> > > > I remember when I could stay up late and not be in dire discomfort. It wasn't that long ago.
> > >
> > > Well, it's now 5:00 PM on Friday, and I'm still
> > > going strong. I just hit 31 hours of wakefulness. I've gone through a twelve pack of Diet Coke and two medium sized bags of chips. Plus a McDonalds lunch/supper. And I've got probably two more hours of work ahead of me.
> > >

> > > Oh, and I think my personal record is 42 hours straight. And I still didn't get any hallucinations. Although this time, I've started to see trails occaisonally. That's really freaky.
> >
> >
> > Indeed. May I ask what kind of shape, colour, speed, etc. these trail hallucinations took? I'm keen on phenomena involving altered brain states.
> >
> > I'm fully familiar with and sympathize with the eternal grad-school struggle to function under sleep deprivation. What's truly insane is when you decide to do this to yourself not from duress, but *willingly*. In one memorable molecular bio/radiolabelling session, I once worked 36 hours straight, without eating or drinking (because that part would have been waaaaay too much trouble.) Must have definitely been driving on an adrenaline high. I didn't hallucinate then; but afterwards my entire head felt like it was stuffed with scouring pad wool.
> >
> > In consolation, there's one of the more brutal axioms of Work, which I mentioned a few months ago:
>
> [Link: Ack! It doesn't stop when you get out of school!]
>
> It doesn't?! I always consoled myself with the thought that I only had ten or so more years where I got 3.5 hours of sleep in a night [morning, actually] on a regular basis.
>
> Go piddle on someone else's parade.
>
> Chr"reality is for people who chose to acknowledge its presence... IOW, not me"is

Hm. I guess I wasn't clear enough in suggesting that "marathon sleep deprivation" is something that usually occurs when, basically, you're struggling to beat a ruthless deadline where otherwise, you're plain dead (academically, career-wise, etc.) I've certainly never done that on a regular basis; and don't suggest that anyone has to do so as a habit once they finish school. If you're getting only 3½ hours of sleep per night... and this is the usual state of affairs... then I worry for you and your health. Are young students THAT stressed out these days, compared to when I was in the grind a few short years ago?

Wolfspirit