Page 86 - BBC - The Scientific Guide to a Healthier You
P. 86
15 things
YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SLEEP
Ever wondered what your body’s doing while you’re off in the land of nod?
You’ll be surprised by some of the science behind snoozing...
Artificial lights have changed our Children around the world have Therapy may be a better treatment
f
1 natural sleeping patterns 2 vastly different sleep patterns 3 or insomnia than sleeping pills
Without them, we would sleep in two In Vietnam 95 per cent of babies sleep in Psychologist Charles Morin found that
blocks each night. Psychologist Thomas their parents’ bed, compared to 15 per cent people who used cognitive behavioural
Wehr found people revert to sleeping this in Australia. In New Zealand, the average therapy to deal with sleepless nights
way if isolated from artificial lights for bedtime for an infant is 7.30pm and in reported much better overall sleep quality
more than a few weeks. Hong Kong it’s 10.30pm. than those treated with sleeping pills alone.
Dreams tend to follow The ideal temperature for a The longest known period anyone
4 well-defined patterns 5 good night’s sleep is 16-19°C 6 has stayed awake is 11 days
In his lifetime, psychology Prof Calvin Hall Researchers in Lille, France, worked out the In 1964, Randy Gardner stayed awake
collected more than 50,000 dream reports. ideal temperature was 16-19ºC for someone without any kind of stimulants for 264
Using Prof Hall’s database, researchers sleeping in pyjamas and covered by sheets. hours, experiencing phantom sounds and
identified that we tend to dream about If they sleep naked, the ideal temperature visions the longer he went without sleep.
the things that make us anxious. jumps to 30-32ºC. No long-term ill effects were reported.
84 BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTION
