The Dangers of Being Really, Really Tired

Sleepy Dog Millionare writes "Brian Palmer, writing for Slate, asks 'Can you die from lack of sleep?' and shockingly, the answer may very well be Yes, you can. Palmer points to 'ground breaking experiments' in the area of sleep research. It turns out that sleep deprivation can actually be deadly in rats. The obvious conclusion is that it is probably deadly in all mammals. So the next time you think you need to pull multiple all-night hack-a-thons, ask yourself if it's worth risking your life for."

Comments

Re:Sleep deprivation is very serious

[MindlessAutomata]

No, seriously, look it up for yourself--we do not even really know why we sleep. As I mentioned, there is a huge confound between sleep deprivation being the actual cause and stress from lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation taken alone may not be what kills you. I am not so impressed by you trotting out an expert because there is no universal agreement in the field of sleep studies.

There are also the occasional strange case studies where some people need little-to-no sleep at all and apparently do just fine.

As for sleep apnea, I was thinking more along the lines of sleep studies where people went long periods without sleep, not chronic sleep deprivation, so I am probably wrong there.

Your anecdote isn't worth that much. Your last statement almost reminds me of some of the people that argue for homeopathy.

Re:If I were sleep deprived

[flappinbooger]

"It does if you increase your hourly rate."

Ummm, yes, my hourly rate to code this massive programming project is $50 per hour.

If you want me to SLEEP, though, you need to pay me $75 per hour.

Mmmm Kay?