Reveals the Mystery of Sleep

In one episode which played on cable, Law and Order: Special Victim Unit, there were cases of killings in high schools specifically for gifted children.

Through various interviews and collection of evidence, known to the murderer is the victim in the dorm roommate, a fellow student talent. Perpetrators on trial in youth court that his sentence is lighter because it proved the influence of drugs that interfere with sleep patterns.

Drugs that can help students resist learning. He was able to sleep for days without completing the task of essays, reading and training, and even analyze a chess game. Sarah Hyland who play beautiful as Jennifer Banks-the-killer show sleep deprivation typical reaction: anxiety, excessive sensitivity.

In the real world, the reaction of this sleep deprivation has a lot to prove. One of the phenomenal is when Randy Gardner (17) broke the record did not sleep for 264 hours (11 days) at the end of 1963.

According to William Dement observations, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, California, United States, Gardner's constantly changing mood, memory and lost his concentration, coordination and ability to speak is interrupted, as well as hallucinations.

Indeed, sleep is not a small matter. There have been many accidents and crimes occur because of interference Fuck. The National Sleep Research Project noted, the shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986 that killed all seven astronauts triggered by a technical error because of the mechanical lack of sleep.

Similar causes lead to the explosion of one reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor (1986), which spread radioactive contamination up to Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

Karamnya after the Exxon Valdez tanker hit a reef in the waters of Alaska (1989) also associated with concentration problems. The vessel spilled 41.8 million liters of crude oil and polluting the coastline of 2080 kilometers.

However, as written Newscientist, until now no one knows how long humans can survive without sleep. To be sure, the condition without sleep could be fatal. Experiments in laboratory rats constantly forced to wake up finally died after two weeks. This time is much shorter when compared to rats which had been left to die of starvation.

Health impact

Sleep is the most rich research topic today: why do humans need it, why is difficult to be able to sleep, how sleep affects motor skills and thinking human beings, and the impact on welfare.

Daniel Kripke of the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center in La Jolla, California, revealed that sleep is correlated with many things. As quoted by Time magazine and CNN, sleep is not only associated with various diseases, but also determine the short length of individual ages.

The ideal sleep duration is 6.5 to 7.5 hours at night. Less or more than it turned out to be adversely impacted. "If it is described like the letter U, which means lack or excess of sleep the same result," said Kripke.

The results showed, they are ideal bedtime most long-lived. Conversely, people who slept eight hours or more and sleep less than 6.5 hours was shorter.

Lack or excess of sleep also resulted in depression, obesity, and the emergence of heart disease. Unfortunately, this study has not been followed by examining whether changes in sleep patterns can cure those who have been exposed to various health problems above.

In children, the impact of sleep disorders as bad. Sleep Disorders Center at Sacre-Coeur Hospital, Montreal, Canada, makes the study with nearly 1500 children aged 2.5 to 6 years as the respondent. In the first study to comprehensively look at the effect of sleep on children, parents were asked to fill out questionnaires about the amount of time the child sleep at night, hyperactivity, impulsivity, impaired concentration, and levels kengantukan at noon.

The result, 50 percent of children an average of 10 hours of sleep at night. This amount is in accordance with the recommendation of sleep time for children at preschool age.

However, there are 6 percent of children who sleep less than 10 hours. According to Dr. Jacques Montplaisir, principal investigator for this program, children with short sleep time was a collection vocabulary less and less satisfactory results of cognitive tests.

"One hour sleep deprivation was correlated with three times the decline in child's intelligence and ability to communicate," he said.

Also not surprisingly, lack of sleep associated with high test results hyperactivity and impulsivity in children aged six years. These results are consistent with findings that time enough sleep will increase the child's ability to concentrate.

Nevertheless, the psychologist Prof. Jodi Mindell of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, U.S., reminded to not rush to worry if there are children who sleep less hours. "Montplaisir research needs to measure other factors so the results more accurate," he said.

Large businesses

What may make. In the current era of commodification, sleep problems eventually become big business. By entering keywords sleep research to the search engine on the internet, appearing 5.4 million results.

In addition, there are so many research centers, organizations, and even a journal devoted to sleep. Call them the Journal of Sleep Research, Sleep Research Society, the Center for Sleep Research, to the American Board of Sleep Medicine.

Organizations that last mentioned above seems necessary because in order to cope with sleep disorders in the U.S. each year more than 50 million sleeping pill prescribed by a doctor in the year 2008. Society also spends more than 600 million dollars per year to buy health supplements that can accelerate drowsiness, such as melatonin and valerian root.

Expression of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers, was not excessive. Fast asleep, got up quickly, is the key to health, prosperity, and wisdom. It turns out it was expensive.