BODY WEIGHT:

140 lb

I've never done drugs, nor am I interested in them. When I turned 21 I thought I would try something. I decided to stay awake all night and see how I felt the next day. I had always heard that sleep deprivation would make my mind insane from a couple of people I knew, but I did it anyway. I did it, and I felt quite sane.

After staying up all night a couple of times I decided that I would make a lifestyle of it, for I believed that if I pushed my body in that way I would accomplish more in my life. I felt that I studied better and retained information easier by doing this.

After a few months of this I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. I couldnt sleep anymore. My heartrate was very fast and hard. When I did sleep I would wake up a few hours later, my heart racing and my mind in such a state of chaos that I did not know what to do. Im my mind I thought, in a week I will be fine. The week passed and I felt the same or worse. I was in this state of sleeplessness for a year. I dropped out of school and didnt work. My heart still pounded. I didnt have a moment of peace, in the day or night. My bed was like a fire, if that makes any sense. I couldnt stay in one place for any length of time. It was hell, real hell.

A year after that I could barely walk, I was delusional, and paranoid. My heart was weak from sleeplessness. I knew that I was dieing. To make a long story short, Im 24 now and feeling much stronger mentally and physically. My advice, if anyone wants it, is to never ever do what I did. Rest your body and mind as much as possible. Sleep deprivation will make you insane, for a while at least. In my case a damn eternity. I almost died. I did die in a way. Nearly four years of my life were in hell, and at the end of it I have nothing but the experience of it all and the knowledge to never do it again.

Exp Year: 2000	ExpID: 1336
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: May 6, 2001	Views: 8,744
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Sleep Deprivation (140) : Various (28), Health Problems (27), Difficult Experiences (5)