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Why do we sleep?

Why do we sleep?

Science

m

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I am extremely annoyed at my body for needing so much sleep.
I find myself staying up late in revolt, only to be sleepy in the morning.
Why do we need to sleep so much, 8 hours seems like an awfully long time and a waste of time to be honest.
1/3 or our entire day is spent sleeping! That is an outrage!


Isn't there a cure being developed somewhere?

😠

k

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lol, so angry at sleep!

well, I read an article in a men's magazine once about this guy that tried doing a 20 minute nap cycle so that he could stay up throughout the day with only 20 minute naps every so often. He did it for a few days, I think, and it was disastrous. Although the program was warned against by his physician, he had heard it was some sort of program developed for people who hate wasting so much of their time sleeping. You could always try that, but you will most likely revert to normal sleeping schedules.

As for why we need sleep, it's most likely a rejuvenation type process necessary for functioning after waking up.
the following is from an article at sciencedaily.com

"Their hypothesis is that sleep allows the brain to regroup after a hard day of learning by giving the synapses, which increase in strength during the day, a chance to damp down to baseline levels. This is important because the brain uses up to 80 percent of its energy to sustain synaptic activity.

Sleep may also be important for consolidating new memories, and to allow the brain to "forget" the random, unimportant impressions of the day, so there is room for more learning the next day. This could be why the brain waves are so active during certain periods of sleep."

the full article can be found here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825203918.htm

although, they seem to have gotten it from plos (the public library of science) which can be found, of course, at www.plos.org

Anyway, hope you read that and then enjoy your sleep instead of hating it so much.

cheers

EDITED:
You might like this story, though!

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/sleep_deprivation

D

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Hello,
I am new, but, there are several issues that can be resolved to help you sleep.
1. Melation - this is over the counter and natural take 30 minutes before bed.
2. what you eat and drink before bed - caffine and high cabrs. produce engery sometimes we do not relate high carbs. to some foods that have high content.
3. TV, Cell, music all are stumlants for neural processing
4. over loaded - this one is my problem as well, I have so much that needs to be completed that the list is running in my sleep
I hope this is of help

d

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I read somewhere (sorry,I forgot where!!!) some time ago, about a study in that field that said that the hours between 9:00 PM and 12:00 midnight are the most critical ones for the brain's "rejuvenation"process. It basically said that during these 3 hour, your brain secreted an enzyme that speeds up this process by double. That means that if you sleep well during this period, it's like you're actually getting 6 hours of sleep. That process is interrupted if you don't sleep in this period, though, and you're gonna hae to sleep your 8 hoursjust like everybody else.

I hope this helps on your war against morpheus.

F

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I usually have five or six hours sleep a night. It varies quite alot from person to person... My girlfriend needs at least 8 and a half hours or she's grumpy as hell. I tend to need less.

Sleeps important to rest your brain and also for the learning process. As far as I'm aware sleeping lets your brain store information you've learned through the day, which is often why your dreams are about things which happpened during the day. Or zombies.

I did read somewhere that people who sleep for longer, on average live shorter lives. I'm not sure if it just seems shorter though.... They have been asleep for more of it!

DS

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There is a terrible prion disorder called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI). The disease has four stages, taking 7 to 18 months to run its course:

1. The patient suffers increasing insomnia, resulting in panic attacks and phobias. This stage lasts for about four months.
2. Hallucinations and panic attacks become noticeable, continuing for about five months.
3. Complete inability to sleep is followed by rapid loss of weight. This lasts for about three months.
4. Dementia, turning unresponsive or mute over the course of six months. This is the final progression of the disease, and the patient will subsequently die.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_familial_insomnia

c

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Originally posted by mlprior
I am extremely annoyed at my body for needing so much sleep.
I find myself staying up late in revolt, only to be sleepy in the morning.
Why do we need to sleep so much, 8 hours seems like an awfully long time and a waste of time to be honest.
1/3 or our entire day is spent sleeping! That is an outrage!


Isn't there a cure being developed somewhere?

😠
Modafanil?

d

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Originally posted by mlprior
I am extremely annoyed at my body for needing so much sleep.
I find myself staying up late in revolt, only to be sleepy in the morning.
Why do we need to sleep so much, 8 hours seems like an awfully long time and a waste of time to be honest.
1/3 or our entire day is spent sleeping! That is an outrage!


Isn't there a cure being developed somewhere?

😠
It's called coffee!

m

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Great information here!

I think I will just have to give in and give my body the 8 hours it requires.
It's not that I have any problems sleeping, I ususally sleep thru the night and dream quite a lot. It's just that it seems like a waste of time when there are so many other things I could be doing!

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Originally posted by Dtime
Hello,
I am new, but, there are several issues that can be resolved to help you sleep.
1. Melation - this is over the counter and natural take 30 minutes before bed.
2. what you eat and drink before bed - caffine and high cabrs. produce engery sometimes we do not relate high carbs. to some foods that have high content.
3. TV, Cell, music all are stumlants ...[text shortened]... so much that needs to be completed that the list is running in my sleep
I hope this is of help
One note on the melatonin issue: The shysters who sell it try to foist high doses on the unsuspecting public and it turns out that you need about 1/3 of a MILLIGRAM, 300 MICROGRAMS, which makes it effective on the order of strength of LSD! Having said that, these shysters try to convince people if one mg is great, 5 MILLIGRAMS or 5000 MICROGRAMS must be the answer to the worlds problems.
Think what happens if you take LSD instead of 100 micrograms you take 5000 micrograms or 5 milligrams. I think it safe to say you would be looney before long. A study was done at MIT that showed taking high doses does just the opposite of taking 200 or 300 micrograms, 0.2 to 0.3 milligrams. So if you try to use it, MAKE DAM SURE EACH DOSE IS NO MORE THAN 300 MICROGRAMS. I see some bottles that stuff 5000 micrograms in one pill, you would have to cut it into about 16 parts to get the correct dose. Too much is far worse than not taking it at all, it totally screws up your circadian timing.

b
Enigma

Seattle

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Originally posted by mlprior
I am extremely annoyed at my body for needing so much sleep.
I find myself staying up late in revolt, only to be sleepy in the morning.
Why do we need to sleep so much, 8 hours seems like an awfully long time and a waste of time to be honest.
1/3 or our entire day is spent sleeping! That is an outrage!


Isn't there a cure being developed somewhere?

😠
Why do we sleep? Because we're tired. 😏

P

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Originally posted by mlprior
Great information here!

I think I will just have to give in and give my body the 8 hours it requires.
It's not that I have any problems sleeping, I ususally sleep thru the night and dream quite a lot. It's just that it seems like a waste of time when there are so many other things I could be doing!
If you want to feel you are not wasting your time while asleep, you could investigate lucid dreaming:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dreaming
http://www.lucidity.com/
http://www.web-us.com/lucid/luciddreamingFAQ.htm

--- Penguin

R
Standard memberRemoved

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Originally posted by mlprior
Great information here!

I think I will just have to give in and give my body the 8 hours it requires.
It's not that I have any problems sleeping, I ususally sleep thru the night and dream quite a lot. It's just that it seems like a waste of time when there are so many other things I could be doing!
Dude if your getting that much sleep, you don't have anything to worry about, enjoy it while it lasts!

R
The Guvnor....!!!!

The Dark Side

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Originally posted by mlprior
I am extremely annoyed at my body for needing so much sleep.
I find myself staying up late in revolt, only to be sleepy in the morning.
Why do we need to sleep so much, 8 hours seems like an awfully long time and a waste of time to be honest.
1/3 or our entire day is spent sleeping! That is an outrage!


Isn't there a cure being developed somewhere?

😠
Try coke (either one)...it will keep you awake....😀

AH

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Originally posted by bill718
Why do we sleep? Because we're tired. 😏
yes -but why do we get tired (as in sleepy tired and not physically tired) ?
The usual evolutionary explanation that I have heard is to save energy at night when we cannot do much useful work but I believe the amount of energy actually saved has been calculated to not be much (at least compared to resting without sleeping) and while we are asleep we are venerable to attack from predators and other dangers (at least our ancestors must have been).

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