Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

We just finished the marathon of holidays that consumes more days out of the year than is really necessary to contemplate. Frankly, we’re exhausted—and understandably so. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one day devoted to just relaxing and catching up on those ZZZs you lost while laying out Christmas presents and celebrating a little too hard while almost setting the neighborhood ablaze with your annual fireworks display? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a way out of your wife’s appointed New Year’s resolution of “being more active?” We know you—we know you don’t want a thing to do with it. You’re comfortable in your own beer-gut-wielding skin, and that’s OK. Anyway, since your boss is still probably in a good mood from his holiday, ask him for one more day off—Festival of Sleep Day on Jan. 3. This is the perfect time to relax while those kids who have been hanging around your house for the last few weeks—your kids, in fact—are back in school. All you need is a pillow to send you off to dream-fest.

Before Thomas Edison invented the incandescent electric light, people slept an average of 10 hours per day. Today, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends.

Man is the only mammal that willingly delays sleep.

The higher the altitude, the greater the sleep disruption. Generally, sleep disturbance becomes greater at altitudes of 13,200 feet or more. The disturbance is thought to be caused by diminished oxygen levels and accompanying changes in respiration. Most people adjust to new altitudes in about two to three weeks.

We naturally feel tired at two different times of the day: about 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. It is this natural dip in alertness that is primarily responsible for the post-lunch dip.

Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise.

In our dreams, we only see faces that we already know.

The average human will spend a third of his or her life sleeping. That equates to about 20-25 years over a 75-year life span.