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Boy Who Didn’t Sleep For Record 264 Hours Suffered Crippling Effects Years After

A boy who didn’t sleep for a record 264 hours ended up suffering terrible effects for years to come.
Credit: rrgomes/Wonders of the World via YouTube

A boy who didn’t sleep for a record 264 hours ended up suffering terrible effects for years to come.

Randy Gardner, 17, and his friend, Bruce McAllister, needed to come up with an idea for their science fair project in December 1963.

After brainstorming ideas, the pair decided that they wanted to attempt to break the world record for staying awake, which was held by a DJ in Honolulu – who stayed awake for 260 hours (10 days).

Gardner and McAllister simply wanted to figure out what happens to our brains when we don’t sleep.

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Recalling the time, McAllister told BBC: “[The] first version of it was [to explore] the effect of sleeplessness on paranormal ability.”

He continued: “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.” 

The pair flipped a coin on who would stay awake, which Gardner lost. But their inexperience surfaced when they began the planning process on how to observe the effects on the subject.

McAllister added: “We were idiots, you know young idiots.

“I stayed awake with him to monitor him… and after three nights of sleeplessness myself I woke up tipped against the wall writing notes on the wall itself.”

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The pair realised that it was difficult to do the study by themselves, so they enlisted the help of a third friend, Joe Marciano.

Shortly after Marciano joined, a sleep researcher called William Dement from Stanford University also helped after reading about the study in a San Diego newspaper.

“I was probably the only person on the planet at the time who had actually done sleep research,” he told the BBC.

His involvement was a relief to Gardner’s parents.

Dement continued: “[Randy’s parents] were very worried that this might be something that would really be harmful to him. 

“Because the question was still unresolved on whether or not if you go without sleep long enough you will die.” 

Randy Gardner
Randy Gardner wanted to break the previous record for the longest time without sleep, which was 260 hours. Credit: @Psych_review/Twitter

The study started off well, with the group feeling confident about it.

However, after three days, Gardner’s cognitive and sensory abilities started to be affected, as he reportedly started experiencing moodiness, concentration issues and short-term memory loss, as well as paranoia and even hallucinations.

Dement added: “He was physically very fit. 

“So we could always get him going by playing basketball or going bowling, things like that. If he closed his eyes he would be immediately asleep.”

Brain scans later found that Gardner’s brain had been ‘catnapping’ the entire time, which meant part of it was asleep while other parts were awake.

Despite the effects, he managed to set a world record on January 8, 1964, as he managed to stay awake for 264 hours (11 days).

Gardner was then taken to a naval hospital where he slept for 14 hours.

Speaking to NPR, he explained: “I slept just over 14 hours. I remember when I woke up, I was groggy, but not any groggier than a normal person.”

Initially, Gardner did not suffer any effects from the study, but he did admit that he suffered unbearable insomnia. 

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He said: “I was awful to be around. Everything upset me. It was like a continuation of what I did 50 years ago.”

Gardner no longer suffers from insomnia but added that he only gets six hours of sleep a night.

“You have to have sleep,” he commented. “It’s as important as – it’s the big three. I call it the big three. Water, food, sleep – you’ve got to have them, all of them.”

However, since Gardner set the record in 1964, it has now been broken.

Tony Wright succeeded by staying awake for 266 hours (11 days and two hours) in 2007.

He used a webcam and CCTV to monitor his progress and managed to avoid sleep by drinking tea, playing pool, and keeping a diary.

Wright told the BBC this routine helped him remain functional and made him able to swap which side of the brain was in use.

He explained: “I feel pretty good, It’s been a bit of a slog, but I got there.

“It makes it much easier to switch from one side of the brain which is really tired, to the other.

“But both are pretty tired at the moment.”

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Written by Rosario Monachino

Rosario is a content editor at IGV who specialises in film, TV and entertainment news. He has a degree in English and Film from the University of Salford and a masters in Journalism from Liverpool John Moores University.