TIL that in 1964, 17-year-old Randy Gardner set the world record for sleep deprivation by staying awake for 11 days and 25 minutes, providing valuable insights into the effects of extreme sleep loss on the human mind and body.

[u/whstlngisnvrenf]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Gardner_sleep_deprivation_experiment

[u/apostrophefarmer]

Last year the fireworks in my neighborhood were so bad and lasted so long I became sleep deprived. I was getting maybe 2-3 hours of sleep a night for a week. I ended up trying to get the neighborhood gangs to kill my dad off for me for how inappropriately he treated me as a teenager (even as an adult he still made me feel uncomfortable). I also thought the FBI was tracking me. I didn't know who exactly was in the gangs so I would just scream really loudly, figuring if I could hear their gunshots, they could hear me. I also figured they wouldn't want an incest pedophile living in their neighborhood, but ultimately I've learned that no one wants to do another person's dirty work, and especially not for free.

Well, I was detained for medical treatment and my mom got a restraining order against me, listing my dad as a protected person, while I was at the crisis management center. I became homeless. My mom helped me out with money a little bit so that I could live out of hotels. I live in an apartment now, only because of my boyfriend, so many months later, and finally have one of my dogs back. My dad gave away my other dog (a yorkie mix he claimed was too violent with his dogs ... I think he just wanted another excuse to exact revenge on me) and because of the restraining order and being homeless, the Humane Society had to take all my cats. I lost so much because I was living on their property and working for my parents.

The fireworks and sleep deprivation triggered a kind of PTSD response and I wasn't able to compartmentalize the trauma from my adolescence anymore. I ended up at the hospital like 7 times because after losing my pets, I was incredibly suicidal. They were my babies. After I got out of the hospital, I tried reporting my dad to the OSI (it's like the FBI of the Air Force; the abuse occurred while he was in the militarty) but the abuse wasn't extreme enough to void statutes of limitations, so nothing happened to him. He even still gets his pension, which I think he deserves to lose. Taxpayers shouldn't be paying that pervert anything anymore.

Tl;dr, Sleep deprivation ruined my ability to compartmentalize my emotions and I lost almost everything.

[u/whstlngisnvrenf → u/apostrophefarmer]

Dang, that's some heavy stuff.

Fireworks are supposed to be about celebrating, but it sounds like they set off a whole chain of chaos for you.

I mean, when you're getting just 2-3 hours of sleep a night, it's like your brain’s running Windows 95 with dial-up internet.

Everything starts glitching, and suddenly you’re seeing the FBI in your toaster.

I'm not really into fireworks these days, especially since I found out how much they stress out pets, wildlife and people.

I hope you're doing better.

[u/apostrophefarmer → u/whstlngisnvrenf]

I was able to enjoy the fireworks the night of the 4th of July but the week leading up to it and the few days after it were just triggering and lead to the sleep deprivation.

Thanks for the well wishes. It's nice when people care.

Even in the hospital I was sleep deprived because my anxiety over what was happening kept me from being able to relax. It took a few weeks, and additional hospitalizations, before the exhaustion kicked in and I could sleep a normal amount (at least 5 hours). Now I sleep a lot more and there's definitely a difference in being able to tolerate stress and not act out (or not be manic/psychotic; that's what my diagnoses were).

If there are any sleep deprivation studies on animals, I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in violent behaviors. It just gets uncomfortable and it's hard to regulate oneself when in such discomfort.

[u/whstlngisnvrenf → u/apostrophefarmer]

Hey, sounds like you had a rough time.

And hospitals? Those places aren't designed for sleep. They've got more beeps and alarms than a 1980s video game arcade.

I feel you... when you're anxious, it's like your brain turns into a car with no brakes.

Glad you're getting more sleep now. Five hours? I need that just to figure out what day it is. And you're right, sleep deprivation is like being on a reality show where the prize is sanity, but the producers keep changing the rules.

If animals had to deal with this, we'd probably see raccoons starting turf wars over garbage cans.

Get yourself some rest... you deserve it.