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The Science of Sleep

columbian.com — Americans today average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours per night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night, the foundation claims.

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  • ThinkBox, on 10/11/2007, -28/+4THE GOAT ON THE CLIFF!
    • sweetdeals, on 10/11/2007, -23/+3Have another.
    • mcm297, on 10/11/2007, -17/+2How many people here actually know what their "sleep number" is?
    • wannabenomad, on 10/11/2007, -14/+5Stephan... Stephanie.

      Seriously though, interesting article. It is no wonder that we have so many mental and physical health problems if the statistics are true.
    • scbysnx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Mine is 55
  • luke16, on 10/11/2007, -22/+3IM IN LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
  • DCB360, on 04/11/2008, -21/+2with a stripper?
  • h0merg0mez, on 10/11/2007, -6/+42Yeah yeah, I'll sleep when I'm dead.
    • luaplevap, on 10/11/2007, -7/+15Before the invention of the World of Warcraft, people slept, the foundation claims.
    • Brss45, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7i guess that you'll get to sleep a lot sooner if that's your plan.
    • Seth024, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6You can sleep during next Tuesday's downtime.
  • dannyboy3020, on 10/11/2007, -11/+1I smell digg downage.
  • nudedos, on 10/11/2007, -11/+4Ben Franklin has some damn explaining to do.
    • dinostabOMG, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20Thomas Edison, the bastard.
    • over9, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5you mean Joseph Swan.
    • lintmonkey, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Useless trivia: Benjamin Franklin only slept six hours every night, from 10:00 to 4:00.
    • Amnesia10, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Prior to my accident where I lost my memory, I used to sleep for 3 to 4 hours a night. Immediately afterwards I slept for 23 hours a day, gradually reducing to 12 hours a night after 3 years. As the neuro consultant explained to me both are extremes, and well outside the norm.
    • ostracize, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Didn't Kramer say DaVinci slept for 20 minutes every 3 hours and try to put that into practice?

      PB and J's!
  • RavenBladeX, on 10/11/2007, -8/+29The Science of Sleep was an awesome movie. Check it out.
    • optikalblitz, on 10/11/2007, -13/+6No, it really wasn't. I expected better from those who gave us Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
    • Pulp, on 10/11/2007, -13/+4Actually, no. It was an extremely pretentious and subsequently disappointing.
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 10/11/2007, -10/+4I rented it but could not understand anything that was going on in that crazy movie, half the time I coudlent tell if something was a dream sequence or actually happening.
    • Hydroxyl, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14@Cyber_Akuma

      That's the point.
    • marm0t, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1If you are a woman.
    • DawningImage, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0I didn't get it either.
  • DoctorLovePhD, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2Did they have the space-age, developed-by-NASA mattresses? I can't sleep without the comfort of knowing that I'll never spill a glass of wine I rest on it
    • Afry8, on 10/11/2007, -4/+0Never buy a Tempur Pedic, its like sleeping on sand.
  • toby34a, on 10/11/2007, -3/+23Before the invention of light bulbs, people had a lot more kids, too. Wasn't much to do late at night but sleep with your wife... and marriages lasted longer, as well... a coincidence?
    • Rileyper, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3And people worked harder back then, why chop wood when you can buy wood or chainsaw a tree to pieces
    • vikingcoder, on 10/11/2007, -12/+3Not quite, but not causative.

      There are more deaths due to drowning when ice cream sales rise... coincidence?
    • bIuebonics, on 10/11/2007, -4/+12@vikingcoder

      i'm getting rather annoyed by people jumping on the correlation != causation bandwagon. yes, it's true, but when there is a correlation, it provides a route of exploration. it provides a starting point. something like drownings and ice cream sales can be ignored, obviously. logic can exclude a lot of correlation relationships, however, if there was a high correlation between people eating a specific type of root and a strange stomach ailment, would that correlation not give grounds for further study into a causal relationship? the original poster made a valid observation, as there could most certainly be a causal relationship between an increase in sexual activity with your partner and the success of your marriage, especially if there is a correlation. now, while the correlation can never prove this, it's 100% valid to point out the correlation as a reason to study a causal relationship. you can't take correlation as proof of causation, but you still need it to know where to begin looking.
    • vikingcoder, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@bIuebonics

      I get rather amused at the people who forget correlation != causation when the correlation supports their beliefs, but who shout it from the mountaintops when there is a causation that goes against their beliefs.


      > something like drownings and ice cream sales can be ignored, obviously

      Why? Both effects share an indirect causal root, just as in toby34a's example. Science is not based on ignoring "obvious" correlations. Just because it isn't a coincidence doesn't mean it's a cause/effect relationship.


      > a causal relationship between an increase in sexual activity
      > with your partner and the success of your marriage

      Which is why I said, "not quite" - as in... It's not quite a coincidence, because there is an indirect causal root. Such as -- a societal basis that all but denies the mere possiblity of divorce while promoting the ideal of a large family.
  • royall64, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2Wasn't that a movie?
  • not28, on 10/11/2007, -10/+4
  • Hazardc, on 10/11/2007, -3/+9Peopl ealso busted their asses into the ground working back then.
    • mikefitz2, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7must have been hard. i only bust my ass into the ground on the weekends.

      /busts his ass into the ground.
    • Ssullivan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Take a look at the people who work the UPS early morning shift unloading trailers and tell me people don't bust their ass anymore.

      Worst year of my life...
  • peranadigital, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5yawn
  • JoeBob5606, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8Michel Gondry is amazing!
  • cuoops, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2WSU release - http://researchnews.wsu.edu/health/178.html
  • MikeonTV, on 10/11/2007, -5/+1Do i have to even read the article or does the synopsis just sum it up?
    • Wolfboy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3 Think about that decision. Heck, sleep on it and decide in the morning.
  • DontGiveADamn, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0No wonder people are fat. They sleep less and have more opportunity to eat. Remember, you are still burning calories even when you are sleeping.
    • suuuueee, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1just because you're awake doesn't mean you're eating.
  • consonance, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3I sleep only on weekends.
  • mrmacky, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Before the invention of the computer, nerds slept an average of 5 hours, now we sleep 1 and a half :)
  • schavira, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Wow! I've never read any articles titled 'The Science of Sleep'! How creative!
  • psyc420, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0you might want to consider the power of this study as they did not have much of a sample. I'd like to see other studies show me similar results. However on that note, it makes me feel better because I'm always getting mad at myself for not sleeping "normally"...now at least I can extend 'normal sleep' to fit my own pattern.
  • discman, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Well I just woke up after my usual 4 hour nap after spending my regular 20 hour day on the computer and woke to find your story. Thank you for all the great information. Next time I wake up from a good rest I will be sure to read it again !!!
  • MrsButtersworth, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Did the sun not function properly before light bulbs? Seems irrelevant to me.
  • Skooma714, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I cannot sleep past 7 am, habit from school. I hope to be able to detox over the summer and get some college classes that are a bit later.

    btw The Science of Sleep is great movie.
  • drmobutu, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2I still sleep 9-10 hours, most nights.
  • thetaggerung, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2The polyphasic sleepers only get around 2-3 hours a day. But that is if there is no core sleep and they use the Uberman schedule.

    Have no idea what I am saying? Please visit:

    http://www.polyphasicteen.blogspot.com

    Or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic
  • d0odx, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Who needs sleep when there is coffee?
  • MrKrinkleDude, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0Slept 13 hours last night. Nice to know I'm above average on the sleep scale.

    But then again, I only sleep once every 48 hours. Sleeping everyday just feels unnatural to me.
  • DawningImage, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0I usually get a good 6 hours of sleep. I have to take a sleeping pill, but, hey, whatever helps me function in the morning.
  • Hangender, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0Sleep? Not when there is WoW around
  • Cherryluv, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Ooo, The Science of Sleep movie is FANTASTIC. Go see it if you haven't seen it yet. :D
  • Ridethewalrus, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0ummm well i guess im not average i get about 12-14 hours on weekends and 6-7 on weekdays =S oh well x]
  • nugx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ah, the Nature V. Nurture debate yet again. When will the scientific community wholeheartedly accept the fact that both sides are infinitely intertwined?
  • shortarabguy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1From the article and coincidentally part of the description: "Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night, the foundation claims."
    Lucky pre-light bulb bastards...
  • hichnii, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Art-of-Detoxifying-You ...
    I am sure you would be aware of detoxifying foot pads. Most of us would have definitely heard about detoxifying foot pads but we might not really know as to how to make use of them, what do they contain and what are the benefits of using detoxifying foot pads.
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