How important is sleep?
I learned some interesting things about sleep a while back:
~ Humans are the only mammals on earth that actually willingly delay sleep.
~ Sleep apnea, a condition where you actually stop breathing, is the most common cause of sleep disruption. It affects 90 million Americans, and is easily diagnosed.
~ People used to sleep in segments. Before the invention of electricity, rather than sleeping through the night many people would sleep for a few hours, wake up, read, write, pray, or reflect, and then got back to sleep for another few hours before waking up for the day. This is reflected, believe it or not, in a 24 hour day. Why?
24 id divisible by :1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24. That's a lot of different shifts to work!
~ All-nighters are not good. Being awake for 16 hours in a row, your mind’s ability to function is impaired, similar to the feeling when you have a blood alcohol level of .05%.
~ Color TV's changed the way we dream. Prior to color film, only 15% percent of people dreamed in color. Now, 75% of people dream in color.
~ Higher altitudes increase the chance of sleep disruption. Because there's less oxygen in the air, you’re more likely to wake because of an issue with your breathing.
~ You can control your dreams. It’s called lucid dreaming and it involves becoming aware that you are dreaming, but not letting your mind wake itself up.
