Insomnia Forum Posting

Posted by A-B on August 11, 2002 at 23:17:37:

In Reply to: More musings on life without sleep posted by Neil on August 11, 2002 at 18:39:02:

Insomnia truly is the "new disease" of our generation, although I have no doubt that many people in years gone by have been locked in mental asylums because of it! I have had to take time off work on numerous occasions because I simply haven't been able to function due to lack of sleep, and although there seems to be a growing awareness of the effects of sleep deprivation, calling in sick because you are "too tired" (..read: going totally out of your mind because you have only slept 2hrs a night for the past 3 weeks..) is just not an option. I don't drive at all because I know I don't have the concentration or the motor skills required to be a safe driver (..I'm also just a really bad driver..), which has severely stunted my career options and also put an extra burden on my family and friends since they are always running me around. However - who are we to complain?

I watched an extremely interesting documentary during an international flight (..hands up anyone who can sleep on a plane!!..) on sleep disorders, which had a segment on a radio announcer in the 50's (..I think..), who in the name of charity decided to break the world record for consecutive hours spent without sleep (at that time I think it was around 120 - 5 days, although I'm sure many of you feel you could probably contest that). After about 70 hours of no sleep he started suffering severe hallucinations, as his brain automatically went into the REM dream state, even though he was still awake and concious. His friends, family and collegues also watched him go from a very happy, upbeat person, to one who was very mean, paranoid, short-tempered... and even after he returned to his normal sleep patterns, his personality was never quite the same (..sorry for the ending..). Anyway - he broke the record, but if he suffered such extreme behavioural and psychological problems from being deprived of sleep after just 3 days, is it any wonder the rest of us are going through our own personal version of hell (..although, who are we to complain?..).

Sure, insomnia might not have killed anyone, but I think we all know it has almost certainly been a driving force behind many deaths - so why does it not receive the recognition it deserves?

Which reminds me, has anyone seen "Fight Club"? It's a bit extreme, but the whole battle the leading character has with his problems with insomnia really struck a chord with me (..my dark sense of humour strikes again!..).

Anyway, enough from me.

Wishing you all plenty of zzzzzzzzz's

A-B

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: More musings on life without sleep Rachel 09:59 8/12/02 (0)

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