cactustwirly
Established Member
7 am to 2am! On my last day of college, had to be there at 8am. I then had the prom in the evening until 10pm, then a party in a friends garden until the early hours.
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What is your longest awake
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Strathclyder
Established Member
Have gone 24 to 30 hours without sleep countless times within the last 3-4 years, generally thanks to my night owl nature. Very rarely do I exceed 30 hours with no rest, primarily due to the fact that exhaustion hits me like a ton of bricks after that point; any adrenaline remaining totally evaporating. It's my tipping point, as it were. Any longer than that, and I turn into a zombie...
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Ive just woken up after staying up for 38 hours, about 13 hours of which were spent driving. Oddly, i felt fine in the evening, but it was the morning stretch that was difficult. That and the mild dehydration that i had because I'd had too much caffeine!
Ploughman
Established Member
Many times on nights doing track renewals I would be able to catch every presenter on R2 over the whole 24 hours.
Used to have about 2 hours before I went out, then about 2 - 3 hours when I got back home.
Do that for 5 nights.
However worse was when we tried a rolling shift on a 9 day blockade.
9 hours on site over 3 shifts which meant every day you moved forward 3 hours.
Start first shift at 12.00 till 21.00 then 15.00 till 24.00 next 18.00 - 03.00 next etc, by the middle of the week you were totally lost.
Longest continuous shift due to an on site emergency was 28 hours on site plus 2 hours travel.
Used to have about 2 hours before I went out, then about 2 - 3 hours when I got back home.
Do that for 5 nights.
However worse was when we tried a rolling shift on a 9 day blockade.
9 hours on site over 3 shifts which meant every day you moved forward 3 hours.
Start first shift at 12.00 till 21.00 then 15.00 till 24.00 next 18.00 - 03.00 next etc, by the middle of the week you were totally lost.
Longest continuous shift due to an on site emergency was 28 hours on site plus 2 hours travel.
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I've had plenty of long stretches with no sleep over the years but one of the worst was when I had a job painting a five bedroom house that had been completely refurbished in Wimbledon a couple of years ago. I had to work 28 hours solid painting as fast (but as good) as possible on the last day and night as various other jobs had meant I was being delayed. It was the third week in a row where I'd had to work at least one night right through to the next day.
I started at 11 on the Thursday morning and finished at 3pm on Friday before drinking many coffees and driving back to Exeter. Oh and I had toothache as well.
Never again.
I started at 11 on the Thursday morning and finished at 3pm on Friday before drinking many coffees and driving back to Exeter. Oh and I had toothache as well.
Never again.
23 hours will be my longest I think.
Up at 7am for my last exam of first year of uni, can't remember what we did after/by day, but the evening was taken up with a few of us building a PC in the kitchen(!) which we finished as the sun started coming up. Went to bed around 6am
Up at 7am for my last exam of first year of uni, can't remember what we did after/by day, but the evening was taken up with a few of us building a PC in the kitchen(!) which we finished as the sun started coming up. Went to bed around 6am
tsr
Established Member
I actually quite like rolling shifts like that. I've done a fair few, too, just due to rostering. I tend to find that my natural tendency to have a lie-in after a late evening at work does help.
In fact, I'm convinced that similar shifts helped me cope when I did night turns.
I will admit that when you're in the depths of winter and you spend several days going to work, working and then coming home in darkness, but at different times, it can be hard to negotiate sensibly.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Have missed a night's sleep entirely *after* barely even dozing on a night flight from the US. That was hard, it got to the point of hallucinations etc.
I've been told that when I'm similarly sleep deprived it's possible to have quite detailed and coherent conversation with me, of which I'll have no recollection when I'm fully awake.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
I think around 39 hours when I was on a coach overnight and got no sleep at all and wasn't able to go to bed properly until late the following evening.
northwichcat
Veteran Member
I almost managed something similar but did manage to drop off for a very brief period (something like 15 minutes) before turbulence work me up and I couldn't get any further sleep. It had been the first time I'd spent the overnight period on a form of transport for around 10 years so I was actually surprised I managed to drop off for a brief period, as I've never managed that before.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
higthomas
Established Member
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I did an 7:30 to 11:30 yesterday/the day before so 40 hours, had a ball in the evening and it finished at 3 then we just hung around, watched the sun rise, then went home and di some packing and then had a pretty much normal day. Wouldn't do it regularly, but not too bad.
backontrack
Established Member
On election night I was awake from seven in the morning to five the next morning.
That's 22 hours.
That's 22 hours.
ChiefPlanner
Established Member
I forgot my blackleging at Glasgow as a trainee , went to work for 0900 hrs at Euston -a asked (told) to go to Glasgow for strike breaking duties , went home and packed - taxi to Heathrow (paid for by BR) , worked 1400 to 0600 and 1800 to 0600 all week till Saturday am - this in December saw no daylight for a week. Only did one cock up when shunting a par of 87's at Gushetfaulds Flt at 0300 , but we will not go there.
Got the 0700 Glasgow to Euston on Sat am , closed my eyes around Cambuslang - woken from the dead by the cleaners at Euston.
Got the 0700 Glasgow to Euston on Sat am , closed my eyes around Cambuslang - woken from the dead by the cleaners at Euston.
I know what you mean, Christmas Eve always feels like the longest day of the year.
EM2
Established Member
I can't say for others, but in my case, the longest leg of the drive was 16:00 - 23:30-ish, so nothing unusual there, then five hours or so on a ferry with plenty of coffee, and then the second leg was 06:00 to 09:00-ish, with a further twelve hours awake with no driving after that.
Aircon on cold, music on and conversation kept me awake and alert.
My longest one was not really 48 hours but near to that. That was some years ago when I had a night out and I came home only in the morning and then my mum and dad had a party at home in the evening and I had to help them to prepare everything during the day and again staid up till morning.
"And how long were you awake for prior to the collision?" asks the prosecuting counsel.
Remember the Selby rail crash?
It's really not okay to drive in that state, and I'm surprised and disappointed other posters haven't picked up on those who admit to driving for very long periods without sleep.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I've certainly commented on it before. While they don't legally apply to car drivers, I would suggest that the bus/coach/lorry tacho rules are a good start when determining what a sensible maximum is.
Temple Meads
Established Member
Well the maximum shift length with 2 drivers on a coach is 30 hours..
I've definitely done periods of 48hrs+ without sleep, always when travelling. Last year I had a very long flight that left around 3am from an airport a couple of hours from where I live. I didn't bother going to bed that night, I can't sleep while travelling, and then had a long drive (as a passenger!) to get to my destination. I'm not planning to repeat that any time soon...
EM2
Established Member
In what state? I wasn't 'driving for very long periods' and I took plenty of breaks (as advised by all the road signs).
EM2
Established Member
I would not be surprised if many do. As I said at the beginning of the thread, sixteen and seventeen hours awake is not unusual, thanks to shift patterns, and I would have thought that many staff are in the same boat.
A bus driver is handling a much bigger and heavier vehicle than me. They do not have the benefit of conversation to keep their attention focused.
You seem to be under the impression that I was driving for thirty-seven hours solid, which is not the case. I doubt I drove much more than two hours without a break, and definitely not longer than three hours (which is what drivers in endurance racing such as Le Mans do).
My impression was that you were awake for 37 hours, with you still driving in the 25th hour of being awake, having not slept at all in that time, and relying on coffees, company and the window rolled down to remain alert.
Feel free to correct me if my maths is wrong, but I certainly wouldn't ever advise anyone to drive on that pattern of no sleep and it concerns me that some people can't see the problem.
Tiredness kills - yes, take a break every few hours as advised, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to drive after 24+ hours awake. I would not do it.
EM2
Established Member
I know my body and my metabolism. I know what I can and can't do. It's not something I would do on a frequent basis, in fact this is the only time that I have ever done it, and the only reason I didn't sleep on the ferry is that it was very busy and very noisy.
For different people, I will certainly concede that it might cause issues.
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