In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a trend glorifying sleep deprivation. Some daredevils tried to outdo each other by setting dangerously long records for staying awake.
Ultimately, the Guinness World Records put an end to this madness in 1997. Its experts stopped tracking achievements related to sleep deprivation, fearing that someone might get hurt. At that time, the record belonged to a professional stuntman named Robert McDonald, who managed to stay awake for 18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes in 1986.
“While we no longer track such records due to the dangers associated with sleep deprivation, it can be argued that since McDonald, no one has broken this record,” stated the Guinness World Records website.
Representatives also assure that McDonald did not suffer any long-term consequences from his sleepless marathon. If this is true, he can consider himself lucky, as sleep deprivation is linked to a range of health issues.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, prolonged lack of sleep increases the likelihood of developing colorectal cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Staying awake for too long can also age the brain by three to five years, raising the risk of dementia by 33 percent.
Recent studies on mice have confirmed these concerns. Experiments showed that sleep deprivation significantly depletes the brain’s protective protein stores—pleiotrophin (PTN). When its levels drop, neurons in the hippocampus begin to die off. This leads to cognitive impairments and eventually contributes to neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Interestingly, former record holder Randy Gardner, who stayed awake for 11 days in 1964, reported that this experiment affected his short-term memory. He developed early-onset Alzheimer’s disease attributed to sleep deprivation. Just days after attempting to set the record, Gardner experienced hallucinations and issues with working memory, as reported by IFLScience.
Despite the absurd yet remarkable feats of McDonald and Gardner, scientists now suggest that all former sleep deprivation record holders likely experienced what is known as “micro-sleep” during their attempts. This means that they actually dozed off for a few seconds at a time without realizing it. Therefore, while they may not have allowed themselves to fully rest, none of these champions likely set their records completely without sleep.