Astoundingly, a Hungarian soldier named Paul K. went without sleep for 40 years.
Paul served in the Hungarian military during World War I.
He was fighting on the front lines in 1915 when he was shot in the head by a Russian bullet.
The bullet entered his head in his right temple, knocking him out.
He was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.
When the bullet was removed, doctors were also forced to remove part of his frontal lobe.
This is the part of the brain that plays a role in simple activities such as movement, emotions, and behavior.
Yet, when Paul awoke at the hospital he didn’t have any long-term complications.
Except one…
So, after recovering from his gunshot wound Paul left the military and returned to civilian life.
But he soon realized that he had lost the ability to sleep.
Not just that, he didn’t even have the desire to sleep.
At times Paul tried to force himself to sleep but found that more stressful than just staying awake and not worrying about it.
Now, sleep deprivation is both physically and mentally dangerous.
Our bodies need sleep and lack of sleep can take a deadly toll on a person’s health.
Yet, Paul never experienced any medical or cognitive issues from his inability to sleep.
His issue for Paul was being awake for 24 hours a day.
He now struggled with having an extra 8 hours every day to occupy himself.
Paul was able to live a mostly normal life without ever sleeping again. He spent his extra time reading.
For about one hour every day, he would close his eyes to give his optic nerves a rest.
If he didn’t do this, he would experience headaches.
Throughout the remainder of his life, many people were skeptical of Paul not sleeping.
However, he traveled the world and was willing to let any doctor examine him to ensure he was being truthful.
And no one ever observed Paul sleeping again.
Now, staying awake for you and me is a lot more challenging than it was for Paul.
But the day might come when staying awake could save your life – such as having guard duty during an emergency.
So, here are a few things you can do to enable yourself to stay awake when it’s a necessity.
Test yourself:
One of the first things to do is to test yourself so you know if you can stay awake when needed.
It’s not as easy as it sounds so you need to try it out to prepare your brain.
So, one night practice watching out your house windows for dangers.
Don’t use a TV, smartphone, or radio to pass the time.
No light or sound.
Start small by doing it for two hours.
Once you can do it for two hours try four hours next time.
Build it up each time.
Be prepared:
If you are going to be practicing staying awake there are ways to prepare yourself for the long night.
One thing you can do is have plenty of liquids on hand such as soda, energy drinks, or whatever you prefer.
The colder the drink the better at keeping you awake. Also, sip the liquids slowly.
Have snacks on hand that you can eat slowly over time. Eat snacks that have caffeine or sugar and that can be chewed on for a bit like candy.
Another option is dried fruit or nuts. They can be chewed on over a while.
Work your mind:
Boredom is the enemy of staying awake.
So, while you are staring out the window you should do things to keep your brain engaged.
For instance, you can do multiplication problems.
Count from 1,000 backwards or sing a song like “99 bottles of beer.”
Another idea is to sing songs over and over until you get the lyrics right. Once you have one song down, pick another one to perfect.
Lastly, control the temperature where you are and make it a bit uncomfortable.
Making yourself a bit uncomfortable can help keep you awake.
For instance, if you have air conditioning, keep it colder than you normally do.
You could also play a card game like a memory game, or even solitaire.
The idea is to use simple mechanisms to stay awake and alert.
The biggest challenge to staying awake is complacency. If you get too comfortable or relaxed, you will fall asleep.
So, if you haven’t tried staying awake to test yourself, it’s worth practicing.
It will help you understand the way sleep deprivation affects your body.
Now, there’s a simple way to help pass the time on guard duty or during an emergency…
It actually boosts your brain’s recall and cognition power…
“Installs” vital self-defense and survival wisdom directly into your mind, so you’ll have it immediately if you ever need it…
And it’s great for passing the time – whether alone or with friends.
