Who needs sleep anyway?

I used to think that I stayed up late at night during high school, but after my first year of college I realize that what I thought was late, was actually quite early. After a year of college I find myself getting an average of six hours of sleep at night. Of course, I can't blame it all on schoolwork since I have been known to do my fair share of talking on aol. However, after this last week I find myself wondering just how long I can survive on such a huge lack of sleep. Before I took my four hour nap earlier tonight I was running on 18 hours of sleep in the past 90 plus hours. Other than the slight crankiness (sorry Jimmy...) and frustration(stupid computer!) I don't think the sleep deprivation was so bad to deal with.

Although I'm not a huge wikipedia fan, I was shown the following earlier today...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Gardner_(sleep_deprived). This guy broke the record for the longest period of time a human being could go without sleep. He stayed awake for 264 hours (11 days). Now, while I think that 11 days is a freaking long time to go without sleep I honestly think I could do it. I know what you're thinking, "yeah, right. You couldn't possibly go more than 11 days without sleep." But I'm telling you, I don't think it would be that hard, at least not for me. I've got it all figured out...

Katherine's sure-fire ways to stay awake for more than 11 days!
1. Always be in brightly lit areas, never dark
2. Stand up while watching movies, and if you can't handle that then sit on the floor right in front of the t.v. (don't lean against anything)
3. Do not, I repeat do not attend school. It is near impossible not to fall asleep in certain classes(like Greek Civ!)
4. I know it's probably a sin, but don't go to church. I know it sounds horrible, but let me just say from experience that if you're tired it is very easy to fall asleep during mass...(I aplogize, God)
5. Always get dressed. This means wearing your shoes around the house, and putting on makeup if you're a girl (or if you're a guy...I don't judge. Heehee)
6. Drink plenty of Mt. Dew OR orange juice. I actually read somewhere that orange juice helps you stay awake better than pop. Might just be a subconscious thing...but I'll take it
7. Try to avoid looking at clocks. Well, not technically. Just try to avoid associating certain hours as night and certain hours as day. Try to treat all hours as daytime.
8. Do not, I repeat, do not drive anywhere. Of course, I mean actually doing the steering, but in my case you might want to avoid even riding in cars for long periods of time too. (I am not narcoleptic, Amy!)
9. Two words: Loud music! Do not listen to slow sappy music! Go with the stuff that makes you want to get up and dance! Might I suggest "Ride the wind" by Poison?
10. If you read to pass the time, I would suggest reading standing up or in a highly uncomfortable spot
11. Always be doing something. If you're bored, you'll just want to sleep...or eat nonstop...and that's not good either
12. Keep smiling and laughing! I know that can't really be proven that it helps you stay awake, but I always know that it's hard for me to fall asleep when I can't stop smiling (I won't disclose exactly whey I can't stop smiling, but if you've talked to me recently you should know why)

So that's all I could think of off the top of my head. But seriously, I think I could do it. Anyone want to try it with me over summer? Heehee. Peace out!

Katherine