What If You Could Stay Awake Forever?

What if you never needed sleep again? Eight extra hours every day sounds like a superpower… until 3:12 a.m. Max can't sleep. Not tired, not sleepy, not even a yawn. That's 2,920 extra hours a year, every sunrise, every night alone. But the brain does more than rest while you sleep, and what happens when you never dream turns a superpower into a life-or-death choice. An animated "what if" story about staying awake forever, the science of sleep, and the one person who knocks back. Chapters: 00:00 It's 3 a.m. and you're wide awake 00:53 The one rule 01:07 A cheat code: 8 extra hours a day 02:32 Every sunrise of the year 03:27 The sleep clinic 04:02 The hidden cost: no dreams 04:50 Mia and the three knocks 05:34 3:12 a.m.: real smoke or a dream? 07:01 Fire! 07:35 Everyone is out 08:19 Is any of this real? 08:48 Someone knocks The real science: Most adults need 7–9 hours of sleep a night; teenagers need even more. In 2013 scientists found that during sleep the spaces between brain cells open up and fluid washes waste away. Most dreams happen in REM sleep. In 1964, 17-year-old Randy Gardner stayed awake for about 11 days and began seeing things that weren't there. Dolphins rest one half of their brain at a time. Real tip: test your smoke alarm once a month. What would you do with 8 extra hours a day? Tell us in the comments, and tell us which superpower we should do next. Subscribe for your next trip to What IfLand.