Sleep deprivation experiment

[Lucas Cooper Merrin]

Ive sufferd from insomnia and sleep problems for years, with a good nights sleep consisting of around 3 hours max, which i can function on reasonably well,

Last week i unintentionally (box sets marathon) hadn't slept for about 40hrs and started to experience some unusual symptoms, so being a curious cat i decided to see how long i could go and what experiences would occur along the way. i kept note of anything unusual, writing it all down as it happend as i didnt want to solely rely on a severely fatigued memory.

It was relatively unaided i had the odd cup of coffee and a few cans of red bull but no excessive stimulants or medication.

I wont bore you with the first 40 hours but it was at this point i started to notice the effects, slow reactions, clumsiness, weakness, and quite emotional, every thing you would expect from a man that hadn't slept in 2 days, but from here on in things got weird....

I started hearing rhythms in every continuous noise, like the fish tank pump and the heating boiler, the low drone became like a symphony, i could pick out different pitches and sounds even a steady beat holding it all together, even the sound of the fire crackling became like a purposefully arranged musical rhythm, this went on throughout and was difficult to ignore.

Getting in abit further towards the 55 hour mark i started to get enormous bouts of Deja vu, everything i did seemed so familiar, the conversations on the forums, the websites i was on, the tv program....everything felt like i had done it all before, a light bulb blew in the kitchen and that deja vu feeling was so intense i got up to have a walk outside to clear my head abit, but when i went to go out i couldn't get the door unlocked, it was like mass confusion as to what way the key turned and how the chubb snib had to be opend with the handle simultaneously, it was to confusing so i gave up and sat down again.

Making coffee became a really challenging task, it vaired from not boiling the kettel to putting the coffee directly into the kettle with finally giving up completely and having a redbull, but it took enormous concentration to even get that open! Also had large feelings of paranoia and flashes of panic for no reason, have the sense that ive forgotten to do something important aswell.

The 60+ hour mark was some of the most unusual experiences i have ever had, the simplest of things now require everything ive got, trying to staying awake is a continuous task, everything feels like a dreamy haze

Shaddows on the wall became moving shapes that seemed to shiver and dart about, the patterns in the carpet blended into a green haze, i regularly heard talking and mumbling from within the room, i was positive there was someone lurking outside and could have swore they put their hand through the letter box.

From around this point my memory is very hazy and i had stopped writing anything legible but from later investigation i must have threw (or dropped) a pint glass of water in the fire, i had removed the duvet cover and stuffed it in the tumble dryer, there was cutlery and various fridge items been put through the mail slot and were lying outside, my tooth brush was stuck in the key hole (vaguely remember doing that) and all the batteries were out of the remotes!

Im not sure what the total exact time would have been as keeping track became confusing and senseless, but it was under the 70hr mark,

The final 25hrs could be compared to a drug fuelled heavy drinking session where reality was infused with a dream like state and i had very little control of my body or emotions, and everything was confusing and unusual. I had no full blown apparition hallucinations but there was alot of visual interference and shape manipulation, and various dream like audio hallucinations. But at no point did i assume anything was paranormal in nature, i was always aware that the symptoms were my brain filling in the gaps of my sleep starved consciousness.

Its not something i will be doing in a hurry again but its a useful insight into how the brain is capable of causing all manor of feelings, thoughts, visions, and sounds when denied sleep, and its bolstered my opinion that the old grey matter is responsible for every personal paranormal experience out there!

[spartan max2]

Fun fact: sleep deprivation has the same affect on the brain as being drunk

[Lucas Cooper Merrin]

Fun fact: sleep deprivation has the same affect on the brain as being drunk

it was beond just drunk.

[tcgram]

As I have mentioned before, my daughter started having severe bouts of insomnia in her late teens. At one point, it got so bad that she started hearing voices, seeing shadows move and dart about and of course, concentration was gone. I took her to a psychiatrist as I thought she was emerged in full-blown schizophrenia. It was then that we discovered that it was her sleep deprivation that was causing her issues, along with some bi-polar issues, which was also causing the insomnia. She has been taking meds for 3 yrs. now to help her sleep and it has completely turned her around. Thank you for sharing your experience b/c otherwise there may be someone out there not realizing what lack of sleep does to the brain and therefore, the body.

[White Unicorn]

Ive sufferd from insomnia and sleep problems for years, with a good nights sleep consisting of around 3 hours max, which i can function on reasonably well,

Last week i unintentionally (box sets marathon) hadn't slept for about 40hrs and started to experience some unusual symptoms, so being a curious cat i decided to see how long i could go and what experiences would occur along the way. i kept note of anything unusual, writing it all down as it happend as i didnt want to solely rely on a severely fatigued memory.

It was relatively unaided i had the odd cup of coffee and a few cans of red bull but no excessive stimulants or medication.

I wont bore you with the first 40 hours but it was at this point i started to notice the effects, slow reactions, clumsiness, weakness, and quite emotional, every thing you would expect from a man that hadn't slept in 2 days, but from here on in things got weird....

I started hearing rhythms in every continuous noise, like the fish tank pump and the heating boiler, the low drone became like a symphony, i could pick out different pitches and sounds even a steady beat holding it all together, even the sound of the fire crackling became like a purposefully arranged musical rhythm, this went on throughout and was difficult to ignore.

Getting in abit further towards the 55 hour mark i started to get enormous bouts of Deja vu, everything i did seemed so familiar, the conversations on the forums, the websites i was on, the tv program....everything felt like i had done it all before, a light bulb blew in the kitchen and that deja vu feeling was so intense i got up to have a walk outside to clear my head abit, but when i went to go out i couldn't get the door unlocked, it was like mass confusion as to what way the key turned and how the chubb snib had to be opend with the handle simultaneously, it was to confusing so i gave up and sat down again.

Making coffee became a really challenging task, it vaired from not boiling the kettel to putting the coffee directly into the kettle with finally giving up completely and having a redbull, but it took enormous concentration to even get that open! Also had large feelings of paranoia and flashes of panic for no reason, have the sense that ive forgotten to do something important aswell.

The 60+ hour mark was some of the most unusual experiences i have ever had, the simplest of things now require everything ive got, trying to staying awake is a continuous task, everything feels like a dreamy haze

Shaddows on the wall became moving shapes that seemed to shiver and dart about, the patterns in the carpet blended into a green haze, i regularly heard talking and mumbling from within the room, i was positive there was someone lurking outside and could have swore they put their hand through the letter box.

From around this point my memory is very hazy and i had stopped writing anything legible but from later investigation i must have threw (or dropped) a pint glass of water in the fire, i had removed the duvet cover and stuffed it in the tumble dryer, there was cutlery and various fridge items been put through the mail slot and were lying outside, my tooth brush was stuck in the key hole (vaguely remember doing that) and all the batteries were out of the remotes!

Im not sure what the total exact time would have been as keeping track became confusing and senseless, but it was under the 70hr mark,

The final 25hrs could be compared to a drug fuelled heavy drinking session where reality was infused with a dream like state and i had very little control of my body or emotions, and everything was confusing and unusual. I had no full blown apparition hallucinations but there was alot of visual interference and shape manipulation, and various dream like audio hallucinations. But at no point did i assume anything was paranormal in nature, i was always aware that the symptoms were my brain filling in the gaps of my sleep starved consciousness.

Its not something i will be doing in a hurry again but its a useful insight into how the brain is capable of causing all manor of feelings, thoughts, visions, and sounds when denied sleep, and its bolstered my opinion that the old grey matter is responsible for every personal paranormal experience out there!

It's like our subconscious is the new born baby perception of senses and emotions, but the baby notices things that the analytical consciousness ignors. Did you notice that at first when analytical self was just tired but still functioning that you heard small sounds becoming the focus? There's lots of imput people block out as unimportant consciously but its always available.

Morning meditation is a key to using the subconscious senses that are ignored by using both equally. The awake mind is fresh and analytical but still perceives all the input of senses and recognizes fantasia as the baby's misperceptions of its own makings. When a working balance is learned and achieved, that's the moment when alot of paranormal abilities are understood because you can decipher the subconscious senses for what they are, input signals of the past or present you didn't notice while awake and the analytical side sees a larger world then before.

[Mark One]

Thanks Lucas, I found your experiment fascinating and some of your experiences resonated with my own. Many, many years ago when a deranged women began stalking me her activities (verbal harassment and intimidation) increased late at night which did start to affect my sleep patterns. For around a week I got only maybe 2-5 hours sleep per day and I noticed some peculiar side effects too.

Seeing odd shapes and what I thought were insects flying around me.

Hearing muffled conversations when ever I passed under a telephone line, or the odd everyday sound now seemed to include more than it normally did.

Strangely though, mid way through that week I was drilling some holes and the loud noise it produced also gave me a man and womens voices in deep and clear conversation.

I also found my ability to think and then act now carried a confusing delay.

Feeling drunk/dizzy.

As I said above it lasted for about 7 days and thankfully after that I caught up with my lost sleep and everything returned to normal.

[XenoFish]

That's some trippy stuff Lucas. About 20 years ago I did something similar. 6 caffeine pills and a pepsi. I was up for 3 days with a spidey sense. It was crazy.

[Aftermath]

Ive sufferd from insomnia and sleep problems for years, with a good nights sleep consisting of around 3 hours max, which i can function on reasonably well,

Last week i unintentionally (box sets marathon) hadn't slept for about 40hrs and started to experience some unusual symptoms, so being a curious cat i decided to see how long i could go and what experiences would occur along the way. i kept note of anything unusual, writing it all down as it happend as i didnt want to solely rely on a severely fatigued memory.

Its not something i will be doing in a hurry again but its a useful insight into how the brain is capable of causing all manor of feelings, thoughts, visions, and sounds when denied sleep, and its bolstered my opinion that the old grey matter is responsible for every personal paranormal experience out there!

Wow - fascinating! Thank you for sharing.

[Davros of Skaro]

This post should be pinned.

[Lucas Cooper Merrin]

This post should be pinned.

How come?

How does one pin it?

[+ouija ouija]

......... but its a useful insight into how the brain is capable of causing all manor of feelings, thoughts, visions, and sounds when denied sleep, and its bolstered my opinion that the old grey matter is responsible for every personal paranormal experience out there!

That's one helluva leap to make there! 'Is there any point in public debate in a society where hardly anyone has been taught how to think?'

Perhaps you should be given the benefit of the doubt ..... put it down to your lack of sleep!

[Mark One]

This maybe interesting to some reading this topic so I`ll share it.

When you dont sleep properly and it begins playing its tricks(with your focus), you become concerned.

You then decide to take any opportunity you can to try and catch up on your sleep.

Such experiences of this rest conflicts with your natural rhythm and just like when awake.- you have issues in the brief dreams you manage to flow into.

This opens you up to mini nightmares or unusual dreams where the mind/body is still confused.

I highlight this because on one night when I had such problems sleeping I drifted away into dreamland and saw my work place. I was replaying a happy situation at work but I was an observer who seemed to be looking downwards on the office from above. I distinctly recall seeing a young women, an upto no good type who always payed a visit to our office so she could chat/gossip. Anyway,she was chatting when she said something in relation to me at work. I was stunned in that dream by how I had not overheard her say that in waking life - but it did make sense and proved my suspicions about her. Now heres the weird bit, I scoped the room to find myself and realised it was a certain time of the day when I would be out of the room. As I took all of this I felt like I was out of the body and reviewing something that in waking life was nagging at me, So I turned my focus to my desk because I had items there that I felt this women would touch or take. The moment I saw my chair everything got dark and - weirdness alert - I saw a great white shark with its mouth open rush towards me and fill my vision into darkness. I jumped awake and checked the time to find I had been asleep for little then 5 minutes.

I then spent ages unable to sleep and gave up the goat, went to the kitchen and drank some milk. Milk helped me get back into sleep. But fort he next couple of weeks I had many disturbing dreams that jumped me back awake.

[XenoFish]

I really think it comes down to having a walking dream. It's like conscious sleeping I guess. That hypnagogic state of mind. In my case, imagine you're in a hyperactive version of the hypnagogic state. I swear I was psychic. Heard peoples thoughts as was right about what they were thinking. Then again I could have hallucinated the whole thing.

[Davros of Skaro]

How come?

How does one pin it?

Explains a lot.

Mods do it.

[Frank Merton]

My dreams are and have always been lucid: indeed I was in my teens when I figured out this was not normal.

The end result is I don't dream much most of the time, and have a lot of recurring dreams. I stop them when things I don't like begin to happen, but for the most part all I do is hang out and rest and smile at people and enjoy the scenery as I float by.