How much sleep deprivation can a normal person handle?

[523206720]

The most I ever went without sleep was around 40 hours which seems bad and at the time I thought my life was in danger but I guess it's not that dangerous since pregnant woman routinely go 72 hours without sleep when they are in the process of labour and giving birth. Also my cousin who recently had a baby - her parents wake up 5 times in one night to change diapers and feed the baby so I guess human beings were designed to handle seep deprivation quite well. It's a necessary part of child birth and a necessary part of weaning the child.

[mydestiny]

People have gone for days without sleeping.
The two reason what I can comprehend why people just go through whole day unabated without sleeping is because of work/study or because of a period of tension apart from the pregnant woman that you have mentioned.
Very few people will voluntarily not sleep without any reason. If someone is awake for 20 hours give him 5 minutes of boredom and he will start dozing instantly.
I have done 72 hours straight because of work but after then the people who saw me could not recognized me. I was like a person who has drunk to his limits and after that somebody has hit me left and right.. LOL.

Its hard to specify one number. It all depends upon the occasion. Any average person I think can go for 2-3 days definitely without sleeping if the occasion requires..

[Hans222]

The longest I have done (more than 15 years ago) is 2 days + 2 nights, so about 48 hours.
I was not on purpose, but I used to go away by bus from time to time and the bus rides were at night. And no way I could manage to sleep on a bus. I tried but it never worked. So 2 nights without sleep.
And I survived but was happy when after the second night I came home. To dive into my bed for 8 to 10 hours at least...

[Hans222]

Thanks for the most helpful :-)

[harakiri]

I lasted like 54 hours once. But I was... like thrumming towards the last few hours. I felt like electricity was moving through me, everything was raw.

[SomethingWicked]

I went 122hrs and started hallucinating, I would NOT recommend it.

[jointhepatriarchy]

What did you hallucinate?

[SomethingWicked]

Well, it began with auditory hallucinations and I thought my dead grandad was talking to me and then shouting at me, the sensory hallucinations of 1000's of mites crawling all over me, then the visual hallucinations began, bizarre does not even begin to describe them. At one point I'd honestly thought I'd killed two babies that didn't quiet look like babies, but did, it's hard to explain.

[aficionado]

I have suffered from insomnia for most part of my life, so I have gone more than 60 hours without sleep on several occasions. It didn't do any long term harm to my health, though.

[wowzer]

The record is over 11 days, but it's quite easy to clock up 2 days. You can't really function though, so time is better spent sleeping.

[jointhepatriarchy]

I went over 48 hours once and my eyes were burning horribly and I felt like a zombie.

[Anonymous]

I don't know, but personally if I don't sleep for 48 hours I'll faint lol

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone choose to do that unless they're on drugs