7d ago

I read a story in the DailyMail where a man intentionally stayed awake for so long that he just died. Wouldn't a person just fall unconscious at one point rather than die?

It’s believed we need sleep because of a waste product called adenosine builds up in our brains while we’re awake. When we’re unconscious the waste stops building up and the CSF in the brain gets rid of it. Adenosine is a CNS depressant and works on the same receptors as sleeping pills so wouldn't it be like the idea of holding your breath until you die, you'd just involuntarily pass out (as if you'd been given anaesthesia) and the problem would solve itself? I'm imagining a CNS depressant would cause unconsciousness long before it got to lethal levels.

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When reading anything published by The Daily Mail, it's best to assume that the story ranges between poorly reported and outright fabricated.
- It's baffling that anyone reads their articles, let alone posts them as a basis for debate on a scientific topic.
- This. It always baffled me why the BBC legitimises it by including it in the newspaper summaries. Might as well have included the Daily Sport.
  
  Are you telling me they didn't actually find a spitfire on the moon?

The article says it was combination of exhausion, alcohol and smoking.
before making any meaningful discussion we'd need to know first the exact cause of death.

When people have tried this they found you can't just stay awake. Your brain ends up turning bits of itself off at a time, so while you can talk and move around you're basically not fully conscious and will mix up words or not be able to move at the same time. They called it "microsleep", and it's the main reason why nobody tries to go for longer without sleep any more: beyond a certain point you're not really awake or asleep.
- I did 2 days once and I dont remember the hour long drive home from work at the end.

I cant comment on the dude in the article, cause I can't be arsed to read it but, what you described happened to me. Stayed up for 3 days straight and, according to the doctors, it caused an epileptic fit.
- Why were you up so long?
  
  Bro hes dead. He can't reply
  
  No particular reason, just having a good times with some mates and I took it a bit far.
  
  jerking off to pics of coconuts.
  edit: *in

I think once you have been awake past a certain point your brain becomes sort of desensitized to sleepiness and it gets easier to keep staying awake. Or at least that is how my brain is, things get weird but I will feel like I can keep going when I really shouldn't.
- Stayed awake for 4 days once. This was the case. After day 2 it was much easier.
- I have a similar experience keeping this waking state of mind, but the breadth of my vocabulary takes a steeep dive after a few days of only getting a few hours sleep (each night). I pretty much lose some capacity to form coherent speech, and when it happens in front of people, I try to blow it off like I just need ~~my ahlzemerszers meds~~ coffee

My non medical opinion is sleep is not the same as being unconscious.
- Ok but what’s your medical opinion?
  
  You should go see a professional medical practitioner to get proper medical advice.

It has to be case if it's written in the DailyMail!

I think heart problems could actually make it possible to hold your breath until you die. You wouldn't suffocate, but the stress on the heart would still kill you.
A drinker and a smoker? Probably stressed their heart too much.

Your article may be referring to this: Fatal Insomnia
- The Daily Mail story doesn't mention that. It says he stayed awake to watch the game.
  
  A game long enough that you die trying to finish watching it?
  This is why I hate baseball.

Maybe, maybe not. After too long of no sleep (around four days for me) I start to ache so much I need pain meds to sleep.

Here is a post discussing this
Edit: fixed link
- Shit link, it tries to get me to install "Voyager" on my phone.
  
  https://lemmy.cafe/post/16670432
  
  Sorry, I forgot the dev added that feature. It's annoying that the app didn't ask me before adding the redirect to the link

32 comments