Do you suppose they might've died from being crashed into a wall? Also, citation needed.
This type of experiment is quite common. http://www.bing.com/search?q=%22sleep+deprivation%22+rats+ex...
They use different methods to keep the rats awake. Some say the rats died after 3 weeks, some 40 days... It's pretty much a scientific fact by this point that prolonged sleep deprivation ultimately leads to death.