oo2 | video then voice

[bleedaffected]

[When the feed clicks on, it's difficult to see much of anything, as Desmond's hand is obscuring most of the camera. More than that, the entire picture is shaking, because his hands are shaking. Needless to say, hitting the video function wasn't intentional.]

Jesus Christ, this fucking thing. It never does--

[He pulls his hand away momentarily in

Comments

[ Video ]

[of_frell]

I'm not sure how long a person can stand not to sleep, but...I think a better question would be why you would be trying to force yourself to stay awake in the first place. It's not exactly healthy...

[ That keyed up manner of speech was almost funny if she weren't a bit concerned by how frazzled he seemed. ]

[ Video ]

[bleedaffected]

Depending on the person? I'd say that letting yourself sleep is the unhealthy thing.

[ Video ]

[of_frell]

How do you figure that...?

[ Video ]

[bleedaffected]

Hypothetically speaking, sleep aggravates certain... medical conditions.

[video]

[faithinthecreed]

[Here, Des, you get to see how worried Lucy is about you right now. Feel guilty, ass.]

What's wrong, Desmond?

[video]

[bleedaffected]

[He's too tweaked out to feel guilt right now, Lucy. :( He's too worried about the idea of his heart exploding in his chest.]

Nothing. Everything's fine. I'm just conducting a little experiment.

Re: [video]

[faithinthecreed]

Like hell you are.

[worried mixed with annoyance? yeah that's standard when talking to Desmond. Though she reels in the annoyance after a second]

Desmond, if something's going on with... you know what, you can tell me. I need you to tell me.

[video]

[bleedaffected]

[Oh, way to guess on your first try, jerk. And now Desmond is doubly paranoid and his "this is probably not a good idea to say out loud" filter has been worn down after what was probably his twentieth cup of coffee] And even if it was-- and it's not-- but if it was, why? What would you do, Lucy? What could you do? We don't exactly have access to the same resources out here. I bet these people don't even know what the word "animus" is.

[voice]

[clevermedic]

It's dependent on a variety of different variables, from your weight and age to physical abnormalities and any genetic problems present in your family. The longest standing case I know of is someone went eleven days before dying from exhaustion but... That's not really something you should be aspiring towards.

[voice]

[bleedaffected]

Eleven days, huh?

You know, I think I read something once where some guy had trained himself to never sleep-- he just kept going on through the day, only stopping for five to ten minute breaks. Is there any merit to that?

[voice]

[clevermedic]

Um... As far as I know there's only one known case of a man who doesn't sleep, and that was a medical anomaly that occurred after he caught a fever. I really can't recommend trying to go without sleep, human brains need REM sleep. Without it, you're going to find it harder to think and talk, the longer you stay awake.

[voice]

[bleedaffected]

[Possibly showing how incredibly tweaked out he is now] Yeah, but what has REM sleep ever done for me?

Voice

[ysobritish]

I'm not a doctor, but I believe it depends on your level of activity. Most won't last more than 72 hours, some will take a little longer. Almost none will last more than a week.

Personally, I don't have a problem staying awake for long stretches, but a companion of mine back home was able to last for weeks without food or sleep, while relying on diazepam and pentazemin. It also helps if you have something to focus on.

Voice

[bleedaffected]

[There's a brief, freaked-out pause.]

--you can die after seventy-two hours?!

Voice

[ysobritish]

It's possible, yes. As I said, some won't last much longer beyond that. Wolf was an extreme case; she could last for nearly a month. But ordinary people won't be able to handle it.

It might be wise to start sleeping.

Voice

[bleedaffected]

Okay, so, wait a minute. Define "ordinary." What made her so special?

[voice]

[mentis_reae]

There have been no studies as to how long a human can survive without sleep - understandably, as a matter of course, as such an experiment would be inhumane. The only evidence that exists is anecdotal.

[voice]

[bleedaffected]

You know, I'm most inclined to believe this, because everyone has given me a different answer on this. So, what am I supposed to do then? Keep going until I find out the hard way?

[voice]

[mentis_reae]

By no means: it is not possible for you to "go" that far. Well before the point of death, no matter how much coffee you imbibe or how many ice cubes you pile on your hands, your body will simply shut down; even if you go without a bed or an extended period of rest, you'll fall into a so-called "microsleep" - if, indeed, you do not collapse where you stand and simply fall unconscious on the ground. We've no record of any human dying of sleep deprivation; the only evidence we have is rats in a laboratory setting where, if I am not mistaken, they were monitored and kept awake by forcing them to swim in a vat of water. They survived approximately two weeks before expiring of organ failure.

[voice]

[bleedaffected]

...So, what's "microsleep," then? I'm guessing that's something I want to avoid. It feels like my damn heart's going to explode.