Randy Gardner Sleep Deprivation Experiment
by johnataylor · 6 things on NewTwos
- Randy Gardner (born c. 1946) is an American man from San Diego, California, who once held the record for the longest amount of time a human has gone without sleep. In December 1963/January 1964, 17-year-old Gardner stayed awake for 11 days and 24 minutes (264.4 hours), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by Tom Rounds.
Gardner’s record was then broken multiple times until 1997, when Guinness World Records ceased accepting new attempts for safety reasons. At that point, the record was held by Robert McDonald at 18 days and 21 hours (453 hours and 40 minutes).
Gardner's record attempt was attended by Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William C. Dement, while his health was monitored by Lt. Cmdr. John J. Ross. A log was kept by two of Gardner's classmates from Point Loma High School, Bruce McAllister and Joe Marciano Jr. Accounts of Gardner's sleep deprivation experience and medical response became widely known among the sleep research community.
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- "Although Gardner's record was broken within the same year, his experiment is one of the most well-documented cases of sleep deprivation. It supported later studies of 'microsleeps.' According to Guinness World Records, microsleeps are 'momentary lapses into sleep that last for just a few seconds.'"