Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sleep


According to research, your brain needs a certain amount of sleep to perform at its maximum capacity.  It is recommended that adults get between 8-10 hours of sleep each night.  For a minimum of three nights, sleep at least 8 hours.  Discuss your normal sleep habits and how this was different for you.  Explain how you felt, how long you attempted this challenge, and whether or not you could tell a difference.  Support your thoughts with research and scientific information. 

20 comments:

  1. On average, I normally get between 5-6 hours of sleep each night. During the school week, my bed time is usually fairly late and I wake up at 7am every day. Getting 8 hours of sleep at night was definitely more than I regularly get but I did notice some differences while doing this challenge. I attempted this sleep challenge for one week, throughout that week I noticed I had more energy, I was able to focus better in school, my mood improved, and altogether I felt healthier. Sleep is absolutely essential for repair and rejuvenation. According to a CDC study, 41 million American workers don’t get enough sleep each night. Research shows many of the negative effects that can occur from not getting enough sleep at night. A of few of them are: it can affect your judgment, cause you to be irritable or have difficulty concentrating, reduce the body’s ability to regulate hormones that control hunger, increase your appetite, and potential weight gain, ect. In contrast some additional benefits of getting 8-10 hours of sleep each night are a clearer mind, less stress more productive throughout the day and better focus.

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  2. I slept over 8 hours on December 3rd through the 6th. My normal sleeping habits would differ from 6 to 7 hours of sleep. After sleeping for more than 8 hours, I felt like a different person. I was more energetic, focused on everything I was told to do, my body felt like a million bucks, and I was excited to do anything at school. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult sleeps less than 7 hours per night. In today’s fast-paced society, 6 or 7 hours of sleep may sound pretty good. In reality, it’s a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation. While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best.

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  3. My sleeping schedule is very inconsistent, I vary from 4-10 hours a sleep at night. The sleep I get varies because I go to bed between 9:30p.m. -1:00a.m. and I may wake up between 6:00a.m.-10:00a.m. (Depending on weekdays and weekends). This past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights I decided to attempt this sleeping challenge of a minimum of 8 hours a night. Initially on the first morning I felt a slight improvement in my energy level and my runs were less difficult. Then the huge change came after my lunch as I continued to have energy throughout the day and did not snooze during my afternoon classes causing me to last longer that day. Then on Saturday and Sunday I felt a larger rush of energy throughout the day and lasted up until the night with a much better attention span. Not only it is important to get this amount of sleep it is important to have a constant amount of sleep, which will most likely add to the recovery of your body. According to Dr. Michael J. Breus on http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/important-sleep-habits, there are many consequences of sleep deprivations. This may include Memory and Cognitive Impairment; decreased performance and alertness; and automobile injury. But it is not limited to. Also The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates about 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities a year because of sleep deprevation. It is very important for one’s brain health to sleep at least 8 hours a night, and I will try to have many more full nights of sleep.

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  4. My sleeping schedule is never a set a schedule. From weekends to school days, how much sleep I get varies. During the school week I expect to get around 5-6 hours of sleep and on the weekend I get about 8-10 hours of sleep. Trying this 8-10 hour sleep challenge was difficult for me. The first night was a Monday, December 10, and I got about 9 hours of sleep. When I woke up the next day I was able to get myself out of bed much faster but I felt slightly more tired that day at school. The next night, Tuesday December 11, I got 8 hours of sleep and woke up feeling really refreshed and felt great throughout the day. As I continued the sleeping challenge I felt better and performed better at school but I was only able to keep up with it for about a week and then shortly fell back into the schedule of a student. Realizing how important sleep is I decided to do some research and found that surveys conducted by the NSF (1999-2004) reveal that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Seeing this made me realize I need to start organizing my time better after school and getting stuff done much faster so I can get to bed earlier.

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  5. I have always been one to stay up late even if I have nothing to do. I wish I didn’t have a bad habit of staying up late, but I do. I usually stay up past midnight every night and wake up around 7AM. Every morning I wake up and I feel very grumpy and I just feel like I need more sleep. Sometimes, I even wake up with a bit of a headache if I get less than six hours of sleep. After sleeping three straight nights with eight hours of sleep(December 11,12,13), I really did feel a dramatic change in so many things throughout each of those days. I usually feel like I want to sleep all day long in every one of my classes, but surprisingly, on those days, I felt well rested and I felt like I could actually get through the entire day. I’m glad that I took this challenge because it has really made me want to go to bed earlier. According to research, people who only get six or seven hours of sleep have a greater chance of developing diseases in their lifetime than people who get eight or more hours of sleep each night.

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  6. Since high school, the amount of sleep I have been receiving has declined significantly. Normally, I receive about 6 hours of sleep every night. I decided to try this challenge and the results amazed me. At first, I struggled to sleep at least eight hours every night and was late to school a couple of times. After some time, I got used to sleeping at least eight hours a night. I found that I was more efficient when it came to doing my homework and other activities so that I could get the minimum eight hours of sleep. Overall, I felt that sleeping eight hours made me feel more refreshed the next day and helped me keep myself on track so that I could get more sleep. Studies show that people who don't receive enough sleep are at a higher risk to become obese and develop diabetes type II. Although these signs develop due to prolonged amounts of sleep deprivation, they must surely be taken into account when looking at the effects of sleep deprivation.

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  7. On average, I used to get about 5-6 hours of sleep before I took the SleepChallenge. Because I have a very busy lifestyle, sleep has never been my biggest priority. Between school, work, friends, and homework, I haven't seen the need for more than 6 hours of sleep. My unhealthy sleeping habit was fueled by large amounts of caffeine.

    After taking the challenge of getting nine hours or more of sleep a night, I feel much more engaged in my classes and am more productive when it comes to school work and my job. I'm glad that I took this challenge.

    When researching sleep, I have discovered a few alarming facts. Sleep-deprivation has led to quite a few problems. In fact, it has been attributed to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the Chernobyl disaster. The National Sleep Research Project estimates that one in six fatal car accidents are due to sleep-deprivation.

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  8. Before I started the Sleep Challenge the amount of sleep I received changed as I received more homework, projects, tests to study for and extra curricular activities. The longest I have slept during this school year has been six hours. On weekends I am still unable to get a decent amount of sleep, resulting me to be fatigued and easily aggravated by the littlest of things. However when I took the Challenge I originally was unable to find the time to get eight hours of sleep. Once I finally found a way to squeeze in more time to work on homework, I found the two extra hours to sleep. The affects of getting just two extra hours of sleep every night is amazing. I am able to focus more in class and be a little more friendly towards others.

    After looking at some of the effects of sleep deprivation, I was surprised to see some of them. I didn't know that sleep deprivation could help lead to heart attacks at an early age and more frequent occurrences.

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  9. Typically, my sleeping schedule is very inconsistent, usually ranging from 5-7 hours each night. I usually felt tired and wanted to sleep in class. Keeping focused has always been somewhat of a struggle. For 5 days last week, I went to bed at an earlier time, in order to get the recommended 8 hours. It was actually very surprising how fast I felt better. I felt far more focused in school and I felt less stressed than usual. There were more tests than usual because of the winter break, but I felt like I handled them better than ever. I researched some of the effects of having more sleep and learned that it can also improve memory and even make you a better driver because of increased alertness.

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  10. I have never been good at getting a lot of sleep and high school hasn’t helped. During a regular week, I can get from 3-9 hours of sleep at night. How long I get to sleep usually depends on how much homework I have, what extra-curricular activities I have that day, and when I actually want to go to bed. Most nights I get home by 9, do homework until 12 or 1 and get to bed by 2. This past week I did as much homework as I could on the weekend so I could sleep during the week. I tried to get nine hours of the sleep the first night but it took me 2 hours to fall asleep. Luckily, by the end of the week, my body must much more use to it. I researched why sleep was so important and I discovered that the human body I meant to function for only 16 hours and it needs at least 8 hours to rejuvenate it’s energy supply. After researching that lack of sleep can lead to heart attacks, stress, and even cancer, I am definitely going to try to get more sleep.

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  11. On a good night I would usually get somewhere between 4-6 hours a night before I was given The Sleep Challenge. I did the sleep challenge for a week straight. It was difficult at first because I wasn't used to sleeping for so long, and my body's mental clock would either wake me up before said time or prevented me from falling asleep at said time. After completing the sleep challenge I didn't feel as sluggish while I was at school and had much more energy to last through the whole day. I also found it much easier to focus on the teacher while they were teaching, allowing me to take better, more thorough notes. I researched some facts about sleep deprivation and I was surprised to learn that it could lead to a weaker immune system, heart attacks, and stress. I will definitely be getting more sleep!

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  12. On average i get around 3-4 hours of sleep a night, so getting to sleep early enough was a challenge in itself. The Changes were almost immediate though, by the 2nd day i was feeling more energized and relaxed, i didnt feel so high strung all the time, I researched some of the effects of getting more sleep and learned that it can improve memory and the effectiveness of your immune system

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  13. I used to be a great sleeper; i had a bed time and a wake-up time and it never changed during the week i was on a strict schedule. Once i entered high school though things changed. Everyday i would have to be at school at different times due to dual credit, tutoring, make up test, really i just had a crazy schedule. For a week i got back to my schedule and made sure i slept 8 hours every night and boy did it change my life. After the long day a good nights rest was just what i needed. I had more energy and more time. I suggest to anyone and everyone to sleep at night 8 hours and it will change your day.

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  14. My typical sleep habits are terrible. I’ve suffered from sleep deprivation since I was a kid. It’s the mix of two or three hours of sleep during the weekdays plus Saturday. If I get to sleep early on Sunday, it’s typically eight or nine hours. It’s not because I have many things to do: it’s just that I read, sit on the Internet, study, and get up early. I must mention that occasionally I can sleep for eleven hours plus but that’s when I’m trying to sleep off a not-so-great day. It’s really inconsistent, sometimes. Trying this was certainly different for me and it forced to me to place my phone, laptop, and books in the game room. I often find myself checking my phone in the middle of my sleep to get on instagram so it was a beneficial strategy to place it as far away from me as possible. On the first night of this sleep experiment, it was Monday night. I couldn’t get myself to go to sleep so I turned off the lights and counted sheep. I then tried to think of myself on a calm, relaxing vacation and I think that helped to sleep much earlier. Within an hour, I would say, I went to sleep. I got a total of eight hours and a half of sleep. I was sort of late to anatomy class, if I remember correctly but I felt pretty calm. I would say I was sort of daydreaming during the day though but more alert. The next night, it took much longer to get to sleep than the previous day. I definitely would say that I was more alert and energetic the next day, it was worth it. I think I should take sleeping more seriously, scientific research links heart disease, stroke, and stress from sleep deprivation. Many studies suggest the benefits of napping to many Americans and say as little as 24 minutes can help improve cognitive memory. This could help me significantly.

    Randall, David K. "OPINION; Rethinking Sleep." The New York Times. 23 Sept. 2012. The New York Times. 20 Dec. 2012 .

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  16. I slept for a solid 8 to 8 ½ hours for the last three days of our winter break. During the school year, I generally get between 4 to 6 hours of sleep and sometimes 7 or 8 if it’s a chill week which is not bad but for me it’s difficult to function without at least 5 hours of sleep. On the weekends I sleep about 7-9 hours which is slightly better. Sleeping a couple extra hours those three days really made a difference, which wasn’t actually a surprise to me. I didn’t sleep past 9 hours for any of the three days but I still felt like I had a lot more energy and I don’t have those moments toward the end of the day where I feel super tired. After researching sleep habits, I learned that it’s healthy to sleep 7-9 hours a day but not much longer than that unless you sleep that same number of hours every single night. For example, you shouldn’t sleep like 10 to 14 hours on the weekend because that’s almost double what you sleep on the school days. Sleeping significantly more hours only a couple days a week messes up your sleep cycle.

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  17. This is Gerry im having trouble logging in.On average im getting about 8 to nine hours of sleep a night so usually i feel really good when i wake up and i usually have enough energy to last me the day. but over the weekend the past 3 day i only got about 5 to 6 hours of sleep so because of early weigh ins and we left the school early to get to the event. with such little sleep i could feel my performance getting worse and worse as the day went on i felt a little sloppy and i was really tired and i had no appetite. but soon as i got back i got about 9 hours of sleep i felt great again. and according to the Harvards Womens Health they say if you dont get about 7 to 8 hours a sleep a night it will affect your immune system so you can get sick alot easier than usual and also it affects your mood and your metabolism so you will gain weight easier so now i know that sleep is so important and that i will make sure that i get about 8 hours of sleep a night so i dont get affected by any of those problems. http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health

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  18. For me it is very hard for me to get the correct amount of sleep to feel great during the day. Usually I get 5 to 6 hours of sleep because of lat night studying, or late night homework that I refused to do during the day, or even projects that are due and I feel so horrible during the day. Sometimes I even oversleep which result in me missing breakfast, or barely making it to school in the mornings. I always complain that I feel tired, exhausted over and over again. I feel like I'm dragging, lazy, slow, and just plain boring and the day just feels like it never ends. So, during the Christmas break I decided to challenge my self to sleep at least 8 to 10 hours for three days and see how it works out for me. After I took this challenge I slept form 10:30 at night to 11:30 in the morning and I felt so energized, not only that but, I was more awake during the day I felt so alive and not once did I yawn for 4 times in a row or even complain about being tired. I even challenged my self to do this for the rest of the break and even possibly as long as I could go. I woke up feeling great! I went out to practice for Color Guard and I just felt like I was moving faster than usual and I wasn't dragging and i had more strength and energy to do all that was asked of me. Although school is started and I've slipped a little from this challenge, my intentions are to continue where I left off and not let my old habits back in.
    Kittredge, Clare. " Healthy Sleep Habits - Sleep Center - Everyday Health." Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. .

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  19. I have been getting my 8 hours of sleep a day and there is a huge difference. At first i felt initially tired every morning but thats just the start, i have successfully made it through each day without falling asleep in my classrooms. I can feel that i have more energy to get through the day and function. I am more attentive to my work. I looked at from websites and found out that sleep helps your whole body relax, and also you get taller when you sleep because your spine is at rest and is able to become straight. Also that getting your hours of sleep results in healing of the body, it helps you feel less stress and aids in remembering things like facts. And all of these i have felt happen to me by making the transition of getting more sleep.

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