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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"I detest sleep. I've got better things to do. Besides, I find it frightening -- to awaken and be unsure of everything you remember about life not being just part of a dream. Waking means I've slept, and sleep dissolves what certainty I have left."''
|'''Johnny''', ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]''}}
A common way to convey that a character is either really strange or has either paranoid or schizophrenic tendencies (or both) is to make them an insomniac. Whether only during times of great stress or as a chronic disorder (obviously a case of [[Truth in Television]]) expect these characters to be cranky, moody, mistrusting and sometimes even violent.
Expect lots of [[Eye Tropes]].
In fiction, four types can be observed:
* A. '''The Goofy Insomniac:''' Usually used as a comedy device. The character in question goes without sleep for a number of days (as these characters are often only ''temporary'' insomniacs) and react comically out-of-character for the duration of their sleep deprivation.
* B. '''[[Determinator|The Obsessive Insomniac]]:''' More likely to be a chronic insomniac. This character is so driven to catch or kill their nemesis that they forgo everything, including sleep. Typically, their sheer determination, rigid mindset and complete disregard for their bodies' needs actually make them more capable, making this a common [[Disability Superpower]]. See also [[Triple Shifter]]. May result in a [[Heroic RROD]].
* C. '''[[Truth in Television|The Realistic Insomniac]]:''' Often used in more serious works, where the disorder is neither funny nor makes the character any better at what they do. Often the delusional/hallucinogetic part of sleep deprivation is played up, sometimes in conjunction with [[Tomato in the Mirror]] surprises for the viewer.
* D. '''The Superpowered Insomniac:''' Part of the character's power set is the ability to go without
See also [[Bad Dreams]]. Waking up from one may cause a sleepless night; waking up from one many, many, many nights may lead to this in its milder forms, since the character gets ''some'' sleep. Characters for whom not sleeping is normal are [[The Sleepless]], though it can overlap with this trope, particularly the obsessives of Type B.
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* L from ''[[Death Note]]'' gets far less sleep than should be healthy for him - though like his eating habits, it doesn't seem to have any negative effect. His insomnia is arguably one of the reasons why he's the best three detectives in the world at the same time.
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==
* Rorschach from the graphic novel ''[[Watchmen]]'' goes long hours without sleep. Of course, Rorschach is a thoroughbred [[Determinator]].
* [[Judge Dredd]] prefers 10 minutes on a [[Applied Phlebotinum|sleep machine]] to actually sleeping in a
** But he's [[Chrono Trigger|still hungry]].
* The Joker in ''[[Batman]]'' comics is sometimes portrayed as an insomniac. This is directly addressed in ''The Dark Knight Returns.''
** Batman himself is the Obsessive Type, although part of it is the necessity of [[Secret Identity Identity|leading a double life.]] How much this affects him [[Depending on the Writer|tends to vary.]]
*** Some Batman variations have him using a meditative technique to get the equivalent of around six hours of sleep in just over a half hour.
* [[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]] has a distaste for sleep. It doesn't seem to make him anything other than crazier, though, making him a type C.
* ''[[Superman]]'' villain Riot couldn't sleep ever since he was mutated; the effects of sleep deprivation drove him insane.
* In the Postboot [[Legion of Super-Heroes (
* ''[[Irredeemable]]'': Max Damage is one of these out of necessity: the effectiveness of his powers are directly proportional to how long he's been awake. Unfortunately, he isn't immune to the effects of sleep deprivation, and is depicted as a Type C.
* The titular [[Mister X]] is a [[Mad Architect]] who takes a variety of homemade drugs to stay awake for months on end so he can attempt to fix the 'psychetecture' of a city he may or may not have designed. The city itself may also cause sleep disorders in its inhabitants.
{{quote|
== Films -- Live Action ==
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** Jonas Engström in the original Norwegian movie.
* The kid in the second ''[[X-Men]]'' movie who can change channels by blinking.
{{quote|
'''Mutant:''' I don't sleep. }}
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* In [[Tanith Lee]]'s ''Companions on the Road'', the main character is in danger from ghosts that kill in dreams, and so does everything possible to stay awake, including using drugs. After a few days, he's in terrible shape, exhausted and thinking confusedly, though not delusional.
* [[Don Quixote|Alonso Quijano]] was a type B, as described in Part I Chapter I: lead by his obsession to read chivalry books, he sleeps less and less while reading more and more and that sends him over the edge. After that, in various part of the novel, Don Quixote is seeing continuously staying awake, thinking in his dame Dulcinea del Toboso (that does not exist) only because he has read that is what the true knights do!
{{quote|
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "The Shadow Kingdom", [[Kull]] spends a night like this.
{{quote|
* The fourth book of the ''[[Dresden Files]]'' opens with Harry evidently suffering from the occasional bout of insomnia. {{spoiler|It's self-induced, however, in his attempts to find a cure for his girlfriend's recent partial vampirification.}}
* ''[[The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To]]'' is a type D.
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* Dr. [[House (TV series)|House]], towards the end of Season 5, after a coworker's death. He starts hallucinating and gradually losing his mind.
* [[Complete Monster|Billy Flynn]] from ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' usually smokes meth to keep himself awake for days or even weeks so that he can {{spoiler|perform several rapes and murders during planned blackouts}}.
* Dr. Franklin on ''[[Babylon 5]]'', leading to his abuse of stimulants.
** A Type B case. His department is understaffed, and he refuses to delegate as much as he should, which leads to drug abuse.
* Max, protagonist of ''[[Dark Angel]]'', claims not to sleep. She uses the night for more important matters. Such as stealing. She has lied to explain coming in to work late as "I overslept" on one occasion.
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* Sam from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' starts staying up all night in the first season when he's having nightmares about Jessica. In a much creepier example, he also stops sleeping entirely in season six, when he's {{spoiler|lost his soul}}. And for several days in season seven, {{spoiler|to the point where he nearly dies, after the hallucination of Lucifer left over from his time in hell becomes unbearable.}}
* Little Pete from ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'' manages to get his friends to stay up for several days as a protest against early bed times. Pete almost manages to make it to eleven days.
* Fox Mulder of ''[[The X-Files]]'' is a well-known insomniac. We almost never see him sleeping, and when we do, he's usually in the throes of a nightmare.
** In one episode, victims of a military experiment lose the ability to sleep, and subsequently gain the ability to induce hallucinations in others.
* In the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "The Paradise Syndrome", Spock goes without sleep for around ''two months''. He states that Vulcans under enough stress can go without sleep and/or food for much longer than humans.
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* [[Emilie Autumn]]'s ''4 o'clock'', a realistic and somewhat insane example.
* "Sleepflower" by [[Manic Street Preachers]] is about insomnia
{{quote|
No one knows the hell where innocence dies }}
* The singer of ''I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'' by [[Set It Off (Band)|Set It Off]].
== Poetry ==
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== Tabletop Games ==
* Elves from ''[[Dungeons
* Oathsworn from ''Arcana Evolved'' eventually no longer need to sleep.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'': Archaon, the [[Chosen One]] of [[Eldritch Abomination|Chaos]] does not sleep. Or eat. Or do anything but work towards the apocalypse.
* ''[[Warhammer
* ''[[Don't Rest Your Head]]'': The PCs are all insomniacs, though considering their current situation, this is for the best.
* ''[[Bliss Stage]]'': The Authority Figure has been awake for the past seven years, because everyone else over eighteen is in a blissful coma.
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== Video Games ==
* A variation of this trope occurs in ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'': Kratos has been plagued by nightmares for ten years, which started when he crossed the [[Moral Event Horizon]] by {{spoiler|murdering his wife and child in a berserker rage}}. He serves the gods because he believes that when he has redeemed himself, they will rid him of the nightmares. They don't.
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** While {{spoiler|his brain was hijacked by one of Zimmy's hallucinations}}, Jack Hyland picked up her habit of never sleeping. Unfortunately he needs it and suffered the effects of deprivation.
* Vaarsuvius, an elf from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', hasn't tranced in months in a recent story arc, which has severely changed V's appearance, patience, social skills and (arguably) alignment. Due to a mixture of [[Determinator|determination]] and [[Wangst|terrifying]] [[Bad Dreams|nightmares of guilt]], V defended this saying trancing isn't biologically necessary for elves. The veracity of this claim is dubious.
* Sniper Wolf from ''[[The Last Days of Foxhound]]'' can go on for long periods of time without sleep. She catches up on sleep by hibernating for a week or so every couple of years. Unfortunately, right before she hibernates, she would become disoriented and hallucinate various things.
* Princess November from ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'' is unable to sleep with the moon gone from the sky. Red has likely gone without sleep since {{spoiler|getting eaten by the wolf}}.
* Fall from ''[[Parallel Dementia]]'' sometimes goes for several weeks without sleeping to try and avoid nightmares. This has led her to pass out and may be contributing to her hallucinations.
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* ''[[Homestuck]]'': After the trolls' game of Sgrub began, Karkat Vantas barely slept at all in the three weeks the game took, according to Vriska. After that, he slept a grand total of once, during which time his dreamself was killed and [[Eldritch Abomination|he experienced things]] that put him off sleeping for a very long time, after which came [[Monster Clown|several]] [[A House Divided|distractions]].
* Jyrras from ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' has shown signs of sleep deprivation, which includes waving a knife in a dangerously random manner.
** Cubi start to lose the need to sleep as they age, which can appear as insomnia to the uninformed.
* CRFH's Roger can attend class, and ''successfully complete tests'', in his sleep.
* In ''[[Endstone]]'''s [[Backstory]], the [[Artifact of Doom]] preyed on Jon [http://endstone.net/2011/06/20/6-03/ until he could not sleep.]
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''
** In the "Nightmares and Daydreams" episode, Aang has a turn as a Goofy
** Prince Zuko is shown to be a Type B during the first season when he was in full, obsessive I-Must-Capture-The-Avatar mode. But later, during the third season {{spoiler|before his [[Heel Face Turn]]}}, his guilt over [[Ignored Epiphany|his actions]] [[Wham! Episode|under Ba Sing Se]] coupled with the paranoia that comes from living with [[Manipulative Bastard|Azula]] moves him into Type C territory, slowly driving him insane.
** In one episode the whole team is relentlessly pursued by a Fire Nation tank with Azula on board. Unable to get even a moment of rest, they go deeply into Type C.
* On ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', Jérémie has a tendency to be the Obsessive Insomniac. Of course, his [[
** Or a developing body. Kid's 12 at the opening of the show...he's likely stunted his growth permanently. Thank goodness it doesn't seem to have damaged anything.
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' features a throwaway gag of Apu having worked a 96-hour-shift. At the end, "I apparently thought I was a hummingbird of some kind." He also tried to drink nectar out of Sanjay's head.
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* Full International Baccalaureate students don't usually sleep more than two hours on average until the weekend or long breaks. Eventually, some of them become [[The Sleepless|accustomed to it]].
* In some cases, people with post-traumatic stress disorder suffer from insomnia as part and parcel of the disease, especially in people with this disease who have nightmares about their traumatic experience. Alternatively, a person with PTSD could be lying down trying to sleep and then, BAM! they relive their traumatic experience and it takes a while for them to recover from this so they can sleep.
* There are countless examples of artists who have had or do have sleeping problems, [[Emilie Autumn]], [[Michael Jackson]] and [[Owl City]] are a few examples.
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{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Sleep and Wakefulness Tropes]]
[[Category:The Insomniac]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Insomniac, The}}
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