Randy Gardner didn’t sleep for over 11 days
A man who decided to stay awake for 264 hours *yawns while typing* didn’t get on so well afterwards.
Students Randy Gardner and Bruce McAllister from San Diego, California, took on the world record for the longest period a human has voluntarily gone without sleep in 1964.
They decided to take on the mammoth task as part of a school science fair project under the supervision of Stanford University sleep researcher Dr. William C. Dement.
Scientist issues warning for people who sleep for 6 hours or less
Credit: The Joe Rogan Experience
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While both participated in the challenge, it was Gardner, 17, who managed to stay away for a whopping 11 days and 25 minutes, breaking the world record at the time.
McAllister later explained to the BBC: “We were idiots, you know young idiots, and I stayed awake with him to monitor him.
“After three night of sleeplessness myself, I woke up tipped against the wall, writing notes on the wall itself.”
Dr Dement and US Navy medic Lieutenant Commander John J. Ross were overlooking the experiment, and according to the researchers, the effects began to kick in after the second day without any shut eye.
Randy Gardner didn’t sleep for over 11 days (Don Cravens/Getty Images)
Gardner began to stumble over his words when he was asked to repeat tongue twisters to test how he was feeling.
By three days without any sleep, things had taken a steep decline for Gardner who reportedly experienced health issues, such as moodiness, a lack of concentration, short-term memory loss, as well as paranoia and hallucinations.
“He was physically very fit,” Dement said. “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.”
Incredibly, by the end of the experience, the teen had spent 264.4 hours awake, to be exact.
After finally succumbing to the Sand Man, the teen slept for a full 14 hours and then woke up naturally, claiming he didn’t even feel particularly ‘groggy’.
The social experiment was overseen by researchers (Don Cravens/Getty Images)
But despite initially recovering well, he went on to have problems with his sleep for years and years later, according to WBUR.
As an adult, Gardner began to experience insomnia and was convinced the experiment was to blame.
“I was awful to be around. Everything upset me. It was like a continuation of what I did 50 years ago,” he told NPR’s Morning Edition.
“You have to have sleep. 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.”
Additional words by Claire ReidFeatured Image Credit: Don Cravens/Getty Images
Topics: Health, Science, History
Anish Vij
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Updated 10:06 20 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 10:01 20 Feb 2024 GMT
Bloke who didn’t sleep for 264 hours suffered horrendous effects for years after
He stayed awake for more than 11 days but suffered serious consequences
Plenty of us are guilty of not getting enough kip – but one teen took this to the extreme after he took part in an experiment where he didn’t sleep for 264 hours. I feel tired just typing that.
Back in 1963, the (somewhat incredibly named) Randy Gardner, 17, and his school pal Bruce McAllister, both from the US, were thinking up ideas for their school’s science fair.
Man explains sleep deprivation effects
Credit: Sleep Gods/YouTube
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The pair of friends eventually decided to see what would happen if they attempted to break the world record for staying awake.
To decide who the unlucky sleep dodger would be, they flipped a coin and poor old Gardner lost – but his pal decided to try and stay awake with him anyway.
McAllister later told the BBC: “We were idiots, you know young idiots, and I stayed awake with him to monitor him.
“After three night of sleeplessness myself, I woke up tipped against the wall, writing notes on the wall itself.”
Don Cravens/Getty Image
The study was also observed by Stanford sleep researcher Dr William Dement, and US Navy medic Lieutenant Commander John J. Ross.
According to the researchers, the effects began to kick in after the second day without any shut eye – and Gardner began to stumble over words when he was asked to repeat tongue twisters to test how he was feeling.
By three days without any sleep, things had taken a steep decline for Gardner who reportedly experienced moodiness, concentration issues and short-term memory loss, as well as paranoia and even hallucinations.
“He was physically very fit,” Dement said. “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.”
Don Cravens/Getty Image
Incredibly, by the end of the experience, the teen had spent more than 11 days – 264.4 hours, to be exact – awake.
After finally succumbing to the Sand Man, the teen slept for a full 14 hours and then woke up naturally, claiming he didn’t even feel particularly ‘groggy’.
But despite initially recovering well, he went on to have problems with his sleep for years and years later, according to WBUR.
As an adult, Gardner began to experience insomnia and was convinced the experiment was to blame.
“I was awful to be around. Everything upset me. It was like a continuation of what I did 50 years ago,” he said.Featured Image Credit: Don Cravens/Getty Images
Topics: Science, Health, History
Claire Reid
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Published 14:32 27 Aug 2024 GMT+1
Man who suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years heard chilling sentence from his mother before he ‘woke up’
Martin Pistorius couldn’t communicate with anyone for a decade, all while hearing and seeing everything around him
A man who suffered from ‘locked-in syndrome’ for 12 years revealed what life was like for him as his loved ones struggled to care for him.
Martin Pistorius was born in 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was a high-achiever in school with an interest in electronics.
After school one day in 1988 though, Martin told his mum that he was feeling sick with a sore throat and headache – symptoms of a regular cold – so he rested at home. But as each day passed, his condition worsened.
He eventually lost the ability to communicate or use his body, spending most of his time sleeping as his appetite was lost and his mind began to regress to the age of an infant.
Martin couldn’t communicate with anyone for over a decade. (NBC News)
After being admitted to hospitals, doctors had no idea what Martin had, with them instead treating him for cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis of the brain. Though these treatments proved unsuccessful.
His parents were told to take him home and watch over him until he died, with no hope of survival.
The last words he ever said to his parents were: “When home?”
But the South African didn’t die, as after just four years, he could feel himself returning to normal, later explaining to NBC News by using a computer to type words in to speak: “For so many years, I was like a ghost. I could hear and see everything, but it was like I wasn’t there. I was invisible.”
He would spend the next decade at home and in day-care centres, and he started to lose hope in anyone ever hearing him again, terrified that he would die alone in a care home with nobody realising that he was conscious.
“What really got to me was the complete and utter powerlessness,” Pistorius explained.
“Every single aspect of your life is controlled and determined by someone else. They decide where you are, what you eat, whether you sit or lie down, in what position you lie in, everything.”
Martin’s brain regressed significantly before he got better. (NBC News)
As he continued to live in his imagination, his family tried to move on from the situation by sending him to care facilities so that they could get a break from the 24/7 care he needed.
This put a strain on the family, causing multiple arguments between his parents, with the breaking point coming one night when his mother turned to him and said: “I hope you die,” unaware that he could hear it.
“It broke my heart, in a way, but at the same time, particularly as I worked through all the emotions. I felt only love and compassion for my mother,” Martin said.
At these facilities though, Martin claimed that he was abused by staff, as they hit, pinched and dropped him on purpose while under their care.
However, a therapist at the centre, Virna Van Der Walt, said that she could tell that he could understand him, telling NBC News: “He had a sparkle in his eye, I could see he was understanding me.”
They communicated through eye movements and hand squeezing, proving that Martin was trying to communicate as Virna pushed his family to get his brain tested again.
Martin is now a happy father of two. (NBC News)
“She was the catalyst who changed everything,” Pistorius said of the therapist. “Had it not been for her, I would probably either be dead or forgotten in a care home somewhere.”
During this test, he proved that he was back in control of his body, as Martin’s brain healed parts of itself – all while doctors were still lost on what the initial diagnosis was.
He recalled asking his mother for spaghetti bolognaise for dinner, which she made, marking a huge milestone for him and signalling that he was back.
Martin now lives his life in a wheelchair and communicates with a computer that speaks for him, while his childhood memories have sadly been wiped.
He re-learned how to read, socialise and make decisions for himself, while also learning to drive and going to college. Martin then met wife Joanna in 2009 through his sister, with whom he has two children, with the family living in the UK.
Now a computer scientist and web developer, he also wrote a book called Ghost Boy, opening up about his traumatic experience of growing up with the condition.Featured Image Credit: NBC News
Topics: Health, Science, Technology, News
Joshua Nair
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Updated 08:42 28 Aug 2024 GMT+1Published 08:30 28 Aug 2024 GMT+1
Man who suffered from locked-in syndrome for 12 years describes moment he woke up realised what was happening
Martin Pistorius spent more than a decade trapped inside his own body
A man who had ‘locked-in syndrome’ for 12 years has revealed what it was like when he realised what was happening.
Martin Pistorius, from Johannesburg, South Africa, was just 12 when he fell into a coma and lost voluntary motor control.
The healthy 12-year-old came home from school in 1988 and told his mum that he had a sore throat and headache. Though with each passing day, his condition got worse and he lost the ability to communicate and use his body.
Martin couldn’t communicate with anyone for over a decade. (NBC News)
Falling into a vegetative state, doctors believed that he fell into a coma, before it emerged that he was completely paralysed and unable to talk.
‘Locked-in syndrome’ happens to be a rare neurological condition where a person is conscious but unable to move or communicate, except via eye movements.
At around 16, he regained consciousness and achieved full consciousness by 19. However, he was still completely paralysed with the exception of his eyes.
Explaining what it was like when he regained consciousness, he told The Wright Stuff: “It’s like a cold, sinister frustrating and frightening feeling, which seems to throttle every cell in your body.
“It’s was like you’re a ghost witnessing life unfold in front of you and nobody knows you are there.”
Martin’s childhood memories got wiped. (Instagram/@martinpistorius)
Whilst watching the news, he consciously remembered everything, from Princess Diana’s death, to the 9/11 attacks.
“But nobody thought I was even aware of them, let alone the fact that I not only knew about them, but was shocked or excited or saddened like everyone else,” he added.
Understandably, his family found it extremely tough and breaking point came when his mother turned to him and said: “I hope you die,” unaware that he could hear it.
“It broke my heart, in a way, but at the same time, particularly as I worked through all the emotions. I felt only love and compassion for my mother,” Martin said.
“My father’s faith in me was stretched almost to breaking point – I don’t think it ever disappeared completely,” he also told the Daily Mail.
Martin now advocates for disability rights. (Instagram/@martinpistorius)
“Each day Dad, a mechanical engineer, washed and fed me, dressed and lifted me. A bear of a man with a huge beard like Father Christmas, his hands were always gentle.
“I would try to get him to understand I had returned, willing my arm to work. ‘Dad! I’m here! Can’t you see?’ But he didn’t notice me.”
He thanked his therapist as ‘the catalyst who changed everything’, saying: “Had it not been for her, I would probably either be dead or forgotten in a care home somewhere.”
Martin eventually recovered enough to live independently in a wheelchair and a computer that speaks for him.
Now, he is a father, advocates for disability rights, works as a web designer, and shares his story through public speaking.Featured Image Credit: NBC
Topics: Health, World News, Science
Anish Vij
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Published 17:49 16 Dec 2024 GMT
‘Son of Concorde’ plane that will fly from London to New York in 3.5 hours hits brand new record
This latest test focused on ensuring the aircraft’s structure can handle higher speeds and varying altitudes safely.
The dream of slashing flight times between London and New York to just 3.5 hours is edging closer to reality as Boom Technology’s ‘Son of Concorde’ has hit an exciting new milestone.
Officially named the XB-1, the jet is being developed by Boom Technology, a US company aiming to bring back the glory days of supersonic travel but in a more efficient and affordable way – with the plane having began it’s first round of 10 test flights back in March this year.
The XB-1 is their prototype, paving the way for future commercial jets that will eventually fly at the speed of sound – Mach 1.
The company’s long-term vision? To revolutionise air travel by cutting journey times in half, with a flight from London to New York taking just 3.5 hours instead of the usual eight.
In an recent update, Boom Technology explained that their latest test focused on ensuring the aircraft’s structure can handle higher speeds and varying altitudes safely.
The XB-1 has hit a new top speed and aims to go supersonic after its 10th test flight (Boom)
During its ninth test flight on 13 December, the supersonic jet also reached a record speed of Mach 0.87 (around 667mph) and soared to a new high of 27,716 feet.
“Flight nine focused on clearing flutter points at increased speeds and varying altitudes to ensure the aircraft structure continues to behave as predicted in the expanded flight envelope,” the company said in a recent blog post to their website.
“This type of testing measures the interaction of the aircraft structure with the atmosphere it is flying through and is critical as XB-1 continues to reach higher speeds.”
Following it’s previous flight on 16 November, their engineering team had to make ‘modifications’ to the flutter excitation system (FES), which seemed to have paid off as they enabled a ‘safer and more efficient progression through the transonic and supersonic regimes in the remaining test flights’.
Test pilot Tristan ‘Geppetto’ Brandenburg, who’s been flying the XB-1 over California’s Mojave Desert, has been very optimistic about the jet’s potential.
The XB-1 plane could represent a return to supersonic travel (Tom Cooper/Getty Images for Boom Technology)
Speaking earlier this year to The Sun, he said the new jet is designed to be much more accessible than the Concorde, which was grounded two decades prior.
“Part of the reason the Concorde isn’t flying anymore is just because it wasn’t a sustainable business model,” Brandenburg said.
“The flights were so expensive that the average person just couldn’t afford to take those.”
Boom Technology has also teamed up with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Air Force Operational Energy Office to continue testing technologies.
Recent upgrades also include a shark-skin-inspired material added to the XB-1’s underbelly to reduce drag, fuel consumption, and emissions—key features for sustainable supersonic travel, according to their website.
While Boom is making impressive progress, there’s still a way to go before passengers can hop aboard the ‘Son of Concorde’, as the company hasn’t announced a launch date for commercial flights, and a few delays early in its test run suggest it may be a few years before the jet’s promise becomes reality.