In the winter of 1959, in the heart of New York’s Times Square, the charismatic 32-year-old Peter Tripp attempted to challenge the limits of human endurance. From inside a glass booth, the DJ remained awake for an outstanding 201 hours and 10 minutes, broadcasting the live spectacle dubbed the ‘Wake-a-thon’. What started as a charity stunt for the March of Dimes, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the health of mothers and babies, spiralled into one of the most interesting studies into the effects of sleep deprivation.
At precisely 6 am on January 26, 1959, Tripp kicked off the challenge with upbeat music and a mission: to raise money for a good cause and test the limits of human cognition. He was monitored by a rotating team of doctors and psychologists who measured his vital signs, brain waves and psychological state throughout the stunt. They also administered Tripp with stimulants to keep him awake, including caffeine, amphetamines and benzedrine.
The first few days were relatively uneventful. Tripp was energetic and cheerful, entertaining passersby and listeners with music and witty remarks for three hours each day. Fans gathered outside the booth whilst celebrities and supporters phoned in to cheer him on.
However, by day four, things began to take a darker turn. The DJ grew irritable, paranoid and emotionally volatile. He accused his wife of infidelity and believed his colleagues were conspiring against him. He began to suspect the doctors were poisoning him, and a coat rack became an intruder that he tied to fight off. He believed he was living two lives: one awake and one dreaming.
By day five, his hallucinations become more vivid and bizarre. He claimed to see celebrities who weren’t there, including Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. At one point, he was convinced he was in a Florida airport; at another moment, he thought he had entered the prehistoric era. Tripp no longer believed he was himself, but an intruder pretending to be Peter Tripp.
The team doctors and psychologist who observed Tripp explained that he was experiencing REM intrusions, where his brain would enter the REM stage of sleep while he was physically awake. Normally, REM sleep is accompanied by muscle paralysis, which prevents people from acting out their dreams. But Tripp, kept alert by a cocktail of stimulants, bypassed this safety mechanism, allowing him to act out his dreams while awake.
Tripp’s final 66 hours were spent in an almost manic state, supported by the drugs administered to him. When the Wake-a-thon finally ended on February 4th at 9:15 am, Tripp wanted one thing: sleep, which he then did for 13 hours and 13 minutes.
Though he’d broken the unofficial world record for sleeplessness, many a DJ immediately tried to beat him. Including Dave Hunter in Florida, who reportedly stayed awake for 225 hours.
The consequences for Tripp were severe. In the following months, he battled severe depression, developed ulcers and was diagnosed with high blood pressure. His public image also took a hit when it was revealed that he had accepted $36,050 in bribes from record companies to play particular records. He was found guilty of commercial bribery, fined $500, and received a six-month suspended sentence.
Peter Tripp’s Wake-a-thon remains one of the most dramatic demonstrations of the importance of sleep, living on in research, psychology textbooks and the collective memory of a sensational era of broadcast stunts. More than six decades later, Tripp’s story is a stark reminder that if we try to outwit sleep, the mind doesn’t just protest, it unravels.
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