Gina Johnson
Sleep deprivation is a serious issue that can have a profound impact on your health. After just 24 hours without sleep, you may experience anxiety, irritability and daytime sleepiness. After 36 hours, hallucinations might begin, and after 48 hours, you can experience depression. Going three days without sleep can severely limit your ability to think and function, and it can take several days or even weeks for symptoms to improve.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time without sleep | 24 hours |
| Effects | Anxiety, irritability, daytime sleepiness |
| Time without sleep | 36 hours |
| Effects | Hallucinations |
| Time without sleep | 48 hours |
| Effects | Depression |
| Time without sleep | 72 hours |
| Effects | Intensified hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, difficulty completing tasks, difficulty processing others' emotions |
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What You'll Learn
The effects of sleep deprivation after 24 hours
It is not clear how long a person can go without sleep, but in a famous 1964 experiment, a person managed to stay awake for 264 hours. After 72 hours without sleep, most people experience an overwhelming urge to sleep, and many are unable to stay awake on their own.
After 36 hours without sleep, hallucinations might become more intense, and after 48 hours, you can experience depression. The symptoms worsen the longer you go without sleep. After 72 hours, you may experience an uncontrollable urge to sleep, and your ability to think and perform simple tasks will be profoundly limited.
The effects of sleep deprivation can be reversed by getting enough sleep. However, if you have gone more than a day without sleep, it can take several days or even weeks for symptoms to completely improve.
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The effects of sleep deprivation after 36 hours
While it's not uncommon to go 24 hours without sleep, doing so is bad for your health. After 36 hours without sleep, symptoms of sleep deprivation continue to worsen.
After 36 hours without sleep, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Your sleep-wake cycle helps regulate the release of certain hormones, including cortisol, insulin, and human growth hormone. As a result, going without sleep for an extended period of time can alter several bodily functions.
- Oculomotor function clearly decreases after sleep deprivation, but the performance deteriorations are complex and not necessarily correlated with subjectively felt sleepiness.
- Research suggests that hallucinations are likely after 48 hours without sleep, so it's possible that they may begin after 36 hours.
- It's not uncommon to go 24 hours without sleep, especially if you work in shifts, have a new baby at home, or have to pull an all-nighter to study. However, staying awake for 36 hours is likely to have more intense effects on your body.
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The effects of sleep deprivation after 48 hours
After 48 hours without sleep, your body begins to enter dangerous territory. At this point, you are experiencing extreme sleep deprivation, and it will be even harder to stay awake. You are more likely to have microsleeps, which are short periods of sleep that usually last around 30 seconds. You may not even realise that you are having microsleeps.
After 48 hours of no sleep, your immune system may start to weaken, and you will experience a continued decline in cognitive function. Research has found that sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to process others' emotions. You may experience a depressed mood, anxiety, or paranoia.
Staying awake for 48 hours causes similar problems with cognitive functioning as having a blood alcohol content of 0.10%, which is over the legal limit for driving in the US. After 48 hours without sleep, you may experience an increased appetite and extreme fatigue.
The effects of sleep deprivation will worsen the longer you go without sleep. It can take several days or even weeks for symptoms to completely improve, but they usually improve once you start getting enough sleep again.
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The effects of sleep deprivation after 72 hours
After 72 hours without sleep, most people experience an overwhelming urge to sleep. Many are unable to stay awake on their own. Going three days without sleep profoundly limits the ability to think, especially executive functions such as multitasking, remembering details, and paying attention. This level of sleep deprivation can make it difficult to see even simple tasks through to completion.
Emotions are also affected. People who have undergone this level of sleep deprivation may experience a depressed mood, anxiety, or paranoia. Research has also found that sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to process others’ emotions.
After 72 hours without sleep, your perception of reality may be severely distorted, resembling acute psychosis. 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.
The effects of sleep deprivation will resolve once a person gets enough sleep. However, it can take several days or even weeks for symptoms to completely improve.
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How to get the amount of sleep you need each night
It's not uncommon to go 24 hours without sleep, especially if you work shifts, have a new baby, or have to pull an all-nighter to study. However, staying awake for this long can have a negative impact on your health. After 24 hours without sleep, you may experience anxiety, irritability, and daytime sleepiness. After 36 hours, hallucinations might begin. After 48 hours, you can experience depression. After 72 hours, hallucinations can intensify and you can have delusions—two symptoms similar to psychosis.
To avoid these negative effects, it's important to get the amount of sleep you need each night. Here are some tips to help you get a good night's sleep:
- Stick to a consistent sleep schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps to regulate your body's internal clock and improve the quality of your sleep.
- Create a bedtime routine: Develop a calming bedtime routine that helps you wind down and relax before sleep. This could include activities such as reading, listening to soothing music, or taking a warm bath.
- Make your bedroom sleep-friendly: Ensure your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet. Consider using blackout curtains, earplugs, or a white noise machine to create a comfortable sleep environment.
- Limit screen time before bed: The blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with your sleep. Avoid screens for at least an hour before bedtime, or use blue light filters to reduce their impact.
- Avoid stimulants and heavy meals before bed: Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that can interfere with your sleep. Avoid consuming them close to bedtime. Heavy or spicy meals can also disrupt your sleep, so try to eat dinner at least a few hours before bedtime.
- Exercise regularly: Engaging in regular physical activity can help improve your sleep quality. However, avoid strenuous exercise close to bedtime, as it may make it harder to fall asleep.
- Manage stress: Stress and anxiety can interfere with your sleep. Try relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga to help calm your mind and body before bed.
By following these tips and prioritising your sleep, you can ensure that you get the amount of sleep you need each night and avoid the negative consequences of sleep deprivation.
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Frequently asked questions
The longest recorded time without sleep is 11 days, or 264 hours. However, it is unclear how long humans can survive without sleep.
The longer you go without sleep, the more serious the effects. After 24 hours, dangerous side effects can occur. After 11 days, Randy Gardner, who holds the world record for sleep deprivation, grew paranoid and started hallucinating.
Sleep deprivation can have serious and dangerous side effects, but it is unclear whether a person can die from a lack of sleep.
