Do we know of any actual cases of sleep-deprivation death?
I couldn’t find any. On the other hand, Wikipedia claims that total and indefinite sleep deprivation is “impossible” to achieve, possibly even under torture, due to microsleep and extreme tiredness enabling brief ordinary sleep in almost any circumstances. Other reported ill effects of SD might be linked to the cause of the sleep deprivation instead.
However, that doesn’t answer the question of what might happen to an average human who was sleep-deprived by whatever method, as far as possible, for a really long period of time—months, not days. I expect there would be physiological or mental damage of some kind in (almost) everyone. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to negate those effects and do away with sleep one day—it’s just a question of how narrowly we define the “consequences” of sleep deprivation vs. “removable side effects”.
I couldn’t find any. On the other hand, Wikipedia claims that total and indefinite sleep deprivation is “impossible” to achieve, possibly even under torture, due to microsleep and extreme tiredness enabling brief ordinary sleep in almost any circumstances. Other reported ill effects of SD might be linked to the cause of the sleep deprivation instead.
However, that doesn’t answer the question of what might happen to an average human who was sleep-deprived by whatever method, as far as possible, for a really long period of time—months, not days. I expect there would be physiological or mental damage of some kind in (almost) everyone. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to negate those effects and do away with sleep one day—it’s just a question of how narrowly we define the “consequences” of sleep deprivation vs. “removable side effects”.