MYTHS
Many myths and misconceptions have grown up about sleep, and
it would be impossible to cover them all here. But it does seem to us to be
Sleep important to discuss a few, still widely prevalent ones. Among them is
idea that an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after goodnight.
The fact is that when you sleep is less important than that you do sleep. Some
people prefer to work late and get up late; others prefer 10 get up early in
the morning and go to sleep early at night.
Sir William slur labeled the former
"owls" and the latter "larks." It doesn't matter which you
are except that if you know which you are and can arrange your life and work
around the fact, you probably will be more effective and happier. When sleep
takes place is not important; the proper amount of good sleep is what counts.
Another misconception: five or six hours, even just three or
four, of sound sleep are worth more than eight hours of restless sleep. The
fact I'; that while sound sleep is desirable, so is enough sleep. A third myth:
sleep, to be good, must be consecutive; you need to get your seven or eight or
nine hours at one time. Actually, there is no in- violate rule. If you feel
well after sleeping three, four, or five hours and taking naps during the day,
as Edison did, this is satisfactory for you though it may not be for someone
else.
INSOMNIA
There is certainly no question about many people having
problems with sleep. They can be very real problems but it is worth looking at
some new insights sleep research provides on imaginary insomnia. Everyone has
heard of arguments between husband and wife, one complaining that the night was
sleepless, and the other that the spouse slept soundly and snored so much that
the other was kept awake. In one experiment in a sleep laboratory, investigators
worked with people who claimed they could not sleep at all. As part of the
study, each insomniac was required to press a bedside button whenever during
the night he heard a buzzer.
More often than not, when the buzzer was sounded, there was
no response. And yet in the morning, the self-convinced insomniacs greeted
investigators with their usual protest of never having slept a wink. That
people who honestly believe they get no sleep at all do, indeed, has been
demonstrated repeatedly in laboratories. Confusion between sleep and waking may
arise because some people consistently walk to the time it takes them to fall
asleep.
They may do so because it is possible to fail to distinguish
between dreams and waking and because light sleep and waking may become
intermixed in, leaving an impression of a long stretch of sleeplessness. It should
be emphasized that imaginary insomnia is not a laughing. Even if the insomnia
is only imaginary, sleep that is not refresh.
