Tony Wright (sleep Deprivation) - Sleep Deprivation Record

Sleep Deprivation Record

Wright claimed the world sleep deprivation record in May 2007. He based his record-breaking attempt on the belief that Randy Gardner was officially recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as holding the deprivation record of 264 hours. Others believe that the previous Guinness record was for 11½ days, or 276 hours, and was set by Toimi Soini in Hamina, Finland, between February 5 to 15, 1964, and that Wright did not in fact break any record. Wright's friend Graham Gynn asserts that the Gardner record is the accepted record in the sleep research community. Wright's record claim was not credited by The Guinness Book of Records, since it no longer accepts records related to sleep deprivation due to the possible health risks.

Wright claims that by reverting to a biochemically complex diet of raw foods approximating that eaten by our forest dwelling ancestors, he is able to perform such feats of deliberate insomnia. He also asserts that his motivation for breaking the world sleep deprivation record was neither fame nor fortune. Rather, he claims his intention was to promote his radical theories of human neurological degeneration that are proposed in his self-published book, Left In The Dark, which he says are revolutionising mankind's ability to comprehend its own largely dysfunctional behaviour.