This just in on sleep from the Behavioral Neuroscience email list. -Chuck >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 06:56:48 -0700 (PDT) >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [BP/BNnews] Sleep: how much do we need? > >-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> >eLerts >It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! >http://click.egroups.com/1/9068/15/_/841571/_/969377491/ >---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> > >http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/feelinghealthy/sleep/feature1.shtml > >Sleep: how much do we need? > >Most people in our modern 24-hour society would say that they aren't >getting enough sleep. The post-lunch siesta may not be a common >feature of British life but who hasn't felt they could happily nod >off for half an hour after lunch, if not longer. > >So what is the ideal amount of sleep? The answer, as with many >aspects of sleep, is that it depends. Generally the amount of sleep >we need decreases with age. New born babies will often sleep up to >16 hours a day (unfortunately not always in one session) whereas >older people will often sleep up to 45 minutes less than a young >adult each night. > >On average, however, human adults need between 7 and 8 hours sleep >although there is a debate about whether we actually require >something nearer 9 hours. The implication of this would be that most >of the population is chronically sleep deprived most of the time but >the evidence for this is hotly disputed. What is known with more >certainty is that studies have shown that people who sleep too >little, i.e. habitually sleeping less than 6 hours, and those who >sleep for more than 9 hours are likelier to die prematurely. This >may be related to the fact that the sleep-deprived are more likely >to be heavy drinkers, smokers, have a poor diet and take little or >no exercise. > >Certainly sleeping in excess of 10 hours doesn't result in feeling >any more refreshed. On the contrary, research has shown that >subjects sleeping for 10 hours and over had just as much difficulty >in waking up, spent longer getting to sleep and were more likely to >wake up during the night. The evidence would, in fact suggest that >it is much more important that we enjoy good quality sleep - waking >up frequently through the night due to snoring, sleep apnoea or >other disturbances can leave you feeling groggy and tired. > >But for most working people there is little chance of sleeping 9-10 >hours. During the week most people will get by on 6 - 7 hours sleep, >looking forward to the weekend when they can enjoy a lie-in. This >lie-in certainly seems to be necessary for the body to recover but >the debate in sleep research at the minute revolves largely around >how much "catching up" is needed. Some state that every single"lost" >hour needs to be recouped while others estimate that about one-third >of the lost sleep needs to be regained. > >Whichever argument turns out to be right, the most important thing >is that we try to avoid losing those hours of sleep to start with, >and that requires a change in attitude towards sleep. Rather than >being considered a luxury, a good night's sleep should be an >absolute necessity. Very few people would skip dinner every day for >a week, but will struggle through the week on insufficient sleep. In >the long term everything points to this being a real health risk. > >For more information on sleep check out these sites: > >Scottish National Sleep Centre (External) http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sleep > >The British Sleep Foundation (External) >http://www.britishsleepfoundation.org.uk/ > >BBC Radio Scotland Some of the information in this web site is not >applicable to pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people who need to >follow special advice on eating or physical activity to control or >treat a medical condition. > >BBC ONLINE > >TUESDAY 19th September 2000 > >****To receive Biological Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience >news [BP/BNnews] articles, email the command: >subscribe biopsychology >in the text (not the subject line) to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Send the command >unsubscribe biopsychology >to the same address to unsubscribe. >To receive BP/BNnews items AND discussion about those >items, subscribe to BehavioralNeuroscience at: >http://www.egroups.com/group/BehavioralNeuroscience >*************** > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
