In 1964, Randy Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours (about 11 days) and showed cognitive and behavioral changes as a result.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by Wikipedia, NPR, and Guinness World Records with consistent details on duration and date. Some nuance exists in secondary literature about the exact severity of cognitive effects, but core claim is well supported. [cascade flags: wikipedia_dropped_other_sources_exist | tier=silver indep_score=0.875 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Tuning in to psychology (seed:psychology_and_neuroscience)
- https://www.npr.org/2024/01/28/1227217274/sleep-deprivation-record (corroboration)
- https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/1/whats-the-limit-to-how-long-a-human-can-stay-awake-733188 (corroboration)