Tony Wright is an author and consciousness researcher from Penzance, Cornwall, England. He claims to hold the world record for sleep deprivation.[1]
Sleep deprivation record
editWright claimed the world sleep deprivation record in May 2007 with 266 continuous hours of sleeplessness. He based his record-breaking attempt on the belief that Randy Gardner was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as holding the deprivation record of 264 hours.[2] However, the Guinness record was actually for 11½ days, or 276 hours, and was set by Toimi Soini in Hamina, Finland, from February 5 to the 15th, 1964, and Wright did not in fact break the Guinness record.[2] However, Wright's friend Graham Gynn asserts that the Gardner record was the accepted record in the sleep research community.[2] Regardless, Wright's record claim was not credited by the Guinness Book of Records, since after 1990 it no longer accepted records related to sleep deprivation due to the health risks.[2][3]
Theories
editWright claimed that his deliberate insomnia was made possible in part by his biochemically complex diet of raw foods (carrot juice, bananas, avocados, pineapple and nuts).[4][5] He also asserted that his motivation for breaking the world sleep deprivation record was neither fame nor fortune, but that his intention was to promote his radical theories of human neurological degeneration that were proposed in his self-published book.
References
edit- ^ Nick Watt (14 November 2007). "'Trauma and Desperation': The Serious Effects of a Sleepless Night". ABC News. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
Tony Wright has pushed it as far as any human we know of
- ^ a b c d "Man who stayed up for 266 hours awakes to bad news". The Times. London. 26 May 2007. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008.
- ^ Ian Sample (26 May 2007). "11 days awake - but is it record?". The Guardian. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ "About Cornwall: Sleepless in Penzance". BBC News. 22 April 2008.
- ^ Cornwall Consciousness Centre. "Introduction". Archived from the original on May 27, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
External links
edit- "How man pushed sleepless limits". BBC, May 25, 2007
- Tony Wright website
- BBC Video nation - "Sleepless in Penzance"
- A full synopsis of the book 'Left In The Dark'. Archived 2016-04-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2022-03-22.
- The full, free, edition of the book 'Left In The Dark'. Archived 2017-01-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2022-03-22.
- Conscious TV Interview
- www.brainwaving.com : An article entitled 'Consciousness and the Direction of Structure', by Tony Wright
- Audio interview in July 2009 with Bryan Crump on Radio New Zealand National (mp3)
- Der Spiegel Article - November 2009 (German)
- Der Spiegel Interview - November 2009 (German)
- Interview with Trevor Smith for disinfo.com - April 2012