What happens when you stay up for 264 hours straight? Nothing good, say experts — but that’s exactly what Australian YouTuber and streamer Norme reportedly did for 11 days, depriving himself of sleep all while streaming it online. The effort included Norme standing, on the verge of passing out, having a friend shove him to keep him awake, as well as a wellness check conducted by police and paramedics. YouTube reportedly booted the streamer for failing to adhere to community guidelines.
The stunt, which was an attempt to break , was for naught — Guinness World Records stopped monitoring for the longest time awake in 1997, due to “the inherent dangers associated with sleep deprivation.” The record holder when it ended was Robert McDonald, who went 18 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes without sleep in 1986. Sleep deprivation has even used by the U.
S. Central Intelligence Agency as part of its detention and interrogation program after the 9/11 attacks. According to declassified in 2014, the CIA used sleep deprivation as part of its “enhanced interrogation techniques” which included keeping detainees up for 180 hours — either standing or with their hands shackled above their heads.
At least five detainees subjected to sleep deprivation experienced hallucinations. You should not attempt what Norme did, sleep experts that spoke to the Star warned — lack of sleep can have a myriad of negative physical and health effects, even when you’re not getting enough sleep day-t.