a rare genetic disorder that causes extended sleeplessness and results in death within 12-18 months, primarily due to multiple organ failure.

While the exact amount of time a person can survive without sleep is unclear, the current world record is held by Randy Gardner, who stayed awake for 264-266 hours (approximately 11 days) in 1964. During this time, Gardner experienced paranoia and hallucinations but recovered without any apparent long-term physical or psychological effects.

In summary, while sleep deprivation itself may not directly cause death, it significantly increases the risk of fatal accidents and contributes to various health conditions that can be life-threatening.

Sleep deprivation and psychosis

Sleep deprivation psychosis refers to an altered perception of reality caused by a prolonged lack of sleep. While sleep deprivation alone is not considered a mental illness, it is a symptom of nearly every mental illness and psychosis.

Psychosis, in general, refers to an episode during which an individual's brain perceives reality differently from others in the same situation. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), at least one of the following symptoms must be present to define an episode as psychosis:

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Disorganised speech
• Severely disorganised behaviour

A 2018 research review examined 21 articles on the correlation between time spent without any sleep and symptoms of psychosis. The researchers found that people typically start experiencing the first symptoms within 24 to 48 hours of not sleeping. These initial symptoms include distorted perception, anxiety, irritability, depersonalisation, and a loss of time and sense of orientation.

After 48 hours without sleep, more complex symptoms emerge, including disorganised thinking, and after 72 hours, people start experiencing persistent complex hallucinations and elaborated delusions.

The visual modality is the most commonly affected by sleep loss, followed by the somatosensory and auditory modalities. Symptoms include:

• Visual distortions (objects appearing larger or smaller than they are, etc.)
• Visual illusions (misidentification of common objects)
• Visual hallucinations (simple, complex, or compound)
• Somatosensory experiences (bodily distortions, illusory sensations of movement, tactile hallucinations, temperature hallucinations)
• Auditory disturbances (hearing sounds or voices that aren't there, not being able to identify where sounds are coming from)

The exact biological mechanism behind these perceptual changes is still unclear, but it may be related to neuronal instability or a defect in neural transmission.

Sleep deprivation psychosis is typically not permanent and can be resolved by getting sleep. However, the longer the period of sleep deprivation, the more time will be needed to recover.

Sleep deprivation and fatal accidents

Sleep deprivation can have serious and even fatal consequences. While it may not directly cause death, it can increase the risk of accidents and injuries that can be life-threatening. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving claimed 795 lives in 2017 in the United States alone. Sleep deprivation can also lead to impaired judgment, putting individuals in life-threatening situations.

Lack of sleep has been implicated in several significant industrial accidents, including the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Sleep deprivation can affect an individual's coordination, judgment, and reaction times, making them more prone to accidents.

Additionally, chronic sleep deprivation can have long-term health consequences, such as an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and mental health issues. It can also weaken the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to illnesses.

The effects of sleep deprivation intensify the longer an individual goes without sleep. After 48 hours without sleep, the brain starts experiencing microsleep, brief periods of complete unconsciousness that can last for several seconds. This can be extremely dangerous if it occurs while driving or performing other hazardous tasks.

While the exact cause of death from prolonged sleep deprivation may vary, it is believed that the body's stressed state, suppressed immune system, increased stress hormones, rising blood pressure, and dropping internal temperature contribute to fatal outcomes.

In rare cases, an extremely uncommon disorder called fatal familial insomnia can cause death from sleep deprivation. This inherited condition results from a mutation in the PRNP gene, leading to misfolded prions accumulating in the thalamus, the region of the brain that regulates sleep.

Sleep deprivation and chronic health conditions

Sleep deprivation can have serious implications for your health, and can even be fatal in certain circumstances.

Short-term effects of sleep deprivation

After just 24 hours without sleep, you may experience impaired coordination, memory problems, and reduced reaction time. You may also have higher levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, as well as increased blood sugar levels. These effects will only worsen the longer you go without sleep. After 48 hours without sleep, your brain will start to enter brief periods of complete unconsciousness, known as microsleep.

Long-term effects of sleep deprivation

Chronic sleep deprivation can have long-lasting effects on your health. It can increase your risk of developing anxiety or depression, as well as cognitive impairment and dementia. It can also lead to poor balance and coordination, a weakened immune system, impaired glucose tolerance and Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Sleep deprivation can also increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks. Research has shown that sleeping less than five hours per night makes you two to three times more likely to have a heart attack.

Sleep deprivation and fatal accidents

While sleep deprivation may not directly cause death, it can increase the risk of fatal accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving claimed 795 lives in 2017 in the United States. Sleep deprivation has also been implicated in several significant industrial accidents, including the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Short-term vs. chronic sleep deprivation

While the short-term effects of sleep deprivation can be severe, they are usually not fatal and will go away once you get some rest. However, chronic sleep deprivation is a different story. It is much more dangerous to operate on less sleep than your body needs over a longer period, and it can have serious long-term health consequences.

Short-term sleep deprivation

After just one night of insufficient sleep, you may experience a foggy, unproductive day. Going without sleep for 24 hours will result in reduced reaction time, impaired judgment and decision-making, diminished memory and attention, impaired vision, hearing and hand-eye coordination, and tremors and muscle tension. At this point, your body will also start producing more stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

After 36 hours without sleep, the side effects will intensify, and you may experience mood, attention, body temperature and appetite changes.

By 48 hours, you will likely experience microsleep, which is when your brain forces you to fall asleep for a few seconds to half a minute. During microsleep, you lose consciousness and are unaware of what is happening until you wake up, often feeling confused and groggy.

Chronic sleep deprivation

Chronic sleep deprivation can have long-term effects on your health, including an increased risk of:

• Cognitive impairment and dementia
• Poor balance and coordination
• Weakened immune system
• Impaired glucose tolerance and Type 2 diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• High blood pressure, cardiac events and stroke
• Depression and other mood disorders

Chronic sleep deprivation can also negatively impact children's academic performance, social skills, and physical growth and development.

Sleep deprivation and cognitive performance

Sleep is vital for both physical and emotional well-being. Sleep deprivation can lead to many short- and long-term health effects. However, the amount of time that a person can survive without sleep remains unclear. According to a 2010 review, the current world record for a person going without sleep is 266 hours, or just over 11 days.

The effects of sleep deprivation can be felt right away. After a few days of not sleeping, severe symptoms can develop, including hallucinations and psychosis. The stages of sleep deprivation don’t take long to progress, usually playing out over just a few days.

24 Hours Without Sleep

After 24 hours without sleep, you may experience impaired coordination and memory. Most people will begin to experience the effects of sleep deprivation after just 24 hours. The CDC claims that staying awake for at least 24 hours is comparable to having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.10 percent. In most places, you’re considered to be legally drunk when you have a BAC of 0.08 percent.

Other effects of 24 hours of sleep deprivation include:

• Concentration and memory difficulties
• Reduced coordination
• Short-term memory problems
• Raised levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline
• Increased blood sugar levels
• A higher risk of accidents

36 Hours Without Sleep

After 36 hours without sleep, the effects of sleep deprivation intensify. Prolonged disruption of your normal sleep-wake cycle puts your body under stress. In response, it ramps up the production of cortisol (the stress hormone).

Other consequences of 36 hours of sleeplessness include:

• Declining energy and motivation
• Short attention span or inability to pay attention
• Cognitive difficulties, including trouble with reasoning or decision-making
• Intense fatigue and drowsiness
• Trouble speaking clearly or finding the right word

48 Hours Without Sleep

By 48 hours without sleep, the effects of sleep deprivation will worsen, and you will become very fatigued. At this point, the brain will start entering brief periods of complete unconsciousness, also known as microsleep. Microsleep occurs involuntarily and can last for several seconds.

72 Hours Without Sleep

After 72 hours without sleep, deprivation symptoms and fatigue will intensify even further. Going for 3 days without sleep will have profound effects on a person’s mood and cognition.

In a 2015 study, two astronauts experienced impaired cognitive functioning, increased heart rate, and a reduction in positive emotions after staying awake for 72 hours.

Some effects of staying awake for 72 hours include:

• Difficulty multitasking
• Severe concentration and memory issues
• Difficulty communicating with others

Short-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation can have several adverse effects on health that will resolve once a person gets enough sleep. Short-term effects of sleep deprivation can include:

• Decreased concentration
• Short-term memory problems
• A higher risk of accidents

Long-Term Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Chronic sleep deprivation can have lasting effects on a person’s health. These can include an increased risk of:

• Anxiety or depression
• Poor academic performance
• Problems getting along with others
• A higher risk of engaging in dangerous and antisocial behaviors
• Problems with physical growth and development

Frequently asked questions