Man who didn't sleep for a record 264 hours suffered from crippling effects for years after
Man who didn't sleep for a record 264 hours suffered from crippling effects for years after
All for a school project
In 1963, two lads in the US came up with an idea for a school science project, but their experiment would have consequences that lasted for decades.
Randy Gardner, 17, and his mate Bruce McAllister needed to come up with an idea for a science fair project, and after putting their heads together, decided they wanted to beat the world record for staying awake.
At the time, the record was held by a DJ in Honolulu, who'd managed to stay up for a staggering 260 hours (just under 11 days).
Their aim was simple - they wanted to figure out what happens to our brains when we don't sleep..... Read story
"We were idiots, you know young idiots," McAllister told the BBC.
"[The] first version of it was [to explore] the effect of sleeplessness on paranormal ability.
"We realised there was no way we could do that and so we decided on the effect of sleep deprivation on cognitive abilities, performance on the basketball court. Whatever we could come up with."
Luckily for McAllister, a coin toss flip meant he wasn't the unfortunate one to have to go without sleep, meaning it was left to Gardner to stay awake for as long as possible.
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