26 Amazing Facts About Sleep That You Can Use To Impress Your Friends

Are you a side sleeper looking for the best mattress for side sleepers? A hot sleeper looking for the best cooling mattress? Or just researching how to get more sleep on the best mattress of 2018 and more about the best bed in a box?

Whatever your needs, it's all about S-L-E-E-P. Sleep, and the ability and desire to get enough of it, is one of humankind's biggest interests, but there is so much we don't even know about the science behind sleep, nearly everything we do know about it was only learned in the last few decades. But science aside, there are a lot of crazy-but-true things about sleep in both humans and animals that have been discovered that leave us chuckling and shaking our heads.

One

Research shows that you will sleep better during a new moon and worse during a full moon, though reasons are a mystery.

Two

Insomnia is not defined by the sleep you lose each night, but by the drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, irritability and other problems it causes each day.

Three

Being awake for 16 hours straight decreases your performance as much as if your blood alcohol level were 0.05%.

Four

Falling asleep should take 10 to 15 min. If it takes less than 5, you are probably sleep deprived.

Five

Tiredness peaks twice a day – at 2 am and 2 pm.

Six

Humans are the only animals that willingly delay sleep.

Seven

Going without sleep is likely to make you hungry as levels of leptin, an appetite-regulating hormone, fall.

Eight

You are less likely to have a traffic accident when daylight savings time ends. Statistics show that the extra hour of sleep reduces accidents.

Nine

Insomnia is often a normal part of grieving. Taking sleeping pills can disrupt this natural process.

Ten

Regular exercise usually improves your sleep patterns. Exercising sporadically or right before bed may keep you up.

Eleven

Today, 75% of us dream in color. Before color TV, only 15 % did.

Twelve

Humans spend approximately 1/3 of their lives sleeping.

Thirteen

Humans can take small naps with their eyes open while maintaining their balance, often not even realizing they are doing it.

Fourteen

Sleep deprivation will kill you before starvation does.

Fifteen

It takes being awake for only 17 straight hours for sleep deprivation symptoms to kick in.

Sixteen

Sleep deprivation reduces pain tolerance.

Seventeen

Within 5 minutes of waking up, 50% of your dream is forgotten.

Eighteen

A new baby typically results in 400 – 750 hours of lost sleep in the first year.

Nineteen

The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

Twenty

The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep weren't performed until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were worried about wasting paper.

Twenty-One

Dreams were once thought to occur only during REM sleep, but they also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It's possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.

Twenty-Two

No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans. Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

Twenty-Three

Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.

Twenty-Four

Sea Otters hold hands when they sleep so they don't drift away from each other.

Twenty-Five

Bulldogs are the only canines known to suffer from sleep apnea, a breathing disorder. Their short snouts and under-bites are the likely reason.

Twenty-Six

Whales and dolphins literally fall half asleep. Each side of their brain takes turns so they can come up for air. Ducks, out of their need to watch for predators, do the same thing.

Getting a great sleep is clearly vital to our health and one of the best ways to ensure that we get the most restorative sleep possible is with a fantastic mattress.

The Nolah Mattress is rated one of the best mattresses for side sleepers, and with 4X better pressure relief (which is scientifically proven, no less), the latest and greatest new mattress technology called Nolah AirFoam™, and is 100% temperature neutral and 300% more durable than traditional memory foam and latex.

With a 120-night free trial, free shipping, and a 15-year warranty, getting a spectacular bed has never been easier! It doesn't get much better than that! 

So what are you waiting for? Try the best bed in a box for 120 nights and start getting the sleep you deserve. 

Sources: 
Ergoflex
Good Mornings Snore Solution
Cleveland Clinic
Britannica