Michael Jackson Lawsuit UPDATE: Paris Jackson's Father Went Nearly Two Months Without Sleep

The lawsuit regarding Michael Jackson's death continues to get more bizarre even as scientific experts are brought in to testify. Charles Czeisler, a sleep expert from the Harvard Medical School, answered questions regarding Jackson's treatments and the effects they may have on the pop star's health. 

According to Czeisler's testimony, Jackson may have broken any known for records for the longest stretch without REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Jackson was suffering from insomnia and his doctor, Conrad Murray, gave him treatments of propofal, a drug that alters the normal sleep cycle but leaves the user feeling as if they had slept regularly. Murray continued these treatments for at least 60 days, meaning Jackson had not undergone REM for close to two months prior to his death. The doctor said that a lack of REM can have fatal effects on the body and that if Jackson hadn't died of an overdose, death from lack of REM couldn't have been far behind, adding that Jackson may not have felt tired but his body would still be suffering. 

"It would be like eating some sort of cellulose pellets instead of dinner," he said, noting lab rats died after five weeks without REM. "Your stomach would be full and you would not be hungry, but it would be zero calories and not fulfill any of your nutrition needs."

Symptoms of REM-deprived individuals include paranoia, anxiety, loss of balance and slowing of reflexes; all things that correlate to Jackson's behavior before his death. 

Czeisler, who serves as an expert on sleep for NASA, was speaking on the side of the Jackson family who is suing concert promoter AEG Live for its hiring of Murray, who was convicted of manslaughter for Jackson's death. The family is hoping to get $40 billion in damages.