How long can you go without sleep?

The longest scientifically recorded time that a person has voluntarily gone without sleep is 11 days, 24 minutes, and 12 seconds, achieved by Randy Gardner, a high school student, in San Diego, California, USA, from 26 to 8 December 1965. However, after this experiment, he required more than 14 hours of sleep every night for several days in order to recover; it took him several months until he felt refreshed. Therefore, this is not recommended, due to potential long-term effects and serious side effects such as hallucinations, paranoia, impaired cognitive function, reduced reaction time, difficulty concentrating, increased errors. The consequences in a real-world environment can be detrimental. Thus, sufficient and consistent sleep is essential for both mental and physical health and well-being.