Sleep, the elixir of life

O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, And steep my sense in forgetfulness?

- William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I

Many have said many things about sleep: "That deplorable curtailment of the joy of life," said Virginia Woolf. "The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep" is how E. Joseph Cossman sees it.

"Sleep lingers all our lifetime about our eyes, as night hovers all day in the boughs of the fir-tree" was Ralph Waldo Emerson's interpretation. "Sleep, rest of things, O pleasing Deity, Peace of the soul, which cares dost crucify, Weary bodies refresh and mollify"; is attributed to Ovid.

"Even where sleep is concerned, too much is a bad thing", said Homer. "Death, so called, is a thing which makes men weep; and yet a third of Life is passed in sleep" is how Lord Byron refers to sleep.

"That we are not much sicker and much madder than we are is due exclusively to that most blessed and blessing of all natural graces, sleep" is how Aldous Huxley puts it. "I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting," says Mark Twain. And, to go back again to William Shakespeare: "Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care; The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast."

Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterised by reduced or absent consciousness; relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and are the subject of intense research. Though sleep is a need for all living organisms, human sleep needs can vary by age and among individuals.

For human beings, sleep is a must and a necessity: of life; and, more importantly, for a healthy life. Sleep is considered to be sufficient for humans when there is no daytime sleepiness or dysfunction.

Libido

Insufficient sleep could lead to anxiety, loss of libido, and loss of interest in pleasurable activities. Over time, lack of sleep can contribute to depression, and depression can cause or aggravate sleep disorders. Depression can also put a strain on family life and other personal relationships.

Researchers believe that a considerable amount of sleep-related behaviour such as when and how long a person need to sleep, is regulated by our genetics; and have discovered some evidence that seems to support this assumption. There is also proof that sleep patterns vary significantly across cultures.

However, we are aware that there is no greater discomfort in life as to be unable to sleep. William Wordsworth, in his poem 'To Sleep' aptly describes the sensation: "A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by; One after one; the sound of rain, and bees Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas, Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky - I've thought of all by turns, and still I lie, Sleepless..."

Laugh and the world laughs with you is what we have heard it said; but snore and you are bound to sleep alone. Sleeping is no mean art: for its sake, one must stay awake all day.

However, just staying awake is inadequate; calmness of mind is essential for a good nights sleep. A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow. If, for some reason you find sleep elusive, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It is the worrying that gets you; not the lack of sleep.

There is also something called sleep debt. Sleep debt is the effect of not getting enough sleep; a large debt causes mental, emotional, and physical fatigue. Sleep debt results in diminished abilities to perform high-level cognitive functions. Scientists do not agree on how much sleep debt it is possible to accumulate - whether it is accrued against an individual's average sleep, or some other benchmark - nor on whether the prevalence of sleep debt among adults has changed appreciably in recent decades because of the industrialised world and the lifestyle it produces. It is likely that in today's hurly burly world children are sleeping less. The multiple theories proposed to explain the function of sleep, reflect the as-yet incomplete nature and understanding of the subject.

When asked, after 50 years of research, what he knew about the reason people sleep, William Dement, founder of Stanford University's Sleep Research Centre, answered, "As far as I know, the only reason we need to sleep that is, really, really, solid is: because we get sleepy."

Walk through a park, and there is someone snoring under each shady tree - the exceptions are those behind umbrellas, and we know not what they are unto.

Some of our drivers on the roads, to judge by their behaviour, also seem to be almost asleep behind their wheels. No wonder we cling to so many fallacies about how to get by on little sleep without realising that sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning.

Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to act efficiently. Second, during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in consolidating memories in the mind.

If you do not get enough sleep, you will not be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day.

We spend, or ought to be doing so, about a third of every day in bed. Whether that time is spent blissfully slumbering or tossing and turning depends a lot on our mattress. A mattress can influence a person's sleep. One way that our mattress affects our sleep has to do with the network of fine blood vessels, called capillaries, that runs underneath our skin.

When we lie on any part of our body for a prolonged period, the weight of it reduces the flow of blood through those blood vessels, which in turn deprives the skin of oxygen and nutrients. This causes nerve cells and pain sensors in our skin to send a message to our brain for us to roll over. Rolling over, restores blood flow to the area, but it also briefly interrupts our sleep. Ideally, a mattress that reduces the pressure points on our body should give us a better night's sleep. Yet the ideal mattress is different for each person. Sleep deprivation was a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history: the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, and others. But sleep loss is also a big public safety hazard every day on the road. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,500 crash-related deaths a year in the U.S.

The problem is the greatest among people under 25 years old. Of course, you may just be sleepy because, like so many other Sri Lankans, you do not get enough sleep at night. If this is the case, you may want to make some payments on your sleep deficit. A growing body of research establishes how important sufficient sleep is to our quality of life. Sleep deprivation can trigger depression and anxiety; it can also impede performance and creativity. Finally, sleep deprivation can be fatal. It is never too late to begin developing good sleep habits. Why not start tonight?

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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