Should Scientists Try to Eliminate the Need for Sleep?

During one of my usual late-night Googlethons fueled by potent Vietnamese coffee, I came across a fascinating 2006 article from New Scientist, “Get ready for 24-hour living,” which discusses the recent development of drugs that can allow a person to remain awake for hours or even days without ill effects. One such drug is modafinil, a medication whose maker, Cephalon, describes it as the “first in a new class of wake-promoting agents.” Approved by the FDA as a treatment for narcolepsy, excessive sleepiness caused by obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea and shift work sleep disorder, modafinil also reportedly is popular off-label with overachievers such as “Yves,” a 30-something software developer from Seattle who has been using it on-and-off for several years, mostly to burn the candle at both ends.

"I find I can be very productive at work," he says. "I'm more organized and more motivated. And it means I can go out partying on a Friday night and still go skiing early on Saturday morning."

But the present generation of eugeroic drugs such as modafinil and CX717, another compound whose sleep depriviation-countering effects have drawn interest from the U.S. military, probably are just the start. New Scientist reports that several pharmaceutical giants are gearing up research on wakefulness drugs, and that the Pentagon is also looking at technologies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, which might be used to switch on or off portions of the brain affected by sleep deprivation. The publication quotes Oxford University circadian biologist Russell Foster, who envisions that, in the next decade or two, it’ll be possible pharmacologically to turn off the need for sleep. As a result, according to Foster,  people routinely will be awake and active for 22 hours a day.

The ability to function at a high level without sleeping much — or at all — for long periods would have some definite upsides. Medical residents wouldn’t have to worry about misdiagnosing emergency-room patients because their cognitive faculties have been reduced to goo by brutally long shifts. Truck drivers could pull coast-to-coast runs without slowing down, except for an occasional pie-and-coffee break. Particularly ambitious people could hold two full-time jobs at once or simultaneously earn multiple Ph.D.s. Earning a spot for the longest this-or-that in the Guinness Book of World Records would become a lot easier.

But what about the possible downsides? According to the National Sleep Foundation, less-than-normal amounts of good quality sleep have been linked to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and depression. The precise role of sleep in memory processing is not completely understood, either. Would reducing or eliminating sleep cause an epidemic of related health problems? What sort of effects would it have on our personalities and social interactions? With all that additional time to read blogs and watch 24-hour cable news, would we all suffer from mega information overload — or worse yet, become so insufferably well-informed on every subject that we’d bore each other to death?

So should scientists develop wakefulness drugs and technology to their logical extreme? Or should we keep on snoozing? Express your opinion below.

Comments

[Snoozy]

Hmmmm....! this doesnt sound like a very good idea to me, because people inevitably would abuse a wakefulness drug or technology. Remember that South Korean guy who stayed up for several days straight playing video games and gave himself a fatal bloodclot? Besides, if people were able to work two or three jobs around the clock, that would create a job shortage, wouldnt it?
Finally, when those Moller Skycars finally hit the market, you dont want a bunch of wired people flying over your house all night making noise!!!!!!

[dishant sharma]

If this is possible,it will be a boon for students and researchers.I am looking to apply this on myself.Can you help me?
thanking you

[Mothra]

To quote the late great Warren Zevon, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

[life is but a dream]

Even though no one knows the true reason for the need of regular REM sleep, I don't think we should try to stop sleeping!

[Alex Perea, Buena Park, CA]

Mankind has repeatedly been shown to have a propensity to get out ahead of itshelf. I'm ok with this line of research as long as we show a little humility in the process and understand that we are trying to replace a process that evolved over 1000's of years with something concocted in a test tube relatively overnight.

[Guillermo]

If a sleep eliminating drug becomes widespread in use, there is going to be a lot of pressure on EVERYONE to use it, or else you won't be able to compete with the coworkers who pull allnighters whenever the boss wants. What abouut those of us who just enjoy sleeping normally? I think the use of this drug would have to be very strictly regulated, or else the potential for abuse of our basic human rights would be great.

[ScienCentral]

Biological fact: Most fish don't have eyelids. Biological mystery: If they can't close their eyes, can they sleep? Find out here: http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218393040

[ScienCentral]

Biological fact: Most fish don't have eyelids. Biological mystery: If they can't close their eyes, can they sleep? Find out here: http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?type=article&article_id=218393040

[Patrick Kiger]

I was more intrigued by the video clip of narcoleptic dogs. http://med.stanford.edu/school/Psychiatry/narcolepsy/movies/dogs.avi

[daniel klaisner]

Hm i dont know about this one. One one hand this would be quite amazing. Life would seem substantually longer and sure we would get a lot more done with a more steady pace. But on the other hand the fact that we would need to depend on a drug rather than our own natural clock is obsurd and not very plausible. I say stop the research on this one.

[WhiteElephant]

This dosen't sound too good. People walking around wide awake without any sleep, I bet people will become really irritable. I think deep REM sleep is time for your concious to shut off, and for your brain to roam free at night without the contraints of life. I'd bet people would literally go insane if they stayed up more than 2 weeks straight.

[Patrick Kiger]

FYI...Here's an article (http://www.vir.com.vn/Client/Timeout/index.asp?url=content.asp&doc=11739) about an elderly Vietnamese insomniac, Thai Ngoc, who supposedly hasn't slept since 1973. For decades, he worked day and night, with no ill effects until recently, when he started to feel out of sorts. "I am like a plant without water,” he told a Vietnamese reporter. “My wish now is to have a nap. Half an hour’s sleep would be enough to satisfy me.”

[Patrick Kiger]

FYI: Here's an article (http://www.vir.com.vn/Client/Timeout/index.asp?url=content.asp&doc=11739) about an elderly Vietnamese innsomniac who supposedly hasn't slept since 1973. He's been working day and night for decades, with no ill effects until recently, when he started to feel out of sorts.

“I feel rather bad now. I am like a plant without water,” he said. “My wish now is to have a nap. Half an hour’s sleep would be enough to satisfy me.”

[Patrick Kiger]

oops...sorry about that double posting--Typepad malfunction.

[Caffeine Driven Stress Magnet]

I think that even if you had a drug that eliminates the need for sleep, you're still going to get physical fatigue--sore muscles and etc.--if you stay up long enough. So you're still going to have to lie down for a while, only now you won't be able to nod off. Doesn't sound like such a good deal.

[Mothra]

To solve that problem, maybe someone would invent a combination bed-computer desk so that you could lie down on the job. We also could wear pajamas and fuzzy slippers to work.

[Chuck H.]

Judging from this blog, the future is looking pretty grim. What do we have to look forward to, besides a bunch of sleep-deprived, internet-addicted human-animal hybrids zipping around in flying cars, doing massive geoengineering projects, and waging biological warfare? Lighten up with the fixation on dystopia, willya?

p.s. If you ask me, the only answer is electing Barack Obama! I wonder what his position is on UFOs, though.