Josee Manon
Apr 2, 2023
Five Interesting Facts
Dreaming in black and white?
Yes, some people dream in black and white! Before colour television was created, only 15% would dream in colour. Now about 12% of the older generation dream in black and white. Scientists say that an individual's experience with media will influence this.
Sleepy kitty
This may not surprise cat owners, but an average house cat will sleep two-thirds of their life away.
Wilds cats sleep most of the time as well and the reason why is to preserve their energy for The Hunt. Even though domestic cats do not hunt it is still instinctual to do the same, averaging 12-20 hours of shut eye a day. Who wouldn’t want to be a cat?
Better to skip a meal than to skip out on some shut eye
Believe it or not, sleep deprivation will kill you faster than food deprivation. In today’s society we are so busy that we tend to sacrifice one hour of sleep for an extra hour of productivity. When in reality depriving ourselves from sleep will actually impact our mood, our productivity, our cognitive capacity and our overall health. In fact, Humans are the only mammals willing to deprive themselves of sleep.
Amesty International lists sleep deprivation as a form of torture and it is used by the CIA, although they refrain from using the word torture, it is categorized as an "Enhanced interrogation technique”. They would keep the detainees awake by either keeping the room cold to prevent them from falling asleep, white noise and loud music would be played on a loop for 24 hours straight or spray the detainee’s face with cold water. The agency was authorized to keep a detainee awake for 180 hours (a week) but told the Justice Department it only kept three detainees awake for 96 hours maximum.
Sleeping on the job?
85% of police officers, 80% of regional pilots, and 48% of air-traffic controllers fall asleep while working according to research.
41% of medical workers admit they have made fatigue-related mistakes.
20% of pilots have admitted to making a serious error due to sleepiness.
All the facts I could have gone without knowing, to be honest!
Sleep benefits
Alright, so enough of the scary things. Let’s introduce some positive reasons as to why you should take the time to listen to your body and go to sleep.
Your body needs to sleep for multiple reasons. Number one, it will help your body do a “reset”. Your body balances your hormones and your mood, processes your memories and consolidates information received during the day, and of course, resets your energy levels. Sleep even allows your body to heal itself as well as recover from intense exercise. It also balances your hunger cues reducing your cravings for junk food, alleviates stress and anxiety and strengthens the immune system. Considered this mind blown.
Summary:
Going to bed needs to be a ritual. Watch what you eat and when, lower the temperature, get on a schedule, exercise during the day, listen to some relaxing music or read a book; avoid all screens, get comfortable; take the time to turn down your bed and fix the sheets.
If you are struggling to fall into a sleep schedule, you can always talk to your doctor about natural supplements to help you sleep such as melatonin, magnesium or even 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan).
Now get off TikTok and take care of yourself. You deserve it!
References:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/09/cia-torture-methods-waterboarding-sleep-deprivation
https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/25-facts-about-sleep