Question: How do people who never sleep stay alive?

Tatiana Trantidou answered on 19 Jun 2015:

Hi Feebs,

I don’t think there is a single person that never sleeps. There are people who sleep a little (a few hours) and people who need much more sleep to feel refreshed. Every organism has its own sleep needs. Basically, scientists suggest that an 8-hour sleep is ideal for humans.
When we sleep, our body produces hormones that help our cells to grow and repair themselves. Also, lack of sleep changes our metabolism, it will increase our appetite for food and particularly for glucose. Also when we lack sleep, our brains do not function properly, we won’t be able to remember things or process information. Scientists have studied before a teenage boy, who managed to stay awake for 11 days. During this period the boy had problems with his memory, speech and he also had hallucinations (when we see things that are not present).