I'll add more to this page later. Suffice it to say that it is my goal to stay awake for 100 hours (4 days and 4 hours). The longest I've achieved in the past has been 55 hours.
I was inspired to undertake this daunting task by this web page. It describes one woman's experience of staying awake for 100 hours.
I've created a mailing list to discuss sleep deprivation, and attempts at staying awake for long periods of time. Subscribe to the list if you are interested in sleep deprivation, in attempting to stay awake for a long time, or in helping me (or others) in such an attempt. To subscribe to this list, click here.
I learned several things from my 55 hour attempt. First, it is imperative to get adequate sleep before the attempt. I had only 4 hours of sleep before that attempt, and that definitely hurt my chances. Also, in the future, I am going to have no caffeine for the first 50 hours (and I'll try to hold out as long as I can past that point). This will (hopefully) ensure that I don't become immune to the effects of caffeine -- last time caffeine lost its effect around the 50 hour mark. This time I am going to try and keep busier, which should keep me from zoning out. If you have any other tips (good food to eat, what to do to occupy my mind, etc) then please tell me! And I encourage you to subscribe to the mailing list, so you can help advise me on this matter.
A fellow directed me to the following article on sleep deprivation:
"Sleep and Dreams: Sleep: EFFECTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION: General sleep deprivation." Britannica Online.
I read the article, and despite its warnings I think my project is safe, provided I keep a close eye on my health and I am
willing to go to sleep if things get weird.
One of the current problems I face is finding 100 consecutive hours which I can afford to devote to this project. Now that I have a regular job five days a week, I cannot embark on this frivolously. Shall I try it on my next long vacation? I'm trying to imagine dealing with my family at Christmas when I'd had no sleep in 4 days...