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The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.
Sleep, Who Needs It? Apparently We Do...And We Need A Good Amount Of It Too
by Raffi
(The City )
Ever since I started college I had the freedom of doing as I pleased, free of parental monitoring. This was great and not so great...One of the main things my parents regulated was my sleep. If they found me awake at a silly hour they would force me to go to bed. This made it more challenging to disrupt my sleep cycle and generally promoted good sleep.
Once on my own my sleeping cycle became terribly distorted and my freshman year of college was spent getting to bed at 4-6am nightly. Some days I would get enough sleep and some I wouldn't.
I didn't think, however, that this would ever be a problem as I was used to being tired waking up early for high school. Freshman year passed and I noticed no ill effect on my health besides maybe feeling a little tired now and then. Sophomore year rolls around and my habits havnt changed. In fact, they slowly grew. I started to sleep less and less. I would consistently fall asleep in the living room on our poor excuse for couches and get horrible sleep (waking every few hours if not more frequent). The worse and less I slept the more I would fall asleep on the couches and the worse the cycle became.
After only one semester of this more severe sleep deprivation my body couldnt take it anymore and it started wearing down. I felt like a frail old man to say the least and I couldnt quite pin down why at first- that is until it was undoubtedly obvious. Not only was it physical, it was mental as well--I didnt feel too great all the time, I became a much grumpier person who basically enjoyed life less.
Once I tried getting more sleep I noticed I couldnt stay asleep, I would wake up every few hours and I still do, weeks later. As of now im taking more caution and am hoping my circadian rhythm will soon return to its regular beat, nothing is worth sleep deprivation--It makes life suck.
So please, do as your mother asks and get a good nights rest otherwise it will really bite you in the butt later.
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About This Site
Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.
We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.
In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?
Interviews With Sleep Specialists: Insights Into the Worlds of Sleep Medicine & Sleep Business
America's Most Dangerous Disorder: What Is Sleep Apnea Doing To Your Sleep?
Sleep Debt: How Much More Will You Achieve When You Reduce Yours?
The Stages Of Sleep: The Journey Through The Night
Delayed Sleep Phase: You Want To Sleep But You're Not Tired Yet
Paralyzed at Night: Is Sleep Paralysis Normal?
Sleep In Words: Smart, Strange, and Funny Quotes About Sleep
Sleep Disorders In Children: What's Keeping Your Child From A Full Night's Rest?
Attacks of Pavor Nocturnus (a.k.a. Sleep Terrors, Night Terrors, or Incubus Attacks)
A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:
Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.
If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.
The Stanford Sleep Book
Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.
In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.
Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy
More Sleep Resources
The Zeo
A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.
Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide
Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.
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