Griffin Speaks

TO DIE TO SLEEP

The death of Michael Jackson because he could not sleep and therefore misused a drug to enable him to sleep has led me on a search to find out just why we need to sleep. My research has led me to the discovery that scientists have asked this question for centuries. They have yet to come up with a definite answer other than “we don’t really know”. It has been thought that we sleep so that we can become rejuvenated; however the amount of energy that we save is negligible. It doesn’t matter how little sleep I get at night I wake up each morning like a baboon on crack!

Many of us have pulled the occasional all nighters when we were in school cramming for exams. We all know how horrible we felt the following day. We all can conclude that a lack of sleep has serious effects on the brains ability to function properly. It only takes one missed night of sleeping to feel horrible. 

If you miss 17 hours of sleep you will feel as though you have had two glasses of wine. In fact a lack of sleep has been the blame on several major disasters: the challenger explosion, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Exxon Valdez. A lack of sleep has also been the principle cause of many traffic fatalities. 

When we sleep the following occurs:

There are two categories of sleep: non-REM and REM sleep. In Non-REM sleep we are half awake and half asleep. During this stage we can easily be awaken. When we are actually asleep, this occurs within ten minutes of light sleep, we enter stage two and our breathing and heart rate slows down. This accounts for the longest period of our sleep. Stages three and four are the periods of deep sleep. Our breathing and heart rate are at their lowest. 

During REM sleep we are not conscious but our brains are very active. This is the period of sleep that our dreams occur. We can not move which keeps us from acting out our dreams. 

On average eight hours of sleep will refresh anyone. However the amount of sleep needed varies from person to person. There are a number of famous people who managed on four hours of sleep, such as Napoleon, Margaret Thatcher and Florence Nightingale. There are some who simply believe that sleep is a complete waste of time.

A third of our lives we spend sleeping. Should we sleep less or sleep more. Only when we die do we sleep no more! “To be or not to be is still the question!” “To die to sleep no more!”

 In the words of my dad, “You must honor the chair whether it is sitting, walking or lying down.”

Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com or write to him at P.O. Box 250194 Montgomery, Alabama 36125-0194. 

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