Posted by Rachel Marshall - Brand Manager on 9th Jun 2023
10 Sleep World Records You Could Try to Beat
If you fancy taking on a world record holder, here’s some weird and wonderful sleep-related titles to try and beat.
From the longest time spent without sleep to the most people squashed into a single bed, here are 10 of the most interesting sleep-inspired world records to try and beat. And that’s not all we’ve discovered.
Whether you fancy yourself as the loudest snorer or know someone deserving of that title; plan on hosting the world’s largest sleepover; or are a dab hand at making your bed, see if you can beat these world records. Read on to unveil the 10 most impressive sleep world records.
10 super impressive sleep world record titles
Longest time awake
The Guinness Book of World Records ceased observing the record for the longest time stayed awake in 1997. The record for the longest time awake is held by Robert McDonald. He went a massive 453 hours and 40 minutes without sleep. That’s an unfathomable 18 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes. Robert McDonald achieved this record in 1986 ( 1).
The Guinness Book of World Records stopped monitoring this record due to the fundamental dangers correlated with sleep deprivation. That said, no one is known to have broken it since Robert McDonald’s 1986 triumph.
Longest time asleep
A UK hypnotist named Peter Powers currently holds the record for the longest time asleep without waking. In 1959, he put himself into a hypnotic sleep that lasted an impressive eight consecutive days ( 2).
Most people at a sleepover
At most sleepovers, sleep isn’t the first thing on anyone’s mind. So, imagine a sleepover consisting of a colossal 2,004 participants. How much sleep do you reckon a pyjama party that size involved? This sleepover was organised by Girl Guiding North West and hosted in Cheshire in 2014. And today, it is still one impressive sleep-related world record ( 3).
Most people eating breakfast in bed at the same time
Let’s face it, lazy Sundays are all about eating breakfast in bed. But, how many people could you gather together to achieve this impressive world record? It’s currently held by Cappy (a product of the Coca-Cola company in South Africa). And they achieved an incredible 574 people all eating breakfast in-bed(albeit different beds) at the same time on 30 March 2019 ( 4). Reckon you could beat that?
What’s more, all of the beds used in the world record achievement were donated to local charities afterwards. Now that’s a worthy sleep-inspired world record.
Loudest snorer
I’m not sure that being the loudest snorer ever is a world sleep record you’d be eager to brag about. That said, this record is currently held by Kåre Walkert of Sweden. He actually suffers from a breathing disorder known as sleep apnoea and his peak levels were recorded at a sleep-shattering (for anyone sharing a bed with him) 93 decibels. This world record was observed while Kåre Walkert was sleeping at the Örebro Regional Hospital, Sweden in 1993 ( 5).
World’s biggest bed
Now, given our expertise in beds, this one definitely piqued our interest. The current world record holding bed measures a whopping 26.5 m in length and 16.44 m in width. That’s equal to 86 ft 11 in by 53 ft 11 in. This monstrosity was created by Commissie Zomerfeesten in St Gregorius Hertme, the Netherlands back in 2011. That’s approximately the same size as a quarter of a football pitch. Anyone own a football pitch and fancy having a go at beating this bizarre world record (6)?
Most people on a single bed
Let’s start by mentioning that a standard-sized single bed measures 90 x 190 cm. It has been specifically designed to comfortably sleep one human adult. Given that, this sleep-related world record is about to blow your mind! This record is currently held by Xilinmen Furniture Company in China. In the September of 2013, the managed to squash a wow-worthy 54 people onto one standard single bed. How? Well, we’re not quite sure. But we are certain that none of them will have gotten a decent night’s sleep with that many limbs fighting for space ( 7).
Fastest bed making record
This one is just for fun. But, before we divulge the results, we should explain that by bed making we mean changing the sheet, duvet cover and pillow case! For a single bed, the record is currently held by Wendy Wall in Australia. She managed to make the bed in just 28.2 seconds flat. This world record was set in November 1978 and is still unbeaten today ( 8). Feel free to try it at home any time.
In other bed making world record news, the record for a king-size bed is held by Andrea Warner, a UK-based Travelodge Hotel manager. Andrea dressed the king size Travelodge Dreamer bed in just 74 seconds. In this time, she was able to fit a sheet on the mattress, cover a king size duvet and fasten six poppers, covering two pillows with their cases, make the bed and add a bed runner. And all that in just 74 seconds ( 9).
Furthest distance to push a bed
This is one of those ‘why would you?’ sleep world records. But, the furthest distance to push a bed is a record that actually does exist. And the record distance is 5,204 km (or 3,233.65 miles). This record was accomplished by a team of nine employees of Bruntsfield Bedding Centre in Edinburgh, UK. The team completed their world record attempt using a wheeled hospital in July 1979. And the record took them a massive 5 days to complete ( 10).
Largest water bed
Let’s finish with another fun visual – the world’s largest water bed. And why not? The world’s largest waterbed is a mammoth and measures 46.77sq m. It was created by Water-Bed-City on in May 2001 in Hamburg, Germany and holds an impressive 7,000 litres of water. Now, that’s a wacky sleep world record if ever we heard one ( 11)!
Meta: If you fancy trying your hand at beating a sleep-inspired world record, here’s 10 of the weirdest and most wonderful we’ve come across.
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