A Divine Reminder

“God gave us sleep to remind us we are not Him.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Sleep plays a vital role in who you are. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can protect your mental alertness, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping. During sleep, your brain is forming new pathways to help you remember information. Did you know these statistics about sleep?

1.      A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year

2.     Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you're sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you're still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted so you feel sleepy by day.

3.     Divorced, widowed, and separated people report more insomnia.

4.     Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.

5.     Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep.

6.    Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.

7.     In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep. However, exercising sporadically or right before going to bed will make falling asleep more difficult.

8.     In general, most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours.

9.     In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.

10. More than eight in ten survey respondents think that people often or sometimes misuse prescription sleep aids.

11.   Newborns sleep a total of fourteen to seventeen hours a day on an irregular schedule with periods of one to three hours spent awake.

12.  No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.

13.  One of the primary causes of excessive sleepiness among Americans is self-imposed sleep deprivation.

14. People who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite-regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase.

15.  Rates of insomnia increase as a function of age, but most often the sleep disturbance is attributable to some other medical condition.

16. REM dreams are characterized by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery - obsessively returning to a suspicion you left your mobile phone somewhere. REM sleep may help developing brains mature. Premature babies have 75 per cent REM sleep.

17.  Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.

18. Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

19. Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise.

20.Snoring is the primary cause of sleep disruption for approximately 90 million American adults; 37 million on a regular basis.

21.  Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.

22. Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

23. The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.

24.The higher the altitude is the greater the sleep disruption. Generally, sleep disturbance becomes greater at altitudes of 13,200 feet or more. The disturbance is thought to be caused by diminished oxygen levels and accompanying changes in respiration. Most people adjust to new altitudes in approximately two to three weeks.

25. The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

26.            Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a "neural switch" in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.

27. We naturally feel tired at two different times of the day: about 2:00 AM and 2:00 PM. It is this natural dip in alertness that is primarily responsible for the post-lunch dip.  [i]Y

ROBY DIDN'T KNOW...
When people tell me “You’re going to regret that in the morning,” I sleep in until noon because I’m a problem solver.” (coolfunnyquotes.com)

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[i] Sources used:

·        “25 Random Facts about Sleep” http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/25-random-facts-about-sleep

·        “Why Is Sleep Important?” https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why

·        40 FACTS ABOUT SLEEP YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW...
 “40 Facts about Sleep You Probably Didn’t Know…(or Were Too Tired to Think About) http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm