A lack of sleep can lead to a variety of health risks and issues, including impaired immune function, mood swings, weight gain and high blood pressure.
But if you can go without sleep for a long enough period of time, you might find yourself in a bizarre new state of mind.
A man did that for 11 days and is now sharing how it affected his mental wellbeing. Here’s what he had to say.
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Man didn’t sleep for 11 days
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Tony Wright reportedly attempted to break a world record by going 11 days without sleep.
He stayed awake for a terrifying 266 hours, but he was unable to break the record for the longest period without sleep.
For most people, the thought of staying up that late would almost make them cry.
However, Wright claims that after his sleep-deprived marathon, he almost felt enlightened because he was able to access a completely different part of his brain.
He discussed how his mental state completely changed while he stayed awake in an interview that was conducted shortly after the traumatic experience.
In essence, he said, “You’re depriving the egotistical mind, the rational mind, of sleep, and its batteries are running down. Naturally, it doesn’t feel good, but if you push past that, [the rational mind’s] capacity to remain in control also begins to fail, and that’s when you can start to see glimpses of the other side of the brain, the other self.”
Man claims to stay awake ‘in order to enter another state’ is a common practice
It’s no longer understood and frequently appears to be some sort of archaic nonsense, but staying awake in order to enter another state is nothing new, he continued, adding that it’s still a living tradition.
“I’ve discussed this with a lot of people. Most people remember things after a night of drinking or a hard day’s work. Yes, they get tired, but they also catch glimpses of other things within that. A sort of softness, a more relaxed state, frequently more emotional – because there is more access to that emotional side of the brain – and even feeling quite good for fleeting windows, or even getting a second wind, sometimes.”
While Guinness World Records once supported sleep deprivation and the ways it can affect the brain,
Wright
and many of his followers no longer do.
In fact, due to the seriously detrimental effects of sleep deprivation, the organisation no longer keeps track of this record.
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