Random Fact:
According to the CDC, the average person sleeps ~7 hours per night. A 2013 Gallup poll found that 59% of Americans sleep seven or more hours, while 40% sleep less than seven.
CDC recommended amount of sleep for each age group:
- 0-3 months: 14-17 hours
- 4-11 months: 12-16 hours
- 1-2 years old: 11-14 hours
- 3-5 years old: 10-13 hours
- 6-12 years old: 9-12 hours
- 13-18 years old: 8-10 hours
- 18-64 years old: 7-9 hours
- 65+: 7-8 hours
Many people drastically underestimate how much sleep they actually get. Fore example, some people will claim that they consistently get 5 hours of sleep every night or that they were awake for a week straight. Both claims are unrealistic and like to be false. People need a minimum of 4 hours per night just to survive, but not to thrive, and someone getting that much sleep would be needing hospitalization. So you can see how a "5 hour per night" claim simply wouldn't be possible. Also, the average person cannot stay up beyond 48 hours.
Anyone who surpasses 48-72 hours will certainly begin to experience increased
microsleep, a brief period of sleep or drowsiness that can last from a fraction of a second to several seconds. It can happen at any time of day, and people may not even realize that they are briefly falling asleep repeatedly. During microsleep, the brain will not process information, and the person may appear awake with their eyes open, but will lapse in attention. It is the body's way of recovering from the sleep deprivation and, yes, as the name suggests, it is a type of sleep.
As a result, it should be obvious to the reader why nobody can ever truly be awake for more than 72 hours before they start microsleeping (however, microsleep can begin within the 24 hours period, but my 72 hour example refers to a drug user on a stimulant, with the drug dramatically extending the amount of time before microsleep occurs; and it would occur in even the most stimulated drug addled individual by the 72 hour mark). So the next time your friend claims they were up for days on end, tell them to take their exaggerations elsewhere lol
Fun Fact: The world record for staying awake is 11 days 25 minutes, set by Randy Gardner in 1963. Gardner, a 17-year-old American, broke the previous record of 260 hours held by Tom Rounds, and reached the end of his 11-day experiment on January 8, 1964, after being awake for 264 hours. Gardner's experiment is one of the best-documented cases of sleep deprivation.
Fun Fact: If you doze for three seconds (driving) while going 96 kph (60 mph), you can travel 90 meters (300 feet) in the wrong direction or in the right direction without noticing a stopped vehicle or obstacle in front of you.