Most of us are familiar with feeling tired and sleepy after a sleepless night. But some social media users have gone further and participated in a challenge called “Insomnia Challenge”.
In the Insomnia Challenge, a 19-year-old YouTuber named “Norm” demonstrated his attempt to set the insomnia world record live. After showing 250 hours of sleeplessness, the audience expressed concern for Norm’s health, but he ended up breaking his sleepless record of 264 hours and 24 minutes.
Norm’s action led to the blocking of his YouTube and Kik platform accounts. But despite his claim of breaking the world record for insomnia, he failed Robert McDonald which was registered in 1986. MacDonald stayed awake for 453 hours (approximately 19 days).
In 1997, Guinness gave up the record for the longest period of sleeplessness for health reasons, and this decision was the right thing to do. Long-term insomnia can be very dangerous.
Experts say adults should regularly sleep more than seven hours a night. Chronic inability to get enough sleep increases the risk of diseases such as depression, diabetes, obesity, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke. Sleep is an important part of our daily schedule, because it provides an opportunity for different body systems to rest and restore themselves.
Regular sleep provides the body with the opportunity to rest, restore and regenerate
In the first three stages of sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and digestion, takes control of the body and reduces heart rate and blood pressure. In the final stage, called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the heart rate increases and the eyes move. This stage is critical for cognitive functions such as creativity, learning and memory. Consuming alcohol or caffeine before sleep can disrupt this sleep cycle.
Sleep deprivation or lack of sleep can be acute or chronic. Acute deprivation may occur in a day or two. Although this may seem like a short amount of time, 24 hours of sleep deprivation can lead to more impaired performance than driving slightly over the alcohol limit.
Symptoms of acute sleep deprivation include puffiness or dark circles under the eyes, irritability, cognitive decline, brain fog, and increased appetite.
On the second day without sleep, the symptoms become more intense and behavioral changes are also seen along with further reduction of cognitive abilities. The body’s need for sleep becomes stronger and may lead to “momentary sleep”, that is, involuntary naps from exhaustion that last about 30 seconds.
Also, the body’s need for food increases and makes us more susceptible to diseases with nervous and muscular reactions such as systemic inflammation and reduced immune response.
In the third period of 24-hour sleep deprivation, there is a strong desire to sleep. Also, the number and duration of momentary sleep increases. During this period, the possibility of extreme alienation and distortion, the feeling of separation from reality and illusion also increases.
On the fourth day of sleep deprivation, all symptoms worsen and the person suffers from psychosis caused by lack of sleep, loses the ability to interpret reality and has a strong desire to sleep.
Recovery from periods of sleep deprivation is different for each person. Some recover with a good night’s sleep, but for others it may take days or weeks.
However, studies show that compensatory sleep often cannot reverse the metabolic changes caused by sleep deprivation; Changes such as weight gain and decreased insulin sensitivity can be seen even during relatively short periods of sleep deprivation.
People who work night shifts may be constantly deprived of sleep. Night shift workers typically sleep about one to four hours less than people who work during the day, which can increase their risk of premature death. In fact, many studies have shown that lack of sleep is associated with an increased risk of death, but too much sleep is also associated with an increased risk of death.
The best way to maintain health is to stay away from the dangerous challenges of social networks and observe sleep hygiene, that is, seven to nine hours of quality sleep a night. If so, your body will thank you.
