- They are nevertheless interesting.
We all need sleep, but that’s (mostly) all we know. It helps us keep a clear head, feel restored and when we aren’t getting enough, it can suck.
Cool Down is Needed
There is nothing better than sleeping in a cold room if you ask me. Some people don’t see it that way though. They want to be heated up, dressed in socks, and covered with all the blankets. Our body temperature begins to fall before we go to sleep, and continues to fall as we sleep, as a way of helping us get our zzz’s. This falls in line with the advice not to work out too close to bed. And also helps us see why it is harder to fall asleep when it/we are hot.
Sleepwalking Kiddos>Adults
Are you a sleepwalker or do you know one? For me, it’s a double no, and it seems it would be scary! It’s more common in children than adults, a study finding that 29% of children between 2-13 experienced sleepwalking, while in adults, it was more like 4%. Researchers found about 8.4 million Americans sleepwalk every year.
Microsleeps..
Have you ever heard of these, because if you really think about it, it’s pretty creepy. You’ve probably taken one of these naps throughout life, and it’s likely you didn’t even know you did. These microsleeps can occur anywhere. They can be as a result of sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or even sleep deprivation. You never really know this is happening and pass it off as losing focus for a second or thinking you were entirely awake the whole time.
Athletes Need More Sleep
This only makes sense if you think about it. All that energy exerted, time spent, and body being used would seem to need more of that restorative time we love called sleep. We all know the “recommended” amount of sleep is seven to eight hours a night, but that isn’t the case for pro-athletes. They need more like 10 hours of sleep due to all the heavy physical aspects of their lives and the time needed to repair their muscles and recharge their energy.
New Bed?
Do you have one or do you need one? The thing is your sleep can be impacted by a new bed, in a good way. According to studies, when we trade our old bed in for a new one, we can get up to 42 extra minutes of sleep.
Dreams Tell Us Something
You know when you have a dream that you drive your car off the cliff and then you wake up? Or is that just me? We think that if we Google our dreams, we will “figure out” what they meant. Dreams are complex things but there are some things that they tell us. For instance, did you ever realize that you never dream you are writing or reading in your dreams? That’s because the part of our brain that is responsible for interpreting language are much less active while we sleep. You’ll also realize that you cannot tell time in dreams, see yourself in a mirror or taste food.
Less Smell
There are sensitivity changes throughout the day to our sight, smell, taste, and all the things. Our smell is strongest about 9 p.m. in the evening yet it is weakest overnight. This explains why smells don’t generally wake people from sleeping and is a huge part of why fire alarms were invented in the first place. Unlike smells, loud and blaring noises like alarms, do wake us up.
Healthier Bod
Sleeping well helps you stay healthy in lots of great ways and may even help you lose weight. Getting enough sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to losing weight. Lack of sleep tends to increase your appetite. You know, when you’re the most tired you’ve ever been and you cannot stop eating, because your body needs all the energy it can get? Not only that but you won’t feel as full as if you sleep adequately.
So moral of the story is, the more you sleep, the better? No, but these weird sleep facts do tell us to sleep when needed and sure don’t skip on your zzz’s.