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"I've run through three nights without sleep and the third night of sleepless running was a bit psychotic. I actually experienced bouts of 'sleep running', wher

"I've run through three nights without sleep and the third night of sleepless running was a bit psychotic. I actually experienced bouts of 'sleep running', where I was falling asleep while in motion, and I just willed myself to keep going." That sounds quite dangerous. Not only mentally, but I'd be concerned of a sudden lapse of physical control and smashing my skull onto the pavement. Then again, I'd never have to worry about that because I don't have that level of extreme determination. Very impressive.

Filligree 13y ago
Odd things can happen if you drive your brain out of gamut, but I'm not very worried about that. The motor parts of the brain don't seem to do 'sleep', so much; they get disconnected using a master switch, but not immediately, so your falling reflexes should stick around.
eCa 13y ago
Yes, its dangerous. I once did a 400+k bike ride, and after ~350k (18 hours after starting) I fell asleep for just a couple of seconds. Waking up halfway across the road (middle of the night - no traffic) was quite the eye opener. Had I leaned the other way I would have ended up in the ditch.. I was very alert for the remaining few hours, and never felt the need to do another such ride. Of course, running has less risks than biking. But still, falling while running could have real bad consequences.
steverb 13y ago
I've experienced sleep running while in the military during training exercises. In one they kept us going for a week on minimal sleep (four hours of "rest" out of every twenty-four). On day four I fell asleep while running in formation at night and woke up 5 or so hours later as I was being roused for my guard rotation. My "battle buddy" said I didn't behave any differently than usual, just quiet. All told, I blacked out for about a half-hour. My experience wasn't uncommon, I'd say about 10% of us experienced something similar during that particular exercise. The human body is an amazing machine.

Filligree 13y ago

Odd things can happen if you drive your brain out of gamut, but I'm not very worried about that. The motor parts of the brain don't seem to do 'sleep', so much; they get disconnected using a master switch, but not immediately, so your falling reflexes should stick around.

eCa 13y ago

Yes, its dangerous. I once did a 400+k bike ride, and after ~350k (18 hours after starting) I fell asleep for just a couple of seconds. Waking up halfway across the road (middle of the night - no traffic) was quite the eye opener. Had I leaned the other way I would have ended up in the ditch.. I was very alert for the remaining few hours, and never felt the need to do another such ride. Of course, running has less risks than biking. But still, falling while running could have real bad consequences.

steverb 13y ago

I've experienced sleep running while in the military during training exercises. In one they kept us going for a week on minimal sleep (four hours of "rest" out of every twenty-four). On day four I fell asleep while running in formation at night and woke up 5 or so hours later as I was being roused for my guard rotation. My "battle buddy" said I didn't behave any differently than usual, just quiet. All told, I blacked out for about a half-hour. My experience wasn't uncommon, I'd say about 10% of us experienced something similar during that particular exercise. The human body is an amazing machine.