10 Causes of Sleep Deprivation

 　　Sleeping eight hours a night is a recent invention, not a natural need of the body.

　　Benjamin Rees, a professor of English at Emory University in the United States, said in the book "Wild Night" that our current requirement for sleep does not have a long history. In his book History of the Dark, Roger Ekirch said that in the past, "even the wealthy occasionally shared a bed with others when they were away from home. However, even in middle-class families, sharing the same bed is still considered a blessing. Sleeping next to an acquaintance, whether that person is a family member or a servant of the same status, or a friend, is a good thing besides enjoying each other's warmth and savings. There are many benefits beyond the cost of a bed. It provides a sense of security. Sleeping in the same bed with friends and relatives can ease each other’s fears on a night of foreboding.”

　　What's even more appealing about sharing a bed with someone is that hours of intimate conversation can create an inextricable bond between the bedmates. "Of course, there are people who go to bed tired and stop talking. But pre-industrial, most family members didn't fall asleep quickly. The average person today goes from bed to sleep in 10 to 15 minutes, compared to 300 years ago. It may be longer. Sharing a bed gives people a partner to confide in, a level of intimacy that is hard to come by during the day. One essayist said that most men reveal their true feelings when they put on their pajamas. Temperament, and in the busy affairs of the day, they are more like characters in a play." The

　　bedmates lie together in the dark, and often do things that go beyond traditional customs. "The song "She Goes to Bed When It's Dark" during the Restoration describes a farting contest between the hostess and the maid. The maid shares the bed with the hostess to protect the hostess from her husband's beatings. The biggest change in the bed It is the relationship between husband and wife. In bed, the physical and spiritual intimacy between husband and wife is most fully expressed. When the tired person lies down, the traditional boundaries between husband and wife are narrowed, and women are rewarded in patriarchal families. Lying in the dark, the wife has the guts to say things she wouldn’t talk about at other times.”

　　Sleep requirements are now very strict: eight hours a night in a separate bedroom. But for most of human history, no one slept like this. Here are 10 culprits for why people are getting less than eight hours of sleep, Reese says:

　　1. Blame you for worrying too much about sleep problems. Sleep patterns vary by age, genetic makeup, gender, and more. 8 hours a day may be right for some people, but for some 8 hours may be too much and for others 8 hours may not be enough. So all you have to do is feel like you wake up feeling energized and throw away your sleep records, it will just make you fat.

　　2. Blame history. What is called normal sleep is very different at different times and in different places. Before the 19th century, most Europeans and North Americans slept twice a night, waking up after the first sleep, with an hour or more of rest before returning to sleep. The sleep before waking up is called first sleep, or first short sleep or dead sleep. The second sleep that follows is called second sleep or morning sleep. So we insist on sleeping for 8 hours at a stretch, which is just a recent invention, not a natural need of the body.

　　There is a proverb that says, "A man sleeps 6 hours, a woman sleeps 7 hours, a fool sleeps 8 hours". There is also "nature takes 5 hours, habit becomes 7 hours, laziness takes 9 hours, and evil takes 11 hours". In some parts of Germany, going to bed at 9 o'clock is called "time to take off your trousers", while a British proverb in the 17th century taught people: "Eat at 6 o'clock and sleep at 10 o'clock, live to be ninety and nine years old." The living room of a priest in Denmark There is such an inscription hanging inside: "You are my friend until 9 o'clock, you are so-so until 10 o'clock, and you are my enemy until 11 o'clock."

　　3. Blame the weather. For most of human history, sleep duration varied with the seasons. In some places, people basically hibernate in winter because food is scarce and heat needs to be conserved. Today we call seasonal differences seasonal disturbances, but in the past this difference was a necessity for survival. Get out in the sun more often and let your body truly experience the seasons.

　　4. Blame your parents. Contemporary Americans spend a lot of energy training their children to sleep properly. The goal of this training is very strange. Most of the time, most places, parents sleep next to their children, and bedtimes are not strictly observed. In contrast, many U.S. experts promote the goal of letting children sleep on their own, at regular intervals. Making such a fuss about sleep can lead to sleep anxiety in children as they grow up.

　　5. Blame your kids. This needs no explanation.

　　6. Blame your bed partner. Maybe the person lying next to you is snoring and kicking. Or they're staying up, playing on their phone, or wanting to make out with you. How can you share a bed with other people when your parents have spent so much time and energy teaching you to sleep alone? Maybe you need to explain to your significant other that you only need to love them when they are awake. Maybe you can sleep better in the guest room.

　　Sleep is important, we need it to process memory, clear neurotoxins from the brain, and boost the immune system. But it's no big deal if you're a little tired tomorrow, unless you're a pilot or a nuclear power plant worker. So if you can't sleep and you have more interesting things to do, don't worry too much.

　　7. Blame your phone. The screens we stare at all day can be distracting and sleep late. The blue light they emit suppresses the secretion of melatonin, which causes sleepiness. Even if you turn off the screen, it takes a while for your brain to realize that it's time to turn off, too. Some e-readers have a soft light, but in general, when it's time to take a break, read a paper book.

　　8. Blame your boss.

　　9. Blame globalization. It's 3 a.m. when programmers in Delhi, India, are up to help you iron out bugs in your presentation.

　　10. Blame sleep itself. Sleep is important, we need it to process memory, clear neurotoxins from the brain, and boost the immune system. But it's no big deal if you're a little tired tomorrow, unless you're a pilot or a nuclear power plant worker. So if you can't sleep and you have more interesting things to do, don't worry too much.