Can Lack of Sleep Kill You? Drive You Insane?

For the past 3 weeks I have been not been able to sleep well at all. I actually get exactly what you described. Not getting any sleep or not much sleep at all, feeling drained all day, and then at 10:30 I'll be wide awake and ready to go!

It's rather annoying. As much as I love to be awake at night cos that's when my friends and I actually do stuff, I hate being tired and irratable at work, or too tired during the day to do anything productive when I don't have work.

I've been given so many hints about getting to sleep. Listen to music, don't listen to music (I do listen to music), excersise, eat well, don't go on the computer or read before bed, go to bed at the same time every night, stress less, don't drink before bed, do drink before bed. It all gets confusing sometimes.

I'm yet to find my anti-insomnia cure, but when I do I'll surely post it on here for you. Right now I'm excersising a *lot* so i'll let you know if that helps me at all. I'm also attempting to eat right, but that is so so so much more difficult than it sounds. McDonalds its just so damned convenient and it tastes so good!

Maybe I'll sue them ...

reply to post by Buck Division


You know that is plenty of safe natural remedies for relaxation and sleep.

You can also get guide relaxation and meditation to help you.

Here's an article about lack of sleep. Just found it this morning and thought of this thread.

www.reuters.com...

There are people who can get by with little sleep but it is not the healthiest situation.

Maybe it's not exactly sleep that the body needs.

Maybe it's the actual dreaming process that we need to experience to keep us safe and sane.

I'm thinking, if we force ourselves to stay awake and not dream we cannot journey to our parallel universes to see how our other selves are doing, and they in turn can't visit us.
Maybe we need to stay connected with our multi-dimensional selves because that is the only way to survive and the only way to make the connection is to sleep.

Just like there are animals that can smell fear and anxiety, perhaps there are inter-dimenesional entities that are attracted to the energy that "sleepy heads" give off.
Maybe these entities are ourselves coming to ask why we haven't visited?

This might explain the hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation.

Get some sleep, otherwise you might start seeing Lincoln, the talking beaver and the deep sea diver.


What is with Lincoln and insomnia?

Don't worry it probably is just a sleeping phase. You will be sleeping normally soon. But it depends how long your lack of sleep last.

Because it have happen to me. Somedays I have a hard time falling asleep. And somedays I can't keep myself awake. But not all the time.

Lack of sleep can play on your mind, I didn't even lie down for 3 days or more 72 hours or more, not really sure, I began to hallucinate, but it wasn't a hallucination, it was more like I would start to dream while I was still awake, but then I would snap myself out of it.
It's about this time that it's almost impossible to stay awake, so I slept.

[edit on 29-2-2008 by _Phoenix_]

i]Originally posted by Buck Division

Six days? Wow! Were you trying to stay awake, or just suffering from a really really very bad case of insomnia?

nope not trying, just had a rough spell with sleeping, I wasn't even stressed out more than normal. It was horrible

I wonder if there are doors to perception (such as those described by Aldus Huxley) that get opened. Maybe the delusions and visions have some sort of deeper reality to them?

I took a Native American class in Bismarck that was geared to educate non-Native people. It was a great class and not condensending at all. They speak about seeking visions and your statement up top is almost how it was explained in non-Native language.

reply to post by Buck Division



Not only it can, but it can kill a person (or animal) MUCH sooner than starvation - some say even sooner than dehydration.

However, that only applies to total sleeplessness for more than three days or so - not to sleep deprivation.

I wouldn't worry too much, if I were you, provided that this is a temporary situation. You may be more prone to accidents, and your immune system may be compromised by now, so you need to be extra careful. And if your thinking processes are affected negatively (one CAN become even faster-thinking and much more creative when sleep-deprived) , then you really have to stop it. It's just not worth it.

Here is a rather obvious array of general articles:

Sleep deprivation and its effects



And this is slightly off-topic - because it's about a genetic disease - but I think some may find it interesting (I know I did ; )):

The Family that Couldn't Sleep





[edit on 29-2-2008 by Vanitas]

Sometimes, when I am thinking about stuff before I try to sleep, I can't sleep. Now a helpful hint to get to sleep better is to pick a song, like a song you grew up with, and sing that song in your head.
What that does is simplifies your thinking, so it is easier to drift off to dreamland, so your mind is not thinking about stuff.
Try it sometime, its what I found helpful to cure my insomnia, that I have.

for sure you see things, the longest i stayed up was like, three days, i have to note that it feels like a continuation, not days. for example like a day that has no end or time. it is a continuation- you will see things like shadows, voices, even notice things that hide out in different realms and realities that is not noticeable in normal settings. i could only image, the longer you stay up the more intense the experience is. the people of the past could have visions and identify extraterrestrials during these sessions, because they are different realms.

i to suffered from insomnia a few years back. most of it had to do with depression and anxity.i at first tried the prescription sleep meds from the doctors like lunesta, as well as anti-depression meds. after those didn't seem to help i tried tylenol PM, which seemed to work for a few days ,. but then i had to up the dosage for it to help, and ended up getting the sleepy leg syndrome(your legs feel like they have to be moving all the time). so then i moved on to the good ole trusty nyquil, which also seemed to work for a few days, and again i came accross the sleepy leg syndrome.finally when none of those realley seemed to help, and i figured i had to deal with this issue on my own sheer will power. while talking to a close friend at work about my problem(cause me to lose my job 2 times from not being able to make it in) he told me about an off the shelf medicine that he used for his 6 yr old kid who had sleeping problems called Melatonin. which is an all natural herb that our bodies produce naturally that helps us sleep, i don't know exactly how but i think it helps produce the seratonin which is the chemical that induces sleep. but ever since i discoverd this magic pill i have since been able to sleep when i need to. i jus take a pill if i am not feeling tired and within 30 min i can fall asleep and stay asleep all night, and still wake up in the morning not feeling groggy. i really suggest anyone who suffers from any type of sleep disorder to try the melatonin. they usually come in 3mg pills for about 5-7$ a bottle of about 60 pills. recently they upped the dosage and oyu can find some that are 8mg.

ps i also tried the no caffine and switched my pop to sprite which has no caffine, i think that helped but now it seems i can drink what ever i want and still get a good nights rest.



en.wikipedia.org...

www.melatonin.com...

haven't read this last site but it looks like it could help with the understanding of the medication.


www.restlesslegs.com...

sorry its called restless leg syndrome.

[edit on 2/29/2008 by keeff]

[edit on 2/29/2008 by keeff]

I just started reading this thread so I don't know if anyone's still on it but a few years ago I too saw a documentary about a man who for some physical reason that I don't remember could not fall asleep. He of course was hospitalized and slowly lost his cognitive abilities and his physical condition deteriorated as well. I seem to remember it took about a year for it to kill him and he had to be hospitalized the whole time. He was definitely too ill to work some night job for 20 years as I read in a previous post. But the point is that a total inabililty to sleep at all proved fatal in his case and I would think for anyone else as well. Most people who claim they don't fall asleep at all have been shown in sleep studies that they do actually fall asleep from time to time during the night but it clearly is not a restful restorative sleep, hence they feel and believe as though they haven't slept at all.

I think that it all depends on the person as to what effects lack of sleep has on people. I once could not sleep and at the worst point I had 4 hours sleep in about four days, 96 hours. My friend found me mumbling to myself although he could make out i was having a conversation, sitting in the corner of my room facing the wall, in pitch black, frightened the life out of him apparently, espically when he said my name and I turned round like nothing strange was happening. I also remember jumping at a wall over and over, just to see what would happen.

A little scary espically as compared to how long some people have gone for without sleep.

So I would say it all depends on the mind and circumstances, I was on my own for alot of my insomnia so that didn't help either I don't think

Also I occasionally take ephedra to lose weight and have been known to take too much of it for too long (for me it also has a cumulative effect and is not removed from my body as quickly as its going in hence the dosage builds up as well) and when this happens I find myself unable to sleep at all or at least not to sleep normally. Under these conditions I find when I close my eyes trying to sleep, I see all sorts of images and at times I felt as if I were "remote veiwing" scenes, including what I percieved to be angels or interdimensional beings. The pineal gland in the brain is a light sensitive gland that controls the release of melatonin (the "sleep hormone"). Some people believe it is the location of the "Third Eye" used to see visions or perhaps see into higher dimensions.Who knows. Personally though I LOVE sleep and am enormously fond of naps. Not getting enough sleep makes me gain weight because I try to get more energy by eating more. Food is no substitute for sleep though and it doesn't work.

you can hit yourself in the head with a forty of jim beam if your really tired.
i sleep like a baby(a drunk baby).

Originally posted by billybob
you can hit yourself in the head with a forty of jim beam if your really tired.
i sleep like a baby(a drunk baby).

Then again, you may not.

I know because I tried it many times, and it's never worked for me.

Maybe if I drank it...

(Or maybe a sledgehammer would do the trick.)















[edit on 29-2-2008 by Vanitas]

The so called sleep you get from excessive alcohol consumption is not a restorative sleep and you do not go through all the needed sleep cycles.

What? Has everyone gone to sleep on me? Ah, the irony.

reply to post by keeff


Melatonin is a hormone made by a part of the brain called the pineal gland. Melatonin tells our bodies when it's time to go to sleep and when it's time to wake up. Melatonin can be used to treat insomnia it's also good to help ease jet lag. Of course The FDA has not reviewed this product for safety or effectiveness.
Headache, gas and weird dreams can be side effects. If you have health problems, consult your doctor before using melatonin: disorders of immune system, liver or kidney disease, stroke, depression, epilepsy, diabetes. Limit alcohol intake, as it may hit your harder when you use this.
Do not use this product if you plan to become pregnant, there have not been any tests on it.

Before using this product, tell your doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and nonprescription medications you may use, especially of: immunosuppressants (e.g., azathioprine, cyclosporine), corticosteroids (e.g., prednisone). Also report use of drugs that cause drowsiness such as: sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs, narcotic pain relievers (e.g., codeine), sedatives, psychiatric medicines, anti-seizure drugs, muscle relaxants, antihistamines that cause drowsiness (e.g., diphenhydramine), herbs that cause drowsiness (e.g., valerian, kava). Check all nonprescription medicine labels carefully, especially cough-and-cold preparations since many contain drowsiness-causing antihistamines (e.g., diphenhydramine). info

And watch what company you get your alternative drugs from, there is little regulation. Use a reputable company.

reply to post by starskipper


thanks starskipper, i did notice a difference in the different brands that i have tried. but by far this is the best thing that has helped me get on a regular sleeping pattern, saved my job and i could almost say saved my life. don't get me wrong i do not take it every night anymore, and can live without it as it is not habbit forming, but as my situiation was i was very c lose to the bottom, and i believe it did help me get back on track with life in general. and i would also recomend this to ANYONE who has troubles sleeping

i actually believe that the reason it doen't have the fda approval, is because it is a natural hormone,. and that the pharmacutical companies do not stand to make a fortune on this product. but, thatss just my opinion.

i also belive that you need to look for the least amount of addatives and fillers,. at least in my experience the ones with the least seemed to work the best for me.

sorry as u can see i am not a writer , but if anyone does try this please let me know how it works for you. thanks
[edit on 3/3/2008 by keeff]

[edit on 3/3/2008 by keeff]

[edit on 3/3/2008 by keeff]