Lack of sleep will kill you faster than lack of food.
That said, it may be possible for some unfortunate souls to go without sleeping. Certain quirks of technology suggest themselves;
We actually have two brains. Separated by the corpus collosum, these cerebral halves normally communicate and cooperate, and of course stay in the same sleep/wake cycle.
Epilepsy patients, and others, who may have had their corpus collosums severed, could theoretically have different processes going on in the two halves. The sleep cycle is pretty basic, however, having much of its function controlled by chemicals.
I should also point out that the body needs rest as well.
To be quiescent for hours is not easy for most people. When I have sleepless periods, I remain at rest, and write books in my mind. This is probably why I don't dream much.
Thank you, Professor.
Interesting. I compose things too.... not books, but depending on the circumstances letters, technical designs or standards, bagpipe tunes, or other...
The “Evan Tanner” novels, by Lawrence Block. Mr. Tanner got a piece of shrapnel through his “sleep center” in the Korean War, and stopped sleeping. It left him with lots of time on his hands.