Sleep fast?

[QuickTwist]

I am wondering what the effects of staying awake for long periods of time followed by a long time sleeping does.

Say the ratio is the same, 1:3. So if I stay awake for 36 hours then sleep for 24 would the rest I get be sufficient? Would it still work for your brain to solve all those problems that you are trying to subconsciously figure out? I'm asking because I usually stay awake for close to 24 hours and then get about 16 hours of sleep.

So does it work the same?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

IIRC it's possible for the body to not be able to recover lost sleep, but I don't know the exact numbers.

Also sleeping for a prolonged period of time isn't necessarily healthy.

 

[computerhxr]

How do you define sleep? If you are conscious 24/7 but you lay in bed to regenerate, is that sleep?

I have my first "real" sleep experience when I was 12 or so. I laid down for what I thought was 20 minutes, and it had been 24 hours + 20 minutes. Lolz!

Sleeping for long periods of time is usually a sign of depression.

 

[Yellow]

...Say the ratio is the same, 1:3. So if I stay awake for 36 hours then sleep for 24 would the rest I get be sufficient? Would it still work for your brain to solve all those problems that you are trying to subconsciously figure out? I'm asking because I usually stay awake for close to 24 hours and then get about 16 hours of sleep.

So does it work the same?

It does not work the same. Remember that our sleep/wake patterns are driven by the planet on which we evolved. We are diurnal animals that work on 24 hour (roughly) cycles. Our bodies and minds must follow the sun in order to maintain healthy function.

So while you may get along fine in a 24 hour awake/16 hour asleep pattern for a while (and for a shorter length of time a 36 awake/24 asleep pattern) if you can consistently sleep that long, your body may crash and force you to go back to normal, or you may develop/exacerbate physical and/or mental health issues.

On the other hand, I had a great-uncle who supposedly went 50+ years on only 3 hours of sleep weekdays and 10 hours of sleep Friday and Saturday night. He lived to be 92. Though I have a theory about that.

Spoiler

As we age, sleep is decreasingly restorative. This may be for a number of reasons and I wonder if one reason is an increase in sedentary habits. It is therefore possible that his higher-than-average activity level helped him retain a more restorative sleep and therefore he needed less of it. Also, he may have been a vampire (as was evidenced by his daily consumption of authentic blood pudding.)

 

[onesteptwostep]

It's really bad for your health though. I had heartaches after a couple times of this.. not a good experience. I don't sleep for 16 hours though, maybe 12.