Tony Wright (sleep deprivation)

Tony Wright from Penzance in Cornwall claimed the world sleep deprivation record in May 2007.^[1] Wright bases 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.^[2] Others believe that the Guinness previous 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.^[3] The National Sleep Research Project states that an unnamed record holder has stayed awake longer than Randy Gardner.^[4]

Wright's record claim was not credited by The Guinness Book of Records, since it does not accept records related to sleep deprivation any more due to the possible health risks.

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Wright's ideology on human sleep metabolism

It is Wright's theory that we are trained to over-rely on the brain's left hemisphere, which he says requires more sleep than the right. By subsisting on a "Stone Age" diet of raw foods and suppressing conceptual thought, he claims, he avoids the stresses on our neurology brought on by modern lifestyles, and is able to perform such feats of deliberate insomnia.^[5]

Book

Tony Wright published Left in the Dark in May 2007 it presents an outline of his theory that the left hemisphere is a hormonally retarded version of the right hemisphere. He has proposed that the ancient Ages of Man mythology accurately describe the onset and progression of a neurological condition that correlates with the end of the rapid expansion of the human brain. He also proposes that the origins of ‘religious’ techniques and practices were borne as an attempt to treat the condition. He further claims the damaged left side of our brain currently dominates us while phenomenal abilities remain latent in the relatively undamaged right. ^[6]

Tony's latest project (September 2007)

Tony Wright successfully beat the world record for the longest telephone call shortly after 2am BST on Friday September 14th, 2007 after he continually spoke with various volunteers using an internet phone for over 40 hours. He then went on to set the new world record of 48 hours at 11am BST on the same day.

The attempt was held in conjunction with Tesco internet phone, and was hosted from his home in Penzance. A number of volunteers at a Tesco store in Kensington, London, helped him to keep the conversation going. Tesco internet phone donated £100 for every hour of the conversation to the British Red Cross, Tesco Charity of the Year Partnership. All the money raised will be used for crisis care in the UK.

The previous world record for the World’s Longest Phone Call stands at 39 hours 18 minutes and 24 seconds and was set on November 3 2005 by Sandra Kobel and Stephen Hafner from Switzerland.

References

1. ^ Daily Mail (May 24, 2007). The record-breaking Cornishman who is staying awake for 11 days. Retrieved on May 24, 2007.
2. ^ Daily Mail (May 24, 2007). The record-breaking Cornishman who is staying awake for 11 days. Retrieved on May 24, 2007.
3. ^ Man who stayed up for 266 hours awakes to bad news.
4. ^ National Sleep Research Project (May 24, 2007). The record-breaking Cornishman who is staying awake for 11 days. Retrieved on May 24, 2007.
5. ^ Cornwall Consciousness Centre (Unknown). Introduction. Retrieved on May 26, 2007.
6. ^ http://www.kaleidos.org.uk/MANUSCRIPT/