Sleeping on the Job
Sleep - and specifically how to get enough of it - is a frequent subject here at Run DMZ.
So when I find a piece that either reinforces or defies the 8-hour conventional cycle, I want to share it. Today's New York Times has such a piece in which the author argues that it may be time to stop thinking we need big blocks of sleep to function properly when shorter bursts of good, quality sleep may do.
Robert Stickgold, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, proposes that sleep — including short naps that include deep sleep — offers our brains the chance to decide what new information to keep and what to toss. That could be one reason our dreams are laden with strange plots and characters, a result of the brain’s trying to find connections between what it’s recently learned and what is stored in our long-term memory. Rapid eye movement sleep — so named because researchers who discovered this sleep stage were astonished to see the fluttering eyelids of sleeping subjects — is the only phase of sleep during which the brain is as active as it is when we are fully conscious, and seems to offer our brains the best chance to come up with new ideas and hone recently acquired skills. When we awaken, our minds are often better able to make connections that were hidden in the jumble of information.
Understanding that the 1 a.m. wakeup may not be such a bad thing could help some of us become more productive and wean the Western world of its reliance on pharmaceuticals to get through the nights and days through sleep aids at night and loads of caffeine during days.
It might also explain why so many runners dream of missing a big race or running off course and spending an entire dream trying to find everyone. Next time, take a nap and maybe you'll find your way.
So when I find a piece that either reinforces or defies the 8-hour conventional cycle, I want to share it. Today's New York Times has such a piece in which the author argues that it may be time to stop thinking we need big blocks of sleep to function properly when shorter bursts of good, quality sleep may do.
Robert Stickgold, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, proposes that sleep — including short naps that include deep sleep — offers our brains the chance to decide what new information to keep and what to toss. That could be one reason our dreams are laden with strange plots and characters, a result of the brain’s trying to find connections between what it’s recently learned and what is stored in our long-term memory. Rapid eye movement sleep — so named because researchers who discovered this sleep stage were astonished to see the fluttering eyelids of sleeping subjects — is the only phase of sleep during which the brain is as active as it is when we are fully conscious, and seems to offer our brains the best chance to come up with new ideas and hone recently acquired skills. When we awaken, our minds are often better able to make connections that were hidden in the jumble of information.
Understanding that the 1 a.m. wakeup may not be such a bad thing could help some of us become more productive and wean the Western world of its reliance on pharmaceuticals to get through the nights and days through sleep aids at night and loads of caffeine during days.
It might also explain why so many runners dream of missing a big race or running off course and spending an entire dream trying to find everyone. Next time, take a nap and maybe you'll find your way.
