Interesting facts about sleep

ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) conducted a survey about sleep and the came up with interesting results.

Of the total participants in the survey 43% were male and 57% female. All of them were supposed to maintain a dairy of their sleep patterns for a specific time period. It was found that the overall average sleep over 24 hours was 8 hours 1 minute. Men, on average slept for 7 hours and 59 minutes while women slept, on average, 8 hours and 3 minutes. Of course averages are only averages. (A person with their head in the oven and their feet in the freezer could still overall have an ‘average’ body temperature).

The real value of the sleep diary data is in the details, which are being analyzed by Australian and WHO sleep researchers in the months ahead. Detailed findings would be shared on the ABC website at http://abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm

However, ABC has some interesting facts on sleep and they are

It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.
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 you feel sleepy by day.
A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year.
No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.
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.
Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.
Most of what we know about sleep we’ve learned in the past 25 years
As a group, 18 to 24 year-olds deprived of sleep suffer more from impaired performance than older adults.

To know all the facts about sleeping you can go to http://abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm

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