<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After breaking a world record and disproving a common myth, 17-year-old Randy Gardner </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sleep" rel="" target="" title="fell asleep"><span>fell asleep</span></a><span> on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-january-8-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures/81418cb1-8dba-434a-b540-0c221d4fc9eb" rel="" target="" title="January 8, 1964"><span>January 8, 1964</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gardner had set upon an ambitious science fair project with his friend Bruce McAllister.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The two decided that one of them should break the world record for </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/demodex-mites-while-you-sleep-these-bugs-throw-a-party-on-your-face-cnn-health-news/76e6c8fe-5888-445d-89f0-883bbdc82b69" rel="" target="" title="staying awake"><span>staying awake</span></a><span>, which at the time was 260 hours.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-december-24-what-happened-on-this-day-juliane-koepcke-german-teen-plane-explosion-survivor-peru-amazon-jungle-survival-story/c37e531a-8770-4ae5-b88a-3be8481783d5" rel="" target="" title="The girl who fell 3km from a plane explosion and survived"><strong><span>The girl who fell 3km from a plane explosion and survived</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was considered a dangerous idea. At the time it was believed that </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/social-sleep-apnea-linked-weekend-late-nights-alcohol-smoking/ab3c869f-71ef-4a6d-8938-3a99f0948fa5" rel="" target="" title="staying awake for too long"><span>staying awake for too long</span></a><span> could be fatal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A previous experiment testing sleep deprivation on cats resulted in the deaths of the animals.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it was considered the methods used to keep the cats awake — using chemical stimulants — was the likely actual cause of their deaths.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-january-8-what-happened-on-this-day-randy-gardner-sleep-deprivation-experiment/c329afe6-7c9e-4fc4-bfed-2b86a27fb638" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US high schoolers"><span>US high schoolers</span></a><span> instead decided to stay awake using natural methods.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On the flip of a coin, Gardner was determined to be the subject of the experiment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-december-17-what-happened-on-this-day-harold-holt/50376feb-a0cd-4f4c-b449-6e407b3f1780" target="" title="Harold ignored doctor's advice and vanished days later"><strong><span>Harold ignored doctor's advice and vanished days later</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As the one tasked with stopping Gardner falling asleep, McAllister found he had to stay awake himself.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But after three days they roped in another friend, then a sleep researcher from Stanford University, William Dement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"(Randy's parents) were very worried that this might be something that would really be harmful to him," Dement told the BBC.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Because the question was still unresolved on whether or not if you go without sleep long enough you will die."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gardner did not die, but the sleep deprivation would have other bizarre effects.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-november-29-what-happened-on-this-day-grady-stiles/726d043e-10d0-4983-a4e5-ef379ed75f81" target="" title="Circus performer 'Lobster Boy' killed by teenage hitman"><strong><span>Circus performer 'Lobster Boy' killed by teenage hitman</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He began to suffer from hallucinations, paranoia and short term memory loss.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On day 11, he was asked to count backwards from 100 by subtracting seven each time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he got to 65, he stopped because he couldn't remember what he was doing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He did get better at basketball over his sleepless stint, but it's possible that was because he was playing so much in order to stay awake.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had trouble identifying things by touch alone, but in that time he won every game of pinball he played against Dement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gardner also developed a much more pronounced sense of smell.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/entertainment/viral/angus-barbieri-the-man-who-didnt-eat-anything-for-a-year/c0192ac3-5905-424b-9310-ecb02b87f2f6" rel="" target="" title="Angus Barbieri, the man who didn't eat anything for a year"><strong><span>Angus Barbieri, the man who didn't eat anything for a year</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He ended his record with a press conference, answering questions from reporters after 264 hours or 11 days awake. His science fair experiment had unintentionally become an international news sensation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he finally went to bed under observation at a naval hospital, he slept for 14 hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gardner suffered no ill-effects from the experiment, and went on to win first prize in the science fair.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But his record was broken just a month later by a Finnish man.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Guinness World Records stopped accepting sleeplessness as a category in the 1990s because it did not want to encourage unhealthy experiments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gardner would later blame his experiment for insomnia he suffered later in life.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/demodex-mites-while-you-sleep-these-bugs-throw-a-party-on-your-face-cnn-health-news/76e6c8fe-5888-445d-89f0-883bbdc82b69" rel="" target="" title="While you sleep, these bugs throw a party on your face"><strong><span>While you sleep, these bugs throw a party on your face</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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