Wednesday, June 18, 2008

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

I read this article in Times Magzine today. Let me write the key points :


1. Studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, as they report, live the longest.

2. People who sleep 8 hr. or more, or less than 6.5 hr., they don't live quite as long.

3. Morbidity [or sickness] is also "U-shaped" in the sense that both very short sleep and very long sleep are associated with many illnesses with depression, with obesity—and therefore with heart disease and so forth.

4. We can prevent a lot of insomnia and distress just by telling people that short sleep is O.K.

5. Spending less time in bed actually makes sleep better.


Conclusion
I am going to live less than normal...for any amount of sleep doesnot satisfy me :)


Do read the full article ..its interesting :)

7 comments:

PG said...

Thanks for this intersting article! And your funny conclusion! LOL!
But like always, I am very careful with interpretations. One keeps seeing allkinds ofreports about all types of studies and i end up asking myself, is b really the result of a or are they just correlations or attributes belonging together. And if you read the article, they themselves do not claim that a is the cause of b. :)
I know many of you know it, but I feel, many a times we assume such things or conclude too fast, as it makes it easier for our mind, to simplify!

Anonymous said...

Nice article.. just what I needed :) What about ones getting 7 hours of sleep, but waking up 10 times in between?
LOL on your punch line!!

Unknown said...

Yup, I'm going to die of obesity, depression and such wonderful things given that I seem to sleep for two hours some day.

The rest of the night is spent fighting well aimed kungfu kicks from the brat on my nose, blocking snores emanating from husband, listening to the wind howling through little gaps in the window framing, and such wonderful things.

Mama - Mia said...

now i know why me fat!! :p

thanx swati!! ;)

cheers!

abha

man in painting said...

Very nice.
LOL!
i always think that sleep is our natural state of being.And when whenever we wake up we are doing something unnatural
I love sleeping.
I liked your post.
thanx for the visit.
bye.
take care.

Monika said...

Thanks for the info!!
Lol on your conclusion!

WhatsInAName said...

* biting my nails *
Am with you, Swati :))