Sleep Deprivation in Navy SEAL Hell Week - How Much Sleep Do BUD/s Candidates Get?

Navy SEAL hell week is probably the most well known part of BUD/s training. Hell week starts on Sunday night and ends Friday afternoon. Potential SEALs are pushed to their physical and mental limits with little to no sleep over the course of those 5 days. So how much sleep do they get?

Listen to former Navy SEAL Garrett Uncelbach talk about how much sleep they get and why as well as share his own experience of sleep deprivation during hell week.

Did you know that 70% of BUD/s candidates that pass hell week go on to be pinned as SEALs?

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[jefft]

I have insomnia and I think about the seals to give me a boost when I’m sleep deprived

[RAYTHEONGAMING]

*I'm 41 and got 2 kids Hell Week sounds like the first 3 months of my babies being born*

[rhdecker]

Hi. Thanks for your channel. Went through hell week 2x. First class 116, (dropped after failing pool comp) Went through again, class 125. Both similar as I recall. Both sucked big time. Side note: When I got to BUD/S in June of 81, I watched Breakout for 113. Back then, breakout was at midnight, and they did the percussion grenades' and M60 w blanks inside(!) the barracks. A couple a windows broke and after that, they started the Tents. For 125, the first night of sleep for us was on Wednesday (I think) after paddling down to the Tijuana mud flats. We made a fire, and they let us make shelters with the IBS'. Was possible the worst moment of the week when they woke us after maybe an hour or 2 of sleep, and had us take a dunk in the pacific. That was bad. I hated the Pilipino instructor for that. It was miserable. In 116, I was in the tall guys boat, and we won every evolution in Hell week. As a reward, they let us secure on Friday, around noon. I had scars for many years from the chaffing. Being wet is bad. being cold is bad. Being cold and wet, that was the hardest part of hell week. Very few can handle it. I never contemplated quitting. Not an option. Graduated Nov 83. Hooya.

[mickob]

I do think that seals are hardcore but look at Aussie sas selection. A full week of no sleep and one meal that could be something like a boiled crow that gets shared amongst everyone and a drink that’s ment to make you vomit. During that week it would be constant activity like mock missions or filling sandbags without digging for dirt

[mofo]

I used to work as a 3d shift computer network engineer. I had to quit that job and shift when I discovered having the same micro naps on a 30 min drive home under the rumbling of the car traveling on a highway.

[Dhdjdjsjdjsjk]

You can sleep while moving let the boat crew stand watch basically while running, hey you close your eyes than after he opens hey your next.

[mikebean.]

I know I would be the only one sleeping on Thursday

[justinv]

Hell Week ain’t got shit on Hell *Month*

That’s the month after your first kid’s born.
Life’s just uphill from there. Like ascending from the Mariana Trench.

[JarrodMiller-zj]

I would be like Bill Murray from Stripes....lol.

[PareidoliaPizza]

I completely understand why he chose to stay awake the 2nd time. I feel much better pulling an all-nighter than dozing off for 45 minutes and being startled awake by an alarm clock! That's just plain cruel.

[alanmjohnson]

One thing I've always wondered...from what I understand, BUDS has three phases of nine weeks each. I'm sure we've all seen a documentary on youtube about class 234; it's six episodes long, the first three are about the first two weeks of Phase 1, the last two are about Phases 2 and 3, and the fourth one is about hell week. What happens AFTER hell week for the remainder of Phase 1? Presumably they can't beat you up quite as bad as at the beginning, and I would guess there has to be some kind of recovery (both physical and mental) from all the work and sleep deprivation. And I would also assume that pretty much everyone who is going to quit has already quit, so the weed out process is largely done (except for, say, technical or intellectual failures in the later stages). So, what is the short/medium term aftermath of hell week? How do you spend your time for the next six weeks or so?

[stirlE]

And I think one night with no sleep is bad 😂

[gabrielitzhaki]

Which podcast episode is this clip from?

[abraham]

I’m try to for 3 days no sleep it been the first day already but do I start hallucinating on the 3rd day? Cus if not so I can just go to sleep rn

[SudhirKumar-xpro]

How many hours does they sleep during training for 6 month for becoming seal on daily basis?

[towh]

how come there aren't any blacks in seals?

[xantana]

I’m only here cuz I gotta work in 2 hours and haven’t slept so I use the seals as motivation 🫡