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Albert Herpin, The Man Who Went More Than 60 Years Without Sleeping
A New Jersey man gained national prominence during his life for claiming he simply never slept
If not every night, most of us value a good night’s sleep at least every now and then in order to recharge our batteries. That’s what makes Albert Herpin all the more perplexing, as he allegedly once went 60 years without sleeping.
Herpin was born in 1862 in Paris, France. He moved to the United States at an early age, and spent a good portion of his early adulthood living and working in New York City before moving to New Jersey. He lived a simple life, working a variety of jobs, including as an innkeeper, a carriage maker and as a furniture upholsterer. He likely would not have come to the attention of many except for one thing. He claimed that although he rested, he never slept. This inability to slumber supposedly began after his wife died in 1882, which he indicated left him permanently unable to sleep.
Some reports indicated that Herpin never had normal sleep habits right from birth. This supposedly concerned his mother and others in the family because the child never seemed to close its eyes. It was speculated that this might have been the result of his mother having been in a carriage accident while she was pregnant.
