The Russian Sleep Experiment: Psychology of Sleeping

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you did not sleep for 30 days? In 1947, in Soviet Russia, some researchers came across this question, and the Russian Sleep Experiment was born.

Although there are doubts about whether The Russian Sleep Experiment is accurate, it has become a myth in the psychology community.

To see the results of being sleepless and how long the soldiers can stay without sleep, five war criminals were selected and turned into human subjects. The researchers placed the group of war criminals in a small dark cell next to it; they put the necessities they may need.

Regularly checked monitors were installed to adjust oxygen levels.

Everything seemed okay the first three days, but on the fourth day, things got worse. The prisoners started to talk about the traumas they experienced during the war and everything they witnessed. On the fifth day, things got disastrous; the subjects began to have psychosis and started talking about things that weren't real as if they were. The prisoners began to get paranoid about each other, and each prisoner started talking to scientists about other prisoners from the microphones in the room.

On the ninth day, the subjects suddenly fell into a great silence as nothing was heard but a muffled voice from a prisoner, "We don't want to be free anymore."

On the 15th day, it is decided that the experiment must be finished, and the door opens. When the door is opened, absolutely unspeakable things happen, one subject dies, and the others have their bellies slit or spread. The subjects eat their flesh and do not want to leave the cell. Whenever attempts are made to remove them, they resist with great force.

They were rumored to have superhuman strength and opposed the researchers. When they are finally removed, one subject dies as soon as they fall asleep.

A terrible truth is discovered while discussing the idea of ​​putting the remaining subjects back into the cell: the subjects' brains are dead. One of the three subjects falls asleep and dies right after. In the end, it is decided to kill the remaining subjects. Before one of the subjects was shot, he was asked, "Who are you?" the prisoner said: "I'm evil, kept in check by sleep, and reside in every human mind."

Is The Russian Sleep Experiment Real?

The most possible scenario is that this experiment never happened and was a made-up horror story. However, it allows us to reflect on sleep and its relation to psychology.

Effect of Sleep on Psychology

Sleep is one of the basic bodily needs; unless fulfilled, it can cause physical and mental results.

Sleep is in direct communication with the brain; sleeplessness causes a slowdown in the functions of neurons and signal transmissions. Lethargy begins to appear in specific brain regions, and cognitive slips ensue, resulting in psychological anxiety, stress, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. In the future, these may become more dangerous, such as schizophrenia, psychosis, and paranoia, as we encountered in The Russian Sleep Experiment …

References

Lazare, G. (2022). The Russian Sleep Experiment. The Sleep Shop Inc.

https://thesleepshopinc.com/the-russian-sleep-experiment/

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