In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night

In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night — page 3
Sleep UNCOVERED In 1964 an American teenager named Randy Gardner wanted to do something exciting for his science fair project He decided to try to break the Guinness World Record for staying awake the longest which meant going without any sleep at all for 11 whole days and nights If you've ever tried to stay awake for one night at a sleepover you'll know what Randy was getting himself into Randy didn't find the first couple of sleepless nights too difficult Friends helped him stay alert by playing games and sports with him talking to him and encouraging him to take cold showers when he needed to perk up But the longer Randy stayed awake the more he began to struggle Randy managed to break the world record and win the science fair by staying awake for 264 straight hours amazing More important though Randy's experiment helped scientists confirm just how necessary sleep is for humans While we're sleeping our bodies and brains perform tasks that help us function at our best while we're awake So how exactly does sleep work What's really going on on the inside when we appear mostly still and quiet on the outside Tights Out Guinness World Records no longer keeps track of the longest time spent awake Because long periods of sleeplessness can be dangerous for humans Guinness didn't want to encourage other people to try the same experiment Randy did