Today's NYTimes's Science section has a special feature on sleep, with quite a few articles covering lots of different things. This article by Jane Brody, for example, is on the effects of too little sleep on academics (and other things too); its emphasis is similar to that in Po Bronson's article we linked to a few days ago.
Another article examines the West's taboo proscription against kids co-sleeping with their parents. ["Ask parents if they sleep with their kids, and most will say no. But there is evidence that the prevalence of bed sharing is far greater than reported."]
And finally, this page has some nice quotes from scientists, philosophers, poets and other celebrities. Here's one from Leon Lederman, a physics Nobel winner:
My experience was that one can survive on two to three hours of sleep per night — with occasional naps — for two or three weeks. After that, all pretenses of rationality were blown. I’ve since asked sleep scientists what happens to your brain in a three-minute nap that restores your ability to drive, teach, think and yell at grad students. They’ve never answered.
Do you know more about the taboo of kids sleeping with their parents? When I was a kid my only options were sleep in bed with parents and siblings or sleep on the floor :)
ReplyDeleteBiswajit
When left to its own devices my body will sleep for nine hours straight. Usually nine hours exactly. Strange.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought it was a bit unfair, too. Why couldn't I be like the NYT person whose body only sleeps for seven?