What Happens If You Don't Sleep for 7 Days?

In 1963, a 17-year-old stayed awake for 11 days straight. By the end, he couldn't count backwards from 100. So what would happen to you after just 7 days? Follow Hugo through 168 sleepless hours, day by day. On day one, the brain chemical adenosine builds up and caffeine only hides it. By day two, parts of your brain start "napping" without asking, and microsleeps take over. Waste builds up in the brain, the body's hormones go out of balance, and by day four the hallucinations begin. We also look at how Randy Gardner recovered, and why short nights may be the real danger. Sources: Ross 1965 (Archives of Neurology) · Williamson & Feyer 2000 · Vyazovskiy et al. 2011 (Nature) · Yoo et al. 2007 · Xie et al. 2013 (Science) · Shokri-Kojori et al. 2018 (PNAS) · Spiegel et al. 1999 & 2004 · Prather et al. 2015 · Waters et al. 2018 · Vaccaro et al. 2020 (Cell) · Van Dongen et al. 2003 (Sleep). This video is for education only and is not medical advice. Don't try this at home. #sleep #brain #science #explainer