A Man Who Doesn't Sleep

Thái Ngọc (born 1942)[1] is a Vietnamese insomniac. According to Vietnamese news organization Thanh Niên, he is best known for his claim of being awake for 43 years. Thanh Niên also claimed that Ngoc acquired the ability to go without sleep after a bout of fever in 1973,[2] but according to the Vietnam Investment Review, there was no apparent cause.[1][3]

At the time of the Thanh Niên report, Ngoc suffered from no apparent ill effect other than being unable to sleep. He was mentally sound and carried two 50 kg (110 lb) bags of pig feed down a 4 km (2.5 mi) road every day.[2]

In October 2006, however, Ngoc reported that he was beginning to feel "like a plant without water" due to the lack of sleep.[1]

wiki article

Now where are cases where people have died from sleep deprivation... but from this case, it is not needed. What exactly happened to him during the fever that allow him to not having to sleep.

If anyone else would like to contribute please do. I am very interested in why we need sleep?

Edit 1: This is not the only case of people not sleeping... I mean maybe he mutated during his fever.
Mutation is definitely possible. Just take this case for example...

Kids who has cat eyes...

a reply to: reddragon2015
Sadly I can not contribute too much, except that I've read an article where it is possible to die due to lack of sleep after eleven days so I won't take this mans claim too seriously unless there is absolute proof. As to why we need sleep, although I doubt it is certain there are theories it is to help form memories.

Though this may be true of dreams in sleep? I'm unaware. I should sleep myself...rather exhausted. As the person below mentioned it is certainly for rest. Imagine being without sleep for an extensive amount of time. There are effects on the body, both mental and physical.

a reply to: reddragon2015
I am interested in seeing some answers as well. Lack of sleep seems to disrupt several metabolic and hormonal processes.

Conclusion

Clearly, sleep is not only for the brain but also for the rest of the body. Recent evidence suggests that sleep loss, a highly prevalent — and often strongly encouraged — condition in modern society could be a risk factor for major chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes.

www.medscape.org...

I am going to look deeper into this case as it is just too difficult to accept at first glance. I would like to see some long-term case studies on this fellow.


Edit: A quick google search leads to many fascinating articles for further reading.

I find it especially interesting that even though he is able to function superbly without sleep, he still has a desire to sleep and to dream.

And his quote, "like a plant without water," doesn't sound too inspiring either

I remember reading about a Russian guy who claimed he didn't need to sleep. The newspaper who was reporting on it claimed to have followed him for at least 72 hours and he didn't sleep during this time and never once actually appeared to be tired.

Strange phenomenon for sure, I love to sleep, so this would probably destroy me. But then maybe it wouldn't, imagine never sleeping and actually living a 24hour day, seven days a week?

a reply to: Cobaltic1978

I've stayed up for about 3 days straight. Insomnia plus university. At the end of all that, you start to feel preeeetty loopy.

You could always try polyphasic sleep to add more time to your day.

a reply to: reddragon2015
perhaps thru meditation you can bring your brain waves to the proper levels to still function w/out sleep? that wouldn't surprise me, but the article doesn't mention anything like this

a reply to: FamCore

its not brain waves. Its waste. Perhaps brain waves trigger the glymphatic activity...but without it you build up nasty stuff like beta amyloids (the stuff that makes up the tissue in alzheimer's brains). Your brain needs to cleanse itself of all the waste of doing what brains do all day. Sleep is when this happens.

This guy...but have had something happen that intermediated this process somehow. It would be a fascinating study, thats for sure.

That Vietnamese guy is a peasant who lives with cattle. He use his brain for nothing. That why he don't really need sleep, all that stuff can be processed during micronaps of few seconds which he have and everyone who tryed to get sleep deprived know what are micronaps. Sleeps or better say dreams with open eyes.

If you use your brain heavily you need sleep, lots of sleep like 8 maybe 9 hours. Sometimes if you are I'll you need more. Thus Vietnamese guy dies not need sleep because Hus life is so boring that Hus brain is 24/7 on autopilot.

Who is staying up to confirm he never naps?

originally posted by: saadad
That Vietnamese guy is a peasant who lives with cattle. He use his brain for nothing. That why he don't really need sleep, all that stuff can be processed during micronaps of few seconds which he have and everyone who tryed to get sleep deprived know what are micronaps. Sleeps or better say dreams with open eyes.

If you use your brain heavily you need sleep, lots of sleep like 8 maybe 9 hours. Sometimes if you are I'll you need more. Thus Vietnamese guy dies not need sleep because Hus life is so boring that Hus brain is 24/7 on autopilot.

Wow what a thing to say! I'm sure it's been a while since you needed some solid sleep as well!

a reply to: reddragon2015

His own body moved him into a quite natural fight or flight response.

Acute awareness of the seconds ticking, etc.

Trouble enters when that reflex triggers and fails to call the all clear. Then the duration alters individual by individual. Obvious misinterpretation of time occurs, again natural.

Controlling ones fight or flight mechanism, a puzzle that's not been clairified. But alluded to for millennia.

Neat, guineas book or whatever, like the guy able to go unusually long times without food.

Great read, gave me mental inspiration

I notice they only report that he only claims he hasnt slept for that long. I wonder how true it is.

originally posted by: PhoenixOD
I notice they only report that he only claims he hasnt slept for that long. I wonder how true it is.

Unfortunately, it appears these kinds of studies include following the person around for a couple days and looking for any changes in EKG, EEG etc. etc.

Hardly the in-depth study like the one we want to see!

I rarely take stories like these serious.
I've seen stories like Firestarter kids and still meditating monks not eating or drink for fifty years pass by .

And then I think it should have be al over the news at CNN if these stories really would have some truth to it..

a reply to: 0bserver1

I take it that way too.

Monks that can dry blankets on tv etc.

I haven't seen miracles but people playing with there metabolism I have.

Proof is in the pudding obviously, and opinion vary.

It's not like laser beams and flying around at all.

Honestly I moved on from metaphysics the moment plant neorobiology entered the scene. It may not be recognized but lol.

a reply to: saadad

That Vietnamese guy is a peasant who lives with cattle. He use his brain for nothing

Yea right...'nothing'... like walking, balancing, talking, communicating, fine motor skills, autonomous processes, WTF??
Those 'boring dumb Vietnamese peasants'... now where have I heard that before?

If you use your brain heavily you need sleep

'Use it heavily' like thumb typing comments on a smart phone?

Well I believe it's possible.. Maybe.. I stayed up for 10 days one time. It was not my choice. It was not like regular insomnia where I'm still tired. I was wide awake. I wonder if it was chemical imbalance of some kind.. My senses where all enhanced. My strength was normal. My brain seemed to be working fine.

Funny part this happened in response to being violently I'll for 3 days straight.. Maybe there is a connection there..

I don't remember how I got to bed finally but it didn't feel like sleep more like coma lol for like 16 hours and I was tired for a few days before my new found ability to sleep fixed me up..

Funny it cured my insomnia lol.. Havnt had one night if missed or affected sleep since then..

Get sleep guys. It's very very important. a reply to: reddragon2015

i can think of a few of those

SCARY

This man never sleeps I just watch in amazement

There is nothing new under the sun. Stories like that are famous but they aren't true. It's impossible not to sleep for long periods of time. The effects of acute insomnia on the body-organism-brain are strong and dangerous.

Sleep state misperception:
"[...] people who mistakenly perceive their sleep as wakefulness":
en.wikipedia.org...

and...

A real disease: Fatal familial insomnia (FFI)
"The average survival span for patients diagnosed with FFI after the onset of symptoms is 18 months."
en.wikipedia.org...

Wtf u all jump on me. I know what are micronaps. Dreaming while you walk. I was testing polypgasic sleep for several years.

Don't know why u troll here, debate, give opinions but don't troll because story is weird.

Whole UFO board should be troll then if this his things are with weird stuff in this forum.