How do I survive on no sleep?

[molester jester]

Coffee - not too much
music - headphones in and play it loud
and stay active if you spend time to much time sitting down you will probably fall asleep

 

[omega 616]

You all sound like you have pretty normal sleep patterns, well done.

Mine are shot to hell, I can go from sleeping 16 hours to sleeping 4 hours then back to 16, I can stay awake as long as 4 days, at the moment I sleep because I should not because I am tired.

On topic. don't go into work if you work in an office or similar place (such as school or college) you will just end up drifting off.

People who are saying red bull actually mean any energy drink. (red bull is a massive rip off, V is much better for you, some of the vitamins it has in it are over 200% of your RDA ... vitamin B12 is 1095% RDA, Seriously!)

 

[Emperor Inferno]

Jumping jacks. Get the blood pumping, heart rate up, burn a calorie or two to produce energy. Pretty much any good cardio work out is a good way to generate natural energy and keep awake.

 

[Manbro]

I once stayed awake so long that I got really paranoid and thought a poster on the wall was trying to steal my soul...or something along those lines. No joke, I literally destroyed one of the posters on my wall cause it was a 'soul-sucking demon'. It was particualarly hard to explain it to the friend who bought me the poster as a gift.

EDIT: Anyway, the point of that story was to illustrate the dangers of staying awake too long, and that it could be very harmful to you, or your sanity...or your posters.

 

[Jaranja]

Sleep deprivation can eventually lead to psychological issues and death, but thats only if you don't sleep for a few days, I forget the exact number look it up.

OP: Take a cold shower

I'm thinking 9 days.

 

[Carboncrown]

1.get a electric lighter
2.brake it(adrenaline from the fear of it blowing up on your face)
3.take the thing that makes the spark
4.shock therapy

 

[willsham45]

coffee red bull...anything with caffine in it should do...that or sleep

 

[AquaAscension]

I believe Mythbusters did something with feeling less drunk after some heavy drinking, and the effects of both sleep loss and heavy drinking are somewhat similar, so I'd refer you to the omnibus of knowledge that is Mythbusters.

1. Cardio - They ran on a treadmill for a few minutes (worked very well)
2. Cold stuff - Dunked heads into freezing water (worked okay)
3. Coffee - Drank coffee (didn't work out all that well)

The difference really being that you can't wait for sleepiness to ameliorate itself.

But, pretty much whatever everyone else has already ninja mentioned (minus the opiates, stay away from those).

 

[Admiral Stukov]

I pull all-nighters regulary. Caffiene, sugar and training are the key factors.
However I would not recomend the third, I pull all-nighters because I study at Universety and lack the time to study during my normal waking hours.

 

[Raven's Nest]

Stay awake for 2 days straight then go paintballing... It's fucked up!

 

[Christemo]

take a hot shower, then go to bed. it WILL make you sleep.

either that, or take a sleep pill.

 

[Rock 'n' Soul]

There is no way around it. I pull all-nighters a few times a year and it's miserable. The best thing to do is enjoy being up early enough for breakfast. But, you're still going to hate life until you fall asleep.

 

[Dark Prophet]

12h of sleep for the entire week, so about 1.7h per day, I think. Had work from 9A.M to 5P.M, rest was up time with gaming and other things and a small nap before going to work. I was extremly fcked up after that, basicly everything starting from motor skills was hampered. Not very pleasent, I do not recomend doing such things.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

There is unfortunately no substitute for sleep. As you deprive yourself you will gradually lose your high level brain functions that first expresses itself as an inability to concentrate. The effect is similar to imbibing alcohol - the longer you go the worse the impairment will become. As such, you can continue moving without rest until it kills you but you'll become less functional as you do so.

If the goal is simply "keep moving", then you have a number of options. The biggest key is simply stay mobile as it is just shy of impossible to fall asleep if you continue a random movement pattern. Walking/running in a straight line or the like will not help - it is entirely possible to fall asleep in such a state once your sleep deprivation reaches a certain critical mass. Alternately, introduction of sustained quantities of adrenaline and sugar into your system will do the trick in a pinch, but no doctor would recommend this approach for days on end as the stress on the heart of example can be extreme. The easiest way to do this is continually imbibe large quantities of sugar and caffine (caffine actually stimulates the adrenal gland, and the result is a quicker metabolization of sugar in the system. The rapid drop in blood sugar is what actually causes a crash). There is a danger of course beyond the obvious. Imbibing too much sugar will cause a similar problem as having too little sugar. Worse still, maintaining a high blood glucose level for long periods can lead to serious long term health effects (diabetis among others). The chemical route is a losing battle regardless and will actually hasten your death and/or sleep.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

I've found that whenever I have to stay functional on little to no sleep, it helps to have a cup of cold water on hand so I can splash it on my eyes (helps to alleviate the bleary eye issue). Cool air blowing in your face is another good way to help stay alert when you'd really rather be asleep but shouldn't try (like while driving, that would be bad).

 

[Dimbo_Sama]

You go to sleep

 

[Lazy Lemon]

Crack, PMA, Crystal Meth etc.

Just going to sleep is probably easier though.

 

[ScruffyTheJanitor]

nap... or a few cups of coffee... the latter not being recommended. Trust me, you will feel like a groggy pile on the floor at the end of it.

If you can take a nap, do so, but try not to sleep for too long... you still want a regular sleeping pattern.