23 key facts

  1. sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body

  2. we sleep in order to be healthy when we are awake

  3. when we sleep our consciousness is practically suspended

    our nervous system is inactive

    our postural muscles are relaxed

    we have inhibited sensory activity

    we experience inhibition of nearly all our voluntary muscles

    and we have reduced interactions with our surroundings

  4. sleep keeps our mind and body in balance

  5. with lack of sleep our immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems will all suffer

  6. with short term lack of sleep we suffer all the symptoms of stress

  7. with long term lack of sleep our health will suffer dramatically

    we increase the risk of developing dementia / alzheimer’s earlier in our lives

    we increase the risk of developing cancer of the bowel, prostate and breast

    we increase our risk of dying young

  8. even with one night of only 4 - 5 hours sleep our natural killer cells, that help in the fight against tumours and virally infected cells, reduce by as much as 70%

  9. the World Health Organisation has classed any form of night-time shift work as a probable carcinogen

  10. we don’t all need the same amount of sleep,

    the ideal sleep sweet spot for adults is between 7 - 9 hours a night

  11. in the long term adults sleeping less than 6 hours a night or more than 9 hours a night will suffer ill health

  12. we need different amounts of sleep at different stages of our life:

    • newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours
    • infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours
    • toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
    • preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours
    • school age children (6-13): 9-11 hours
    • teenagers (14-17):8-10 hours
    • younger adults (18-25):7-9 hours
    • adults (26-64): 7-9 hours
    • older adults (65+): 7-8 hours

  13. sleep is regulated by two body systems:

    sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock

  14. most people don’t listen to their body when it comes to sleeping, they ignore their need to sleep and / or their circadian rhythm and force their body into an unnatural pattern of sleeping

  15. morning larks love mornings, they naturally want get up early and go to bed early

    night owls hate mornings, they naturally want to get up late and go to bed late

  16. most people also ignore their natural chronotype because of work, socialising and or technology

  17. there are 3 types of sleep pattern:

    • monophasic 1 period
    • biphasic 2 periods
    • polyphasic 2+ periods

  18. biphasic sleep is a natural evolutionary pattern

    polyphasic sleep is a natural evolutionary pattern

    monophasic sleep is not a natural evolutionary pattern

    it’s a modern day pattern driven by technology and cultural pressures

  19. a nap is a form of biphasic or polyphasic sleep and is considered to be part of a natural sleep pattern for humans

  20. light controls and disrupts our natural circadian rhythm

    first came fire, then the lightbulb, then TV and now digital screens

  21. light, especially blue light suppresses the creation of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles

  22. our natural way of sleeping is to sleep in cycles of approximately 90 mins

    within each cycle there are 4 phases, each stimulating different brainwaves

    light sleep, gradually deeper sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep

  23. it takes the average person 20 minutes to fall asleep