Sleep is so important for our health. Everybody needs regular sleep. World record for insomnia is 18 days, 21 hours and 40 minutes. The record holder suffered from hallucinations, paranoia, vision impairment, and problems with speech, concentration and memory during this time. It is impossible to figure out if a person wide awake or not without careful medical observation, because people can sleep with their eyes open. Here are some other interesting sleep facts.
Do You Get Enough Sleep?
If you fall asleep within five minutes, it means you don’t get enough sleep. The right time for falling asleep is 10-15 minutes. It suggests that you are tired enough, but you were quite active during the day.
How Much Sleep Do We Need?
Teenagers need as much sleep as babies – about ten hours a day, while seniors need just six hours. For middle age – 25-55 years old – it is recommended to sleep eight hours.
Dreaming
Some scientists believe that we see dreams to fix the events in our long-term memory. In other words, our dreams are worth remembering. Other scientists argue that we dream of events we need to forget. Dreams eliminate the memories that “litter” our brain, hindering mental activity.
Lack of Sleep Is Dangerous
Huge oil spill in Prince William Bay, Alaska, in 1989, the Challenger crash and the Chernobyl accident came from human failures made because of the lack of sleep.
One in six road accidents happens because of sleepy drivers.
Other Facts about Sleep
- Babies deprive their parents from sleep. Within the first year of a child’s life, the parents don’t get 400-750 hours of sleep they would otherwise have.
- Some eye movements during REM-phase imitate your body motions during sleep. Sleeping is somewhat like being in the movie.
- Elephants can sleep in slow phase when they stand, and in REM-phase, when they lie.
- Seventeen hours without sleep lead to decrease in working efficiency. So does 0.05% alcohol in the blood.
- Five nights without sleep double the effects of alcohol.
- A person snores only during slow phase of sleep.
Source of the image: topnews.in
