The Promise of Sleep ⋆ Politicrossing
Connect with us

Family

The Promise of Sleep

All wakefulness is sleep deprivation; You build up sleep debt over the course of the day, and then pay it off as you sleep that night

Published

on

Notes and excerpts from The Promise of Sleep: A Pioneer in Sleep Medicine Explores the Vital Connection Between Health, Happiness, and a Good Night’s Sleep by William C. Dement, PhD., Stanford University

This is the definitive book on sleep!  It is loaded with gems: Your sleep drive keeps an exact tally of accumulated waking hours. Like bricks in a backpack, accumulated sleep drive is a burden that weighs down on you. Every hour that you are awake adds another brick to the pack. The brain’s sleep load increases until you go to sleep when the load starts to lighten.

The author emphasizes that your brain keeps an exact accounting of how much sleep it is owed.  Each successive night of partial sleep loss is carried over and the end effect appears to accumulate in a precisely additive fashion. Accumulated lost sleep is like a monetary debt: “It must be paid back.”

Trending on PolitiCrossing.com: Those Who Are to be Pitied Most

Overthrowing Our Biological Clocks

In just a few decades of technological innovation we have managed to totally overthrow our magnificently evolved biological clocks and the complex biorhythms they regulate.

Our loss of sleep time and natural rhythms is the tragic legacy of a single and profound advance-the light bulb. Electric lights not only let people stay up longer, they also were bright enough to mimic the light and significantly shift people’s internal biological clocks. When bedtime shifted to 10 or 11 p.m. instead of 8 or 9 p.m., midnight was no longer the middle of the night.

The incandescent bulb marked the beginning of the modern era of sleeplessness, and Edison was by no means ignorant of the implications of his breakthrough. A restless genius and experimenter, Edison believed that too much sleep was bad for you. Edison thought that people got twice as much sleep as they needed and the extra sleep made them “unhealthy and inefficient.”

Sunlight Had Been the Standard

Edison’s invention of bright electric lights threw a wrench into the human clockworks. Over millions of years, our bodies and minds had evolved using sunlight as a Universal Standard Time (UST), as the infallible index against which we set our internal clock.

We have grown so accustomed to living year round in an artificial summer of light, with long days and short nights, that it is difficult to image life before electric lights and contemporary work schedules. Our bodies, however, have not forgotten. Can we believe that in 100 years our bodies can so easily change needs buried deep within the workings of each cell?

Many people work long hard hours throughout the week hoping to catch up on sleep over the weekend. They collapse in the bed on Friday night and sleep deeply until late in the morning. Even though they have paid back several hours of sleep debt, they walk around like zombies all day Saturday, barely able to stay awake. The reason is obvious: you cannot pay back a weeks worth of sleep debt in one night. Less obvious: the stressful arousal of the weekday work place is no longer masking sleep debt on Saturday. As people tend to drink and eat more on weekends, their sleep fighting arousal is further suppressed.

Deprivation

All wakefulness is sleep deprivation. You build up sleep debt over the course of the day, and then pay it off as you sleep that night. If you get an hour less than you need, you carry an hour of sleep debt into the next day, and your drive for sleep becomes stronger. Sleep debt accumulates in an additive fashion, so that if you get one hour less sleep than you need for each of eight nights your brain will then tend toward sleep as strongly as if you had stayed up all night.

– – – – –

 

We'd love to hear your thoughts about this article. Please take a minute to share them in the comment section by clicking here. Or carry the conversation over on your favorite social network by clicking one of the share buttons below.


Jeff Davidson is the world's only holder of the title "The Work-Life Balance Expert®" as awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is the premier thought leader on work-life balance, integration, and harmony. Jeff speaks to organizations that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the effectiveness of their people. He is the author of Breathing Space, Simpler Living, Dial it Down, and Everyday Project Management. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com for more information on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars, including: Managing the Pace with Grace® * Achieving Work-Life Balance™ * Managing Information and Communication Overload®



 
 
 

Join the conversation!

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.



Faith

Here’s Why Satan – and Democrats – are Obsessed with Sex

This is what the bible says about sex…

Published

on

Are you a conservative business person? Then check out the Red Referral Network and partner with Dinesh D’Souza by clicking the banner below:

PolitiCrossing Founder Chris Widener takes us through a scriptural understanding of exactly why Satan and Democrats are obsessed with sex and pushing the issue so hard on our country.

Trending on PolitiCrossing.com: Those Who Are to be Pitied Most

Are you a conservative business person? Then check out the Red Referral Network and partner with Dinesh D’Souza by clicking the banner below:

Continue Reading

entertainment

Kevin Sorbo Interview on Hollywood and His New Movie

Published

on

Partner with Dinesh D’Souza by clicking the banner below:

Check out this new 20 minute interview with conservative actor and filmmaker, Kevin Sorbo where he talks about Holloywood and his new movie, Miracle in East Texas:

Get your tickets to Miracle in East Texas by clicking here!

Trending on PolitiCrossing.com: Those Who Are to be Pitied Most

Get your tickets to Miracle in East Texas by clicking here!

About Kevin Sorbo:

Hailing from Norwegian ancestry, Kevin was born in Mound, Minnesota, USA. His mother worked as a nurse and his father taught junior high school resulting in a down to earth upbringing that forged the outstanding work ethic Kevin holds to this day. By the time he was in University, Kevin was covering tuition costs with modeling work which swiftly translated into a career in television with his first appearances on Prime Time shows such as Murder She Wrote and The Commish.

In 1993, Kevin emerged as a full fledged international TV star when he was cast as the lead role of Hercules in a series of TV films that would lay the groundwork for the immensely popular series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Kevin also guest-starred as Hercules in episodes of the successful spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess as well as providing his voice to the animated Hercules films.

In 1997 Kevin accepted his first leading film role in the fantasy action feature Kull the Conquerer.

Along the way, Kevin played characters in video games such as Mortal Kombat 4, God of War and The Conduit.

Kevin guest starred on the sitcom Two and a Half Men and played a recurring role on the final season of The O.C. One glimpse at Kevin’s imdb and it’s clear that this hard working actor takes no breaks! In addition to his work onscreen, Kevin now also produces films, recently serving as Executive Producer and star of the movie Abel’s Field.

Kevin recently authored the widely praised book, True Strength, that recounts the painful recovery from serious health setbacks that changed his life during his Hercules years.

Sorbo married actress Sam Jenkins, whom he met during her guest appearance on Hercules in 1998. They have three children together, Braeden, Shane and Octavia.

Besides his successful career in entertainment, Kevin has always devoted a hearty portion of his time to causes he believes in. In 2005 he was named successor to Arnold Schwarzenegger as the national spokesperson for The Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit working to ensure that all children have access to quality after school programs, and since ‘97 Kevin has donated his time as the spokesperson for the non profit organization, A World Fit For Kids. Please visit WorldFitForKids.org to learn more.

Continue Reading

 

Our Newsletter

Become a Politicrossing insider: Sign up for our free email newsletter, and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop.

Sites We Like

Jesus, Master of Influence

Chris Widener, speaker and best selling author of The Art of Influence, teaches that Jesus is the master of influence. In sixteen sessions you will learn from one of the most influential communicators how the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is the best model for how to become an effective influence that can change people’s thoughts, beliefs and actions.

LEARN MORE

Our Newsletter

Become a PolitiCrossing insider: Sign up for our free email newsletter, and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop.

Trending