Buzz
We all engage in it—from the moment we're born to the moment we die—and it's one of those activities that we rarely give much thought to. Over the course of our lives, we will spend roughly a third of our time asleep. Thomas Edison once referred to this as a colossal 'waste of time'.
All creatures, big or small, need sleep to survive. Whether it's humans who believe eight hours is ideal for peak performance, or giraffes who manage with just under two hours a day, sleep remains one of the most peculiar processes in the animal kingdom.
10. Sleep Paralysis: The Source of Many Myths
Sleep paralysis occurs when someone wakes up and finds themselves unable to move, blurring the line between dreams and reality. Most often, individuals experiencing this phenomenon feel a presence in the room, with some even reporting visions of eerie or demonic figures. Those who encounter it repeatedly may see the same figure night after night. Conditions like narcolepsy that disrupt normal sleep patterns can increase the frequency of these unsettling episodes.
Sleep paralysis has been a known phenomenon for centuries, with various cultures offering eerie explanations for it. European mythology often mentions the incubus and succubus, but other, lesser-known tales exist. In Brazil, the visitor is a pink dolphin by day and a temptress by night. In Newfoundland, it’s the 'Old Hag' holding the victim in a paralyzed state. In Japan, an evil monk is said to bind his victims with an iron rope. In the Caribbean, strangling spirits are believed to be the souls of babies who died before baptism. In some parts of Africa, zombies are thought to be the cause.
Sleep paralysis may also explain the phenomenon of alien abductions. Many individuals who claim to have been abducted at night describe symptoms closely resembling sleep paralysis, such as feeling awake yet unable to move and seeing strange, otherworldly figures in the room.
9. Sleepwalking: A Changing Phenomenon
In the past, our biggest nighttime concerns were stumbling out of bed and heading to the barn or walking down the street. Today, however, our nighttime activities are merging with those we do during the day. 'Sleep-texting' and 'sleep-emailing' now occur alongside traditional sleepwalking. So, if you receive a strange message in the middle of the night and the sender claims to have no memory of it the next day, they might just be telling the truth.
Professors at New York University's College of Dentistry explain that texting and responding to phone alerts have become so habitual that they're blurring the lines between sleep and wakefulness. The type of messages sent can vary greatly; some are nonsensical or full of misspellings, while others are composed just as fluently as when the person is awake. Some individuals even have preferred types of messages, like sending out unwelcome romantic notes. A common result of sleep-texting is embarrassment, regardless of the message's nature.
Stress and fatigue can increase the chances of sleep-texting, but there are simple solutions to help stop it—such as turning your phone off or keeping it out of reach. It’s also believed that sleep-texting, along with other similar activities at night, can disrupt deep sleep. This can leave you feeling more tired and make you more prone to repeating the behavior.
8. Counting Sheep? It Doesn’t Work
Struggling to sleep? You’ve probably received some unsolicited advice from coworkers who noticed you yawning, most likely the age-old suggestion to count sheep. The practice of counting sheep to fall asleep dates back centuries and is believed to have come from real sheep. The theory is that shepherds, watching over their flocks at night, would become so anxious about the safety of their animals and potential predators that they’d count the sheep repeatedly to ensure they were all there and unharmed. Eventually, exhaustion would set in, and the shepherds would fall asleep.
This is one of those old sayings that has just stuck around. However, unfortunately, it’s not going to work the same way for you as it did for those shepherds. The concept behind counting sheep is that it occupies your mind with a monotonous task, which should, in theory, push aside the stressful thoughts of tomorrow’s to-do list or worries about the previous day. The issue, though, is that it’s too dull, and other thoughts will inevitably sneak in. A better visualization technique is to imagine something calming that takes just enough mental effort to focus on... without being overwhelming.
7. The Risks of Sleep Deprivation
We’ve all experienced those all-nighters where we’re exhausted the next day, irritable, and can’t wait to sleep. But that's not the kind of sleep deprivation we’re talking about here. Long-term, chronic sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous. A few days without sleep can lead to hallucinations, high blood pressure, and memory issues, along with short-term effects like irritability and depression. Persistent sleep deprivation—whether voluntary or not—can result in weight gain, sudden fainting episodes, and even permanent damage to the immune system. It’s not unheard of for people to die after just three days without sleep, like Jiang Xiaoshan, a sports fan who tried to stay awake for an entire marathon of football championships.
Some individuals have even tried to harness the strange effects of sleep deprivation to boost their performance in other areas. Take Jure Robic, a Slovenian long-distance cyclist, for example. His strategy for victory involved staying awake throughout cross-country marathons. By the end of the race, Robic would go from being irritable and combative to seeing wild animals attack him, to abandoning his bike in order to confront shadowy figures lurking around every corner, and eventually, believing he was being chased by people attempting to kill him. The hallucinations motivated him to push his body even further, at times causing his support team to retreat to their cars for safety. Robic passed away in 2010 after being struck by a car during a training ride.
Dive into a world of constant overstimulation and an ongoing sleep deprivation crisis in this haunting glimpse into the future. Get the Kindle version of Sleep Donation: A Novella on Amazon.com!
6. Our Sense of Smell Stops Affecting Us
We’re all familiar with smoke alarms and fire detectors as essential safety tools, but you might not be aware of just how vital they are. The smell of smoke is one of the most recognizable odors, so it seems logical that you’d immediately notice a fire if one were to occur. However, our response to smells is altered when we’re asleep. Unlike sounds, smells won’t wake us up.
In a study by Brown University published in the journal Sleep, volunteers were exposed to various smells during their sleep cycles. The results showed that participants had no reaction to a range of odors, from peppermint to the familiar scent of smoke that would be present during a house fire. Even when equipped with a chin strap (forcing them to breathe through their nose) and exposed to powerful, unpleasant fumes, there was no response once they transitioned from the lighter stages of sleep into the deeper stages. On the other hand, sounds were found to be much more effective at waking people from even the deepest sleep.
5. Alcohol Doesn’t Improve Sleep Quality
Though alcohol can make us feel drowsy, leading many to believe that a drink or two before bed is a foolproof way to fall asleep, the truth is that alcohol does more harm than good. Studies investigating the effects of alcohol on the sleep patterns of over 500 individuals have revealed some alarming findings for those of us who rely on a nightcap to help us sleep.
While alcohol may help you fall asleep faster and deepen your initial sleep, the negative effects later in the night outweigh these benefits. Just two drinks can significantly reduce REM sleep. Along with waking up more frequently, those who do enter REM sleep are more likely to experience nightmares, often waking up in the middle of them. This leads to disrupted sleep and uncomfortable sensations. Women tend to feel these effects more acutely than men, as their bodies metabolize alcohol more quickly. Even just one or two drinks could cause you to wake up to use the bathroom in the night, and it can exacerbate preexisting conditions such as acid reflux, insomnia, and sleep apnea.
4. Early Theories on Sleep
Sleep is truly a strange phenomenon. We spend about a third of our lives asleep, which is a significant chunk of time that could otherwise be spent on activities like learning, reading, or improving the world around us. On the surface, sleep seems pointless, making it understandable that early scientists, physicians, and psychologists struggled to pinpoint the exact reasons why we sleep.
One of the first theories regarding sleep came from the Greek philosopher Alcmaeon. He believed that sleep was caused by the flow of blood throughout the body. As blood moved away from the skin and toward the internal organs, sleep would take over, only to reverse when the blood flow shifted back. A century later, Aristotle also tackled the mystery of sleep, proposing that it was the opposite of wakefulness and connected to the heart—seen as the center of perception—and digestion. He theorized that digestion induced sleep, and once completed, it would lead to waking.
The ancient Greeks also had a mythological explanation for sleep, personified by Hypnos, the god of sleep, who resided in Erebos (the realm of eternal darkness). Every night, he journeyed across the land with Nyx (Night) and his brother Thanatos, the spirit of peaceful death. In ancient Egypt, sleep was viewed as an uncontrollable event, a passage between the living and the dead. Dreams and nightmares were seen as the work of spirits, and sleep was sometimes considered a means for the deceased to communicate with the living.
3. The Mystery of Sleep
It might sound unbelievable, but it’s true: we’re still not much closer to understanding exactly why we need to sleep, just as Alcmaeon and Aristotle once wondered. While many theories exist, there’s still no comprehensive answer to this puzzle. One major challenge is that sleep doesn’t seem to serve an immediately practical purpose. It’s a fundamental need—when we miss it, our bodies make it very clear, just as we feel hunger when we haven’t eaten or thirst when we’ve gone without drinking. But beyond simply curing tiredness, what is the real function of sleep?
The inactivity theory and the related energy conservation theory suggest that sleeping at night is beneficial because it helps us remain stationary, avoiding predators and conserving energy. However, this raises the question: Is complete unawareness of our surroundings really the safest approach? Other theories also face challenges in proving their validity. For instance, there’s a long-held belief that sleep helps our brains reorganize information, synthesize hormones, or even perform a system reset.
One of the newest theories suggests that while we sleep, the flow of fluid around our brains increases, performing a literal clean-up of the debris accumulated from the day’s thoughts. But this doesn’t explain dreams. One theory that does address dreams is the idea that sleep allows our brains to refresh memories and consolidate what we’ve learned without draining the cognitive energy needed for our waking hours. Interestingly, some researchers believe we might be approaching the question incorrectly. They argue that while we’re asleep, we’re stationary, conserving energy, out of harm's way, and less likely to injure ourselves. Instead, they suggest that we should focus on understanding what biological or evolutionary benefits we gain from being awake.
2. The Moon and Its Sleep Disruptions
There’s a lot of myth and folklore surrounding the moon, but recent studies suggest that, while it might not drive you to madness, it could indeed affect your sleep patterns.
A study conducted by the University of Basel in Switzerland explored how the moon’s phases influenced the sleep quality of participants. The results showed that during a full moon, it took volunteers about five extra minutes to fall asleep, and their sleep duration was shortened by an average of 20 minutes. Interestingly, the study had several controls in place, and the participants were unaware that their sleep patterns were being studied.
The volunteers were originally part of a different, unrelated three-year study. During that time, they spent three to five days in a lab where their sleep was monitored. After the study was complete, researchers compared the data to the various moon phases. The participants were also in a controlled lab setting and couldn’t see the moon, eliminating the possibility that moonlight kept them awake and suggesting that something else might be influencing our bodies during a full moon.
1. We’re Built For Two Sleeps
If you're someone who struggles to sleep through the night, don't stress; you're not alone, and in fact, your sleep pattern may be more in line with natural human tendencies than those who seek a full eight hours without interruption. Before the 17th century, humans followed a sleep routine that involved two phases: a first (or 'dead') sleep followed by a period of wakefulness, which was often used for activities like reading, praying, or visiting loved ones. In some medieval texts, it's suggested that couples hoping to conceive had the best luck during this in-between time.
Research shows that the two-sleep cycle is actually more aligned with what our bodies are wired to do, which is why many people still find themselves awake during the night. Other studies confirm that our bodies naturally lean toward this sleep pattern. Psychiatrist Thomas Wehr conducted an experiment where he controlled the darkness people were exposed to for a month. As a result, participants' sleep cycles more closely resembled the natural two-sleep structure.
So why did we move away from this natural sleep rhythm? With the invention of electric lighting, our exposure to light changed dramatically. Additionally, during the Reformation, the late hours of the night were linked to secret, often illegal religious gatherings. This shift made activities like reading, praying, or socializing during the night suddenly seem improper or even scandalous.
