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THE PEP PILLS THAT LET YOU SLEEP JUST.. 2 HOURS
NEW drugs to let us manage on only two hours sleep a day are being developed, scientists revealed yesterday.
The "24-hour lifestyle" pills promise sleep that is deeper and more refreshing than the real thing and would even make it possible to stay awake for several days at a stretch.
There will also be pills to deliver what feels like eight hours of sleep in half that time, New Scientist magazine reports.
Russell Foster, a biologist at Imperial College London, said: "The more we understand about the body's 24-hour clock the more we will be able to override it.
"In 10 t
o 20 years we'll be able to pharmacologically turn sleep off."
But not everyone was impressed at th
e idea of a world where people can be active 22 hours a day. Neil Stanley, head of sleep research at the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit at the University of Surrey, said: "I think that would be the most hideous thing to happen to society."
Scientists are hoping to build on the success of the drug Modafinil, a stimulant launched seven years ago and which allows people to wake up refreshed after four hours of sleep. Unlike caffeine or amphetamines, it appears not to leave users with the jitters or euphoria.
And does not build up a "sleep debt" that has to be repaid at some time in the future.
Also under development is CX717 which Cortex Pharmaceuticals of California says will help people maintain normal alertness despite extended sleep deprivation.
Tests on 11 monkeys showed they were doing better after 36 hours of con
tinual wakefulness than undrugged monkeys after normal sleep.
The military is thought to be one of the greatest markets for this new generation of drugs, where soldie
rs on special ops sometimes have to be awake and alert for up to 72 hours.
CX717 will be put through its paces later this year when the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) based in Arlington, Virginia, will push 48 volunteers to their limit on the drug. DARPA neuroscientist Amy Kruse said: "We want to know what we can do to bring them back up to the level they would be at if they had a good night's sleep."
NEW drugs to let us manage on only two hours sleep a day are being developed, scientists revealed yesterday.
The "24-hour lifestyle" pills promise sleep that is deeper and more refreshing than the real thing and would even make it possible to stay awake for several days at a stretch.
There will also be pills to deliver what feels like eight hours of sleep in half that time, New Scientist magazine reports.
Russell Foster, a biologist at Imperial College London, said: "The more we understand about the body's 24-hour clock the more we will be able to override it.
"In 10 t
o 20 years we'll be able to pharmacologically turn sleep off."
But not everyone was impressed at th
e idea of a world where people can be active 22 hours a day. Neil Stanley, head of sleep research at the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit at the University of Surrey, said: "I think that would be the most hideous thing to happen to society."
Scientists are hoping to build on the success of the drug Modafinil, a stimulant launched seven years ago and which allows people to wake up refreshed after four hours of sleep. Unlike caffeine or amphetamines, it appears not to leave users with the jitters or euphoria.
And does not build up a "sleep debt" that has to be repaid at some time in the future.
Also under development is CX717 which Cortex Pharmaceuticals of California says will help people maintain normal alertness despite extended sleep deprivation.
Tests on 11 monkeys showed they were doing better after 36 hours of con
tinual wakefulness than undrugged monkeys after normal sleep.
The military is thought to be one of the greatest markets for this new generation of drugs, where soldie
rs on special ops sometimes have to be awake and alert for up to 72 hours.
CX717 will be put through its paces later this year when the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) based in Arlington, Virginia, will push 48 volunteers to their limit on the drug. DARPA neuroscientist Amy Kruse said: "We want to know what we can do to bring them back up to the level they would be at if they had a good night's sleep."