A man who opted to stay up for 264 hours (yawns while typing) did not get along very well thereafter.

In 1964, students Randy Gardner and Bruce McAllister from San Diego, California, set the Guinness record for the longest duration of willingly going without sleep.

Dr. William C. Dement, a sleep specialist at Stanford University, chose to oversee the massive endeavor as part of a school science fair project.

While both participated in the challenge, Gardner, 17, managed to remain away for 11 days and 25 minutes, breaking the world record at the time.

McAllister later told the BBC, “We were foolish, you know, young idiots, and I stayed awake with him to watch him.”

“After three nights of sleeplessness myself, I woke up tipped against the wall, writing notes on the wall itself.”

Dr. Dement and US Navy doctor Lieutenant Commander John J. Ross were overseeing the experiment, and according to the researchers, the effects began to manifest after the second day of no sleep.

When asked to repeat tongue twisters to see how he felt, Gardner began to fumble over his words.

Gardner’s health had deteriorated significantly after three days without sleep, with symptoms including moodiness, lack of focus, short-term memory loss, paranoia, and hallucinations.

“He was physically very fit,” Dement explained. “We could always get him moving by playing basketball or bowling, for example.” If he closed his eyes, he would fall asleep immediately.”

By the end of the trip, the youngster had spent a total of 264.4 hours awake.

After ultimately succumbing to the Sand Man, the adolescent slept for 14 hours before waking up naturally, admitting he didn’t feel particularly ‘groggy’.

Despite initially recuperating well, he continued to have sleep issues for many years, according to WBUR.

Gardner experienced insomnia as an adult and became convinced that the experiment was the cause.

“I was unpleasant to be around. Everything made me upset. He told NPR’s Morning Edition that it seemed like a continuation of what he had done 50 years before.

“You need to sleep. It is as vital as the big three. I refer to it as the “big three.”

“Water, food, sleep—you’ve got to have them, all of them.”