In my younger years, I regarded sleep as a necessary evil, nature's way of thwarting my desire to cram as many activities into a 24-hour day as possible.
Again, likewise:
As research cited recently in this newspaper's magazine found, “The sleep-deprived among us are lousy judges of our own sleep needs. We are not nearly as sharp as we think we are.”
Studies have shown that people function best after seven to eight hours of sleep, so I now aim for a solid seven hours, the amount associated with the lowest mortality rate.
I don't think it's a case of becoming wiser, or even paying more attention to medical news. You just get older and your body tells you to knock it off. In my yout, I was a typical nightowl, staying up as long as I could and sleeping as late as my schedule allowed; bright-eyed, perky "morning people" annoyed the hell out of me. Now, if I don't get to bed by 10 and get my seven hours minimum, I'm cranky all day. And if I have a restless night, I try to make it up with a quick nap over lunch, which sets me up for another restless night. Ah, the garden of lost youth, eh?
Comments
Leo:
If ANY of these so-called "experts" wish to study (at some length) the vicissitudes of sleep deprivation, all they have to do is ring me up or stop on down...
They will get a EARFUL...from too many places, trust me.
And I believe that ANY of us who suffer from such "external sources" of that lost sleep are MORE than qualified to determine the best courses of action.
We're not so much as the mercy of our own changing circadian rhythms, as we are to others around us with no respect, shame, or civility.
oh, so that's why you're cranky, leo.....now I know.........
Now, Judy, don't believe him - I think he's just a cranky old man, ... I should know, I've been one for several years now.