Wyatt Shaw still holds the record for longest sleep which is 11 days.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Kleine-Levin Syndrome generally strikes adolescents. People who have it experience episodes of extreme sleepiness that could last from days to weeks. During those episodes, sufferers will sleep sometimes 20 hours a day, and will wake up only to eat or go to the bathroom.
In 1959, UK hypnotist Peter Powers put himself under a hypnotic sleep for eight straight days.
In medical terms, oversleeping means sleeping more than nine hours in 24 hours. It's associated with a higher risk of several conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. That doesn't mean it causes those conditions. Instead, oversleeping may be a symptom of other underlying conditions.
The “right” amount of sleep proves somewhat individual as some people will feel great on seven hours and others may need a little longer. However, in most studies and for most experts, over nine hours is considered an excessive or long amount of sleep for adults.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia
With this disorder, you may sleep as much as 14 to 18 hours a day. For treatment, doctors often prescribe medications similar to what is prescribed for narcolepsy. These medications may not treat idiopathic hypersomnia as effectively as they treat narcolepsy, however.
Editor's note: Kleine-Levin Syndrome mostly affects teen boys, causing them to sleep up to 20 hours a day during episodes that can last weeks. It's rare, possibly affecting one person in a million, with a higher incidence among Jewish people.
Sleep experts say you can make up for lost sleep, but it's best to do it sooner than later. Researchers proposed it takes 4 days of quality sleep to recover from just 1 hour of sleep debt. Napping or snagging more sleep during the week may be better than waiting to sleep in on weekends.
Sleeping beyond the 90-minute cycle may mean you fall deeper into your sleep cycle and will find it much harder to wake up. The best answer to this question is that some sleep is always better than none. Trying to get in a power nap or achieving that full 90-minute cycle is better for you than no sleep at all.
Longest Kiss
And it wouldn't be Valentine's Day without a big ol' smooch. The longest kiss lasted 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds, achieved by Ekkachai Tiranarat and Laksana Tiranarat (both Thailand) at an event organized by Ripley's Believe It or Not!
A couple of years ago, “Stare Master” Stagg and “Eyesore” Fleming stared at each other to see who could last longer without blinking. Stare Master won, holding his eyes open for an unbelievable 40 minutes 59 seconds.
Not getting adequate sleep over a series of days causes sleep debt to progressively build day by day. For example: a person needing 8 hours of sleep but getting only 6 would build a sleep debt of 2 hours that day.
Going for 3 days without sleep will have profound effects on a person's mood and cognition. In a 2015 study, two astronauts experienced impaired cognitive functioning, increased heart rate, and a reduction in positive emotions after staying awake for 72 hours.
In part, it is physiological: Our normal circadian cycle dictates a period of sleepiness or decreased alertness in the afternoon. However, sleep disorders, medical disorders, stress, insaufficient sleep or poor eating habits can also cause excessive sleepiness at this time.
Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shiftwork, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication, and medical and psychiatric illnesses.
“There is no such thing as a “fixed or ideal time” to go to bed which will suit all individuals. It is generally advisable to fall asleep between 10 pm to midnight as for most people this is when the circadian rhythm is at a point that favours falling asleep.”
Sleep and Aging
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night. But, older people tend to go to sleep earlier and get up earlier than they did when they were younger. There are many reasons why older people may not get enough sleep at night.
“Women's brains are wired differently, so their sleep need will be slightly greater. Women tend to multi-task—they do lots at once and are flexible, and so they use more of their actual brain than men do,” Horne says.
Sleep debt is when you sleep fewer hours than your body needs. It's cumulative, meaning that if you regularly get less sleep than you should, you're going to have more sleep debt. For instance, if you get four hours of sleep when you should be getting eight, you'll have a sleep debt of four hours.
A nap during the day does not replace good quality sleep at night. You should make sleep during the night a priority and use napping only when night-time sleep is not enough.
And not just chronic lack of sleep, but a single night of lost sleep. While many people may have heard that sleep deprivation can affect things like metabolism and memory, research is also showing that it can strongly affect anxiety, Alzheimer's risk, and even chronic health at the level of our genes.
Sleep feels good because when we rest, our bodies produce melatonin, which controls our sleep patterns. Our melatonin levels increase at bedtime, making us feel tired. Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, makes us feel cozy and relaxed, allowing our bodies to get the time off they need at the end of each day.
It's the body's way of recharging and healing. For some people, it's also a great escape. Dreaming is fun, and sleep is a way to get away from problems in the real world. Sleep enthusiasts know that a good snooze is a great cure for things like stress, anxiety, and a bad mood.