Death by starvation can take an excruciatingly long time — up to two months in certain cases (although this depends on a number of factors, such as existing body fat). But the longest a person has survived without sleep is eleven days — and, needless to say, his cognitive functionality was basically nonexistent by the end of those presumably miserable eleven days. More recently, a healthy man died after going eleven days without sleep. Sleep allows our bodies to repair and heal themselves, as well as engage in other vital functions — so when we skip out on it, even in order to do something we're excited about, we only hurt ourselves.
