Sleep plays a crucial part in our lives, so it’s fascinating how much we don’t know about snoozing (my goodness, we spend an average of 8 hours per night doing it).
So many questions come to mind when we think about sleep.... but the biggest one is, why do we do it?
The Goodnight Co. has pieced together the most fascinating facts and secrets about what happens when we're dreaming... and what we've found out may surprise you!
1. Deep Sleep Happens First
The first three hours of sleep have the deepest stages of sleep (Slow Wave Sleep). Later on in the night we have more of the sleep stage with vivid dreams (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, REM sleep).
2. Shift Workers Are More Prone To Sleep Problems
According to the International Classifications of Sleep Disorders, shift workers are at increased risk for a variety of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.
3. Even Blind People Dream
Blind people are more likely to report feelings of touch, taste, and smell in their dreams compared to sighted people. This likely corresponds to their waking experience which relies more on these senses. They do not have dramatic differences in dream content, except that they seem to have less aggression in their dreams.
4. Our Need For Sleep Varies From Person To Person
Different people need different amounts of sleep. Eight and a quarter hours is the average for adults. Some people can cope very well with much less and some need much more every night.
5. The Strangers In Your Dreams Aren't Strangers.
This one's kind of creepy. You might not know them personally, but you’ve seen everyone in your dreams before. Crazy, right? The brain can’t create people, so it uses registered faces.
6. Pulling An All Nighter? You May As Well Be Drunk...
Pulling an all-nighter to finish a report or study for an exam? Not sleeping for 16 hours can make you behave as if you have a blood alcohol level of .05%.
7. "I Have A Dream..." Yeah, So Did Everybody Else!
Everyone dreams 4 to 7 times each and every night. Everyone. If you can’t remember them, you’re not alone. Most people forget 90% of their dreams.
8. 921,000 Australians Use Prescription Drugs To Fall Asleep
We have one word for you... yikes. The unfortunate truth about sleeping pills is that they don’t work as well as we wish they did. Sleep medications don’t deliver the same restorative benefits as natural sleep, and even though people who take them often swear by them, the research suggests that the drugs don’t tend to increase sleep quality beyond placebos.
10. The More You Know About Sleep, The Better You Can Sleep.
Were you surprised by any of these facts? What can you change about your sleep based on these facts? We'll never be able to know everything about our sleep... some of it still remains a mystery. However, at The Goodnight Co., we're constantly striving to help the world fall back in love with it, because we believe everyone deserves a good night's rest. Have a look at our Best Sellers to see what other Australian's swear by to help them get a goodnight's snooze.
