Each and every night we close our eyes and drift off into a state of mild unconsciousness.
It is a process so common that it consumes nearly one-third of our lives.
This translates to an estimated 26 years spent in slumber if we assume the average American lifespan of 78.
Now that’s a heck of a lot of time. But for a process so common
to the human experience, sleep is still associated with an
incredible number of unknowns.
Here are 5 things you didn’t know about sleep.
1. Guinness World Records no longer supports sleep deprivation records
The most cited record for sleepless hours was held by 17-year-old Randy Gardner of the U.S., who stayed awake for an astonishing 264 hours back in 1964. Since this time, however, the record has been broken on numerous counts. But Gardner’s time still holds the most weight as it was independently verified by the most rigorous methods (Gardner was monitored by physicians as part of a sleep-deprivation study).
Part of the problem in determining who really holds the record lies with the determining body, Guinness World Records (formerly The Guinness Book of Records). As of 1989, Guinness decided to no longer support records of sleep deprivation on the grounds that such records were largely unverifiable and could encourage actions harmful to human health. Oddly enough, such a disclaimer could probably apply to many of the risky records recorded by Guinness.
2. It’s a myth that you shouldn’t wake a sleepwalker
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. Modern myth has it that doing so might result in dire consequences. But in reality, a sleepwalker will rarely react with anger upon being awoken. Instead, they may be a little confused, disoriented, annoyed, or even embarrassed, but rarely will they respond with hostility.
Truth is that sleepwalking can be dangerous—but only to sleepwalkers themselves. Waking a sleepwalker is, therefore, not only safe, but it might even be a good thing, since there’s a chance that it may save the sleepwalker from embarrassment, injury or even death. Now before we advise our readers to go off hunting for sleepwalkers to wake, just know that waking a sleepwalker is no simple task. Most experts instead recommend assisting the sleepwalker back into bed using gentle motions only.
3. Some people have a fear of sleep
Believe it or not, but some people actually develop a fear of going to sleep. Clinophobia (or somniphobia) is an intense, irrational fear of going to sleep. The clinophobic individual may fear sleep itself, or what happens during sleep. For example, some individuals fear nightmares or wetting the bed, while others fear the consequences of various sleep disorders, like sleep apnea. Some even fear that they will die during sleep since the act of sleeping mimics the act of dying. Of course, although unusual, it is understandable how such a phobia may develop. After all, it’s not unheard-of for the elderly to pass in their sleep, and certainly, the childhood prayer "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" does little to lessen irrational fears as well: “…should I die before I wake…”
4. The body has a natural alarm clock
Ever wake up mere minutes before the sound of your alarm? If so, you can thank a helpful little hormone by the name of adrenocorticotropin. Adrenocorticotropin functions as the human body’s internal alarm, being released several hours prior to wake-up time.
Scientists believe that the hormone is released to deal with the “stress” of waking up (adrenocorticotropin was previously known to prepare the body for stressful events during the day). What’s even more interesting is that we have conscious control over this hormone. When adrenocorticotropin was studied in humans, participants who were told they would be woken at an early time had higher levels of this hormone in comparison to those who had no anticipation of waking. Therefore, simply telling yourself you need to wake up early might just be enough to prime your internal alarm.
5. Four days without sleep will turn you into a psycho
Only four days without sleep are needed for hallucinations to set in. For confirmation one needs to simply look back to our old pal Randy Gardner (from the first entry on our list). Randy was held under sleep deprivation in highly controlled conditions, being monitored round-the-clock by a team of physicians. After just four days without sleep, Randy began hallucinating, believing that he was the African-American collegiate football player Paul Lowe, winning the Rose Bowl.
Such hallucinations are not unique. When Brit Tony Wright stayed awake for 11 days back in 2007, after only five days he recorded in his online diary visions of "giggling dancing pixies and elves" appearing on his computer screen.
Although such anecdotal evidence is far from empirical, the simple fact is that it’s not ethical to subject participants to such lengths without sleep, so reproducing such results is rare. Regardless, don’t try this at home, kids.
This story was originally published by AskMen.