what is the most tired a human being can possibly be

redhead

So I have just decided to do something that will probably make me the most exhausted I've been in... a while.

A couple days ago I was invited to a forest party/kinda-rave in Santa Cruz taking place Saturday night, starting at midnight. That sounds awesome and I'll get to see some friends I haven't hung out with in a while, so of course I said yes.

This morning, my mom called me to tell me my grandpa had died. Though sad, this is not entirely unexpected as his health had been deteriorating steadily for a while. We are flying out to Michigan on Wednesday. Obviously, this meant I wouldn't be attending the party. And anyway, how could I even think of such a thing when I should be mourning? I totally did immediately think of that, though. I am a bad grandson.

But just now, many hours later, I looked at our flight departure and arrival times for the trip back and... I can actually do this. It is going to make me extremely fucking exhausted, but it will probably be worth it. So here's the schedule (all times in PST, even when I'll be in Michigan).

7:00am - wake up in Michigan, get ready to leave, go to airport
8:45am - flight leaves from Detroit
*bunch of flying bullshit goes here, including a long-ass layover in Dallas*
7:15pm - finally arrive at San Jose airport after already having been awake/traveling for 12 hours
8:15pm - arrive at my parents' house
*Shower, eat something quick, pack some clothes. Coffee. Start driving to Berkeley*
9:30pm - arrive in Berkeley, pick up girlfriend. Start driving to Santa Cruz
~11pm - arrive in SC. Receive directions to party, drive there.
12am - having been awake and traveling continuously for the last 15 hours, drink and take drugs and dance to loud music in the woods for 5 hours
5am - go sleep at a friend's apartment

Sounds great, right? I have a feeling I am going to be utterly whooped.

Things this thread could be about:

• Traveling
• Exhaustion
• Parties
• Drugs
• Sleeping?
• Whether this plan is stupid and I'm going to be way more exhausted than is worth it

YOU DECIDE

Hacksaw

Do it.

Marth

I haven't been on a plane in years. I can still get some enjoyment out of the experience. Next time I fly, I think I'll take Louis CK literally.

Depressperado

you can do it, I believe in you.

this is the way to give someone a proper send-off

Samir Duran Duran

Its a good thing you post here Redhead.

Otherwise we would probably look like a bunch of nerds or something. Crisis averted!

redhead

Samir Duran Duran wrote: »

Its a good thing you post here Redhead.

Otherwise we would probably look like a bunch of nerds or something. Crisis averted!

i actually have a secret plan to make this thread about competitive quake/smash if it ever hits page 10

Samir Duran Duran

Marth wrote: »

I haven't been on a plane in years. I can still get some enjoyment out of the experience. Next time I fly, I think I'll take Louis CK literally.

I'm pretty sure airport security can kill the party in anyone these days.

Didgeridoo

You, uh

might want to wake up a bit earlier on the first day that you leave for the airport. Security is always a major timesink

Godspeed though, dude

Flay

My record for being awake is 38 hours. The next day we moved in to our new apartment, which involved carrying all of our stuff up three flights of stairs.

Hank_Scorpio

I've stayed awake for 30-34 hours straight a few times, just a few days ago most recently. Every time it happens by the night of the second day I sleep at least 12 hours and it feels like it goes by in a split second.

Tossrock

be a pimp, before you go, learn to do this

also, do stimulants. modafinil if you can get your hands on it, or adderall if not. sleep is for babbies.

Tossrock

also be sure to shffl

L|ama

about this time last year I flew from dunedin to wellington (a couple of hours) for a Meshuggah show, was really hungry but then went to eat a burger and putting food in my mouth made me wanna puke so went to a backpackers and slept for about half an hour and felt a bit better

then I went to the show that went until like 1am and stayed up near the front for about half of it. Got up at about 6am the next day to fly back down and go to lectures because it was the start of the semester and I thought it might be important. Ended up going to sit in the library for the hour I had free after my first lecture and slept for like 3 hours.

facetious

I've randomly stayed up around 60 hours straight before.

It was, uh.

Weird.

I giggled a lot.

Monkeyfeet

cool story bro?

Tossrock

funnily enough, that guy is also a pretty competitive smasher

not like, tourney competitive, but he can kick my ass

L|ama

I don't get how the fuck people can stay awake for more than a day at a time without medical problems causing it

whenever I try it to get my sleep schedule close to normal, I end up falling asleep wherever I sit down at about 12pm the next day

Monkeyfeet

24 hours is about all I can do and that requires serious caffeine intake. And I feel a bit loopy by the end of it

Zonugal

Last year during finals week I probably pushed myself to its limits.

I worked around a 100-hour week while finishing up my final papers & projects. I wrote my 15 page final paper on Nietzsche in three hours on three hours of sleep than immediately wrote my eight page final paper on Hegelian philosophy in two hours. The next day I had to email the paper to my professor because my eyes were burning, even when shut. It hurt to visualize things...

Also while all of this was being done I was working on my second video entry for the Forum Battles and moving out of my apartment into a new apartment.

Blake T

I did around around 38 or so hours last week with maybe half an hour of sleep.

It was for getting to Auspax and getting drunk at Auspax. It wasn't too bad.

Ringo

L|ama wrote: »

I don't get how the fuck people can stay awake for more than a day at a time without medical problems causing it

whenever I try it to get my sleep schedule close to normal, I end up falling asleep wherever I sit down at about 12pm the next day

Eventually I reach this point where I feel like I am too tired to fall asleep. It is exactly what I think being a zombie must feel like. You're completely out of energy, but you're possesed of the overriding notion that you can't stop moving.

Usually I can ride that for about twelve hours, but at that point I could fall asleep while walking and talking.

L|ama

maybe I'll go to grad school and do adderall and find out about that

Hank_Scorpio

Travelling internationally alone and editing a movie were two of the memorable times I went 30+ hours without sleep. Having something exciting to do that pushes you forward is what does it.

Karl

Sleep on the plane/during the layover between Detroit and San Jose.

And the problem has solved itself.

redhead

Karl wrote: »

Sleep on the plane/during the layover between Detroit and San Jose.

And the problem has solved itself.

oh, i plan to do that as much as i possibly can

i'm pretty sure i'll still be completely destroyed, though

Zonugal

For the past four years I have done a volunteer stint at the same summer camp and it tends to be a test of endurance.

A pretty common week is something akin to this.
Monday: 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Tuesday: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Wednesday: 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Thursday: 7 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Friday: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

During the time we are awake we are active for the entire time. We get a single two hour break during the week for ourselves, which we are commonly pressured into using to hangout with some other groups or do more decorations for the cabin. All together we'll put in around 87 hours of pure work with 17 hours of sleep in effectively four & a half days. Most of us lose our voices come Thursday evening or develop extreme signs of the flu.

facetious

Ringo wrote: »

Eventually I reach this point where I feel like I am too tired to fall asleep.

I too have experienced this phenomenon!

M.D.

ugh 2 more horus of work, and I didnt sleep any last night and argh

i'm drinking these red bull cola things and they are pretty gross, I wanted to try it cause I dislike regular redbulls taste and that was a poor decision

Day of the Bear

Having to edit a student film when the rest of my team ditched me and it was due the next morning. I think all told that ended up something like 35 hours of no sleep and actual doing stuff.

Karl

facetious wrote: »

Ringo wrote: »

Eventually I reach this point where I feel like I am too tired to fall asleep.

I too have experienced this phenomenon!

I've also been there. Its the stage after the "i feel so tired i actually feel like i've been drinking" stage.

Its like my body has activated some kind of back up power that though keeps me going, is really hard to turn off when i can finally get some sleep.

Also when this is happening, i am the very definition of "the lights are on but nobody is home"

Zonugal

I think the worst part of fatigue for me is the feeling of a thousand scarabs constantly feeding on my naked body.

That is the only way to describe it!

Day of the Bear

That is the phase which, later, you don't really recall what you were doing, but fortunately you managed to finish driving home/writing that paper anyway.

redhead

Tossrock wrote: »

also be sure to shffl

i'm the marth

the fox is [VIDURL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeR68yUhVNY&feature=player_detailpage#t=791s"]all my haters[/VIDURL]

M.D.

i think the worst thing is when you finally fall asleep after being pretty exhausted and then wake up later feeling like you never fell asleep

Day of the Bear

Falling asleep after being up for way too long then having to wake up again too soon is terrible.

Conversely finally getting to sleep after forever and just sleeping for a solid twelve hours with nothing to do that day feels amazing.

The Truffle Shuffle

I did three days with no sleep once. The last Harry Potter book came out the same weekend I was being trained to operate the Pirates of the Carribean ride at DLR, and I started the whole thing off by going to the midnight release for the book I would come home from work and read until it was time to drive back to work. Looking back, I realize how lucky I was that I didn't nod off on the freeway.

ASimPerson

A friend of mine told me he once tried to stay up for as long as possible to see what would happen.

After a few days, he started to hallucinate. Around day 5, he hallucinated the floor had become a swimming pool and "dove" in. He hit the ground, passed out, and woke up like 24 hours later.

Karl

Jesus, i'm so bad with sleep deprivation.

I pulled an all-nighter after a full day at uni to finish an essay. Finished at about 6 in the morning. I remember this because i was having a lively debate about the pro's and con's of Machiavelli and his views on politics.

Then i realised i was talking to my fucking printer.

Ringo

redhead wrote: »

Karl wrote: »

Sleep on the plane/during the layover between Detroit and San Jose.

And the problem has solved itself.

oh, i plan to do that as much as i possibly can

i'm pretty sure i'll still be completely destroyed, though

My main thing about doing this is just realize: You may be too tired to have as much fun as you thought you would have. Expectations can be a bitch. Go into this thinking "This is worth it just to say I did it" and you should be alright no matter how miserable you feel

Raneados

7 am to 2 am ain;t that bad, even with all the traveling

planes are for napping, layovers are for napping, car rides are for napping

eassssssy

Liiya

Last Mother's Day I got up at 5am to get to work at 7:30am and then worked through the day until 1:30am of the next day, got into bed at 2:30 then got up at 6:00am to be at work at 8:30am again the same day where I worked until 5:00pm. I did not sit down once while working.

So it can be done!