There is a reason why they call rest beauty sleep, and it’s because sleep deprivation causes havoc on the body. For those struggling with insomnia, you may want to skip this video as it showcases some pretty scary consequences of not getting enough sleep. In the first 18 hours of being awake, you are more susceptible to a heart attack. You also build up pro-inflammatory proteins and the number of immune cells begins to decrease, making you vulnerable to diseases. After 24 hours of sleep deprivation, you begin to lose focus and memory. It’s almost as if you’re drunk. In fact, according to the CDC, staying awake for 24 hours is similar to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10 percent, which is higher than the 0.08 percent legal limit. This is also where microsleep kicks in. These are short bursts of sleep that you don’t even realize are happening, which can leave you disoriented. If that sounds scary, it’s because it is. You can likely faint or fall during these microsleeps. When you’ve been awake for 36 hours, what happens next? What about the 48-hour, 72-hour, and 96-hour milestones? How long is the longest anyone has gone without sleep and what happened to them? What can you do to get a good night’s sleep and avoid sleep deprivation?
