Medusa

10 Strange Facts About Sleep

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">For something so commonplace&comma; it’s a wonder how we don’t know more about the very bodily mechanism that recharges us on a daily basis and keeps us healthy&period; Without our regular sleep habits&comma; our bodies can become intensely out of balance – and yet scientists are still struggling to understand exactly how our brains use sleep to rejuvenate and repair our many bodily systems&period; Understanding some of the oddities about sleep&comma; however&comma; can teach us a bit more about how to obtain healthier shut-eye and get our bodies feeling stronger and more fit than ever before&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;5728" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-5728" style&equals;"width&colon; 500px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img class&equals;"size-full wp-image-5728 " alt&equals;"10 Strange Facts About Sleep" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;medusamagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;08&sol;10-Strange-Facts-About-Sleep2&period;jpg" width&equals;"500" height&equals;"362" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-5728" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Sleep &&num;8211&semi; Courtesy of Shutterstock<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>1&period;  Sleep Is Truly Healthier in the Dark<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b><&sol;b>Our circadian rhythms need darkness in order to have our body balanced&colon; some hormonal processes are triggered by darkness and occur on daily cycles – and deviating from your typical sleeping pattern can throw your body off&period; For a healthier sleeping environment&comma; try making a larger contrast between light and dark – turn off your computer monitor and TV&comma; shut your blinds&comma; and even wear an eye mask in order to experience the darkness triggers your body will need&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>2&period;  We Are Becoming More Insomniac Over Time<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Sleep aids and sleeping pill prescriptions are shooting through the roof&period; In the year 2000&comma; about 16 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled in the United States&period; Only four years later&comma; that number doubled in count&comma; and the amount of sleeping pill prescriptions has only continued to rise since&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>3&period;  Dreams Occur More Often – But Are Far Shorter – Than You May Think<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Many of us claim to not have dreams – especially on those nights where we felt we slept through the whole evening without pause&period; However&comma; the fact is that we all dream during our sleep cycles&comma; but our brains don’t remember all of our moments of slumber&period; Though we have these dreams every three to four hours&comma; they occur in short bursts – some dreams lasting only two minutes long&period; It seems surprising&comma; since some of our dreams seem to have plots lasting hours&comma; taking us through a dream world&excl; In fact&comma; our minds dream in &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;rapid motion” – so it only takes a few seconds to get through a few hours worth of dream scenes&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>4&period;  Better Quality Sleep&comma; Not Extra Hours&comma; Increases Life Expectancy<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">This one shocks many&comma; but scientists have underscored its importance&colon; quality is better than quantity when it comes to sleep&period; Studies have shown that getting between six and seven hours of sleep is more beneficial to the body than sleep for longer periods – in fact&comma; those with sleeping patterns lasting eight hours or more had a shorter life expectancy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>5&period;  How We Fall Asleep Counts&comma; Too<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Our bodies should not fall asleep the minute our heads hit the pillow&period; Ideally&comma; our bodies should drift off to healthy sleep about ten minutes after we climb into bed&period; If you fall asleep in less than five minutes&comma; you should speak to your doctor – it is a sign of critical levels of sleep deprivation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>6&period;  Myth Busting&colon; We Don’t Sleep Like Logs&excl;<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Though you may not remember it&comma; we wake up about six times a night on average&period; So much for sleeping through the whole night &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;like a log” – our bodies need to have room to move during sleep&comma; and we wake up between our cycles for brief periods of time&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>7&period;  Dreaming in Technicolor&colon; Colorful Sensory Perception During Slumber<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Today approximately 1 out of every 8 people dream in black and white – everyone else dreams in the full spectrum of color&period; Though doctors can’t exactly explain why&comma; this is a statistic that has changed drastically in the last century&colon; before the invention of color television&comma; 3 out of every 4 people reported dreaming in black and white&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>8&period;  Keeping Your Mattress Clean&colon; A Must<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Our sleep is deeply affected by the dust and microscopic critters that roam around on our mattresses&period; One strange fact is that a bedbug can live at least one year in a mattress without ever having to feed on human blood&period; Continually check and clean your mattress&comma; and have a doctor check the bug bites on your body to be sure that you aren’t at risk for a bed bug infestation&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>9&period;  Dreams Don’t Predict the Future <&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">One extremely strange fact about sleep is that our dreams are mixed-and-matched collages of our past experiences&period; These moments are not predictions of the future&comma; but are fantastic ways for your body to process the experiences it has had throughout the day&comma; and organize the information it has learned so that you are prepared for future mental development when you wake up&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify"><b>10&period; Mattresses Don’t Last Forever<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify">Mattresses are not designed to last forever&period; After all&comma; their lifespan is only about 7 years long&period; Be sure to flip and rotate your mattress once every year or two&comma; and consider shopping for new bedroom equipment from mattress sale to find a good mattress that fits your needs without having to pay top retail prices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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